An enormous cultural difference between most Muslim nations and other societies on earth is the allowance of polygamy.  The overwhelming majority of the 47 nations where polygamy is universally legally recognized are either Muslim or have polygamy laws that cater to the Muslim portion of their populations.  For example India, which is home to one of the largest populations of Muslims on earth permits polygamy only for Muslims, while Hindus and others  legally have to marry monogamously (this actually causes a fair amount of converts to Islam in order to engage in the practice, but that’s another issue entirely).  It should also be noted that Turkey and Tunisia, both Muslim countries, do not allow polygamy…and are also both amongst the most stable in the Muslim world.

Monogamy is obviously the system practiced in the West, and while it’s not perfect by any means, it provides for an undeniable stability.  The reasons are also obvious enough.  There are roughly the same number of men as women due to our basic biological mechanics.  One man with one woman provides a simple and effective organization policy for families.  Simply put, every man and woman, regardless of their lot in life or the wealth they hold, have a fair shot at getting married and having children. 

However in many Islamic countries this is not the case.  The concept of multiple wives may be a religious belief of many Muslims, but it is also a destabilizing force in their societies.  For starters, polygamy is permitted only with one man having multiple wives in Islam, women are not permitted to have multiple husbands, in yet another in a series of inequitable restrictions on females.  But the more pronounced instability is due to the fact that certain men take more than one wife, there are not enough women in many Muslim countries for all men to get married and have families.  Now when I say certain men, I assume that generally husbands who have multiple wives are those who can afford such a lifestyle, which would be the wealthier men.

So let’s say you’re a young man in Saudi Arabia who doesn’t come from a rich family, isn’t particularly charming or debonaire or good looking.  How are you going to get married? There are men in your own country who are permitted by law to take on 4 wives.   Where is that going to leave you and your future prospects of family, stability?  Someone coming from a situation like this in any culture would probably turn out disaffected, at least in the high school and college years when people first begin to explore relationships with the opposite sex.  But due to the laws that allow polygamy, the alienation from society for men who can’t find wives in many Muslim nations never ends.

If terrorism and disaffected young men weren’t such a problem in the Middle East, this probably would not be an appropriate discussion.  But it is a problem, a huge problem, and one that’s going to require action from many different perspectives to solve.  Recruiting suicide bombers from the ranks of happily married fathers who need to put food on the table for their baby sons and daughters would be an exercise in futility.  But the very set up of many polygamous societies ensures there will never be a shortage of young alienated men without futures for extremist organizations to seduce.

LINKS:

Vancouver Sun: Polygamy represents ‘clear challenge’ to Canadian values, federal government says

The Guardian: Two thirds of UK terror suspects released without charge

Southern Ledger: UK terror probe arrests focus on South Asians