The Council of Ulema of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (SAM) decided to revoke the fatwa (religious ruling) that permitted religious polygamy, RBC reports.
Its chairman, Shamil Alyautdinov, announced on his Telegram channel that the decision was made in light of the Prosecutor General's Office's call to annul the fatwa and the "reaction of Russian society."
"The Council of Ulema of SAM of Russia sees no reason to engage in a polemic," Alyautdinov stated.
Earlier, the SAM had claimed that the fatwa did not contradict Russian legislation.
On December 19, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) announced the adoption of a fatwa allowing Muslim men in Russia to have up to four wives under specific conditions. These conditions included the wife being unable to have children due to health reasons, reaching the end of reproductive age, or other objective factors such as sexual incompatibility or refusal to have children. All wives were required to be informed about the existence of other spouses. If this condition was not met, a woman could demand a divorce.
The grand mufti and chairman of the administration, Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, explained that the primary aim of the fatwa was to protect women and children in religious polygamous marriages. He emphasized that the document did not interfere with civil legislation, as it addressed exclusively religious relationships.
According to Article 14 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, marriage registration is prohibited if either party is already in an officially registered marriage. Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ulema,
Moscow mufti Ildar Alyautdinov, clarified in a statement that the fatwa did not violate this provision, as it did not concern formal marriage registration but only factual marital relationships within a religious framework.
However, on December 23, the Prosecutor General's Office sent a submission to the chairman of the SAM. According to an Interfax source, this was due to the fatwa being inconsistent with current legislation and state family policy, which aims to preserve traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.
