In Islam, a man can contract and end a marriage with the greatest of ease, divorcing his wife just
by saying "I divorce you." This has given rise in the Shi'ite sect to "mutaa," the practice of temporary marriage, or "enjoyment marriage." A devout Muslim can have a one-night stand, marrying and divorcing the woman in the course of the evening, all perfectly sanctioned by his religion. This also allows for religiously-sanctioned prostitution, with men paying women for a marriage that may last less than an hour.
The Washington Post has a story about the practice. What is remarkable is the way such sexual immorality is justified--and how the reporter is being all so understanding in telling about it:
Shiite clerics and others who practice mutaa say such marriages are keeping young women from having unwed sex and widowed or divorced women from resorting to prostitution to make money. . . . . . . . . . . .
"It was designed as a humanitarian help for women," said Mahdi al-Shog, a Shiite cleric.
According to Shiite religious law, a mutaa relationship can last for a few minutes or several years. A man can have an unlimited number of mutaa wives and a permanent wife at the same time. A woman can have only one husband at a time, permanent or temporary. No written contract or official ceremony is required in a mutaa. When the time limit ends, the man and woman go their separate ways with none of the messiness of a regular divorce.
. . . . . . . .Most Shiites believe that the prophet Muhammad encouraged the practice as a way to give widows an income. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, has sanctioned it and offers advice on his Web site.
To their credit, this practice is one reason Sunni Muslims abominate the Shi'ites. But perhaps we can retire the assumption that Islam, for all of its legalism, is necessarily moral.
s legalism, is necessarily moral.
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