One in 10 Malay Muslims practice bigamy

Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia — About one in 10 Malaysian Muslim men have more than one wife, according to a survey published Aug. 7 in the New Sunday Times newspaper in Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia. Five percent of the 7,589 married Muslim men polled have two wives, 4.3 percent have three and less than 1 percent have four — the maximum allowed under Islamic law, according to Associated Press (AP) reports of survey results. Under Islamic law, Muslim men are allowed to have up to four wives but they need permission from their existing spouses before they can marry again, the AP said. Islam is the official religion in Malaysia and more than half of the country’s 26 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims.