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Levenda

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About Levenda

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  • Biography
    Author of books on religion, mysticism, and history
  • Location
    Florida
  • Occupation
    Writer
  1. Greetings. To answer your question, several countries do have the same or similar requirements. I have lived in Malaysia and been a visitor to Indonesia on many occasions, and these countries do have separate laws for Muslims even though both countries claim freedom of religion (to various extents ... Indonesia may be a special case due to pancasila, but that is another matter). In the United States, Mormons were forced to abandon polygamy (or "multiple marriage") due to pressure from the US government; it still exists in some places in practice although the marriages in question are not legal, i.e., the first marriage may be a legally registered one, but the subsequent marriages are not. Similarly, in Malaysia a non-Muslim may not practice polygamy, etc. These laws, which seem strange and inconsistent to westerners, are actually quite common in those parts of the world where Islam is a major religion. It remains a question whether this is an example of Islam accommodating other religions, or other religions accommodating Islam. It pretty much depends on the majority religion of the country under discussion. It should not be an issue, except that the question of property comes up -- for instance, who satisfies legal requirements as the heir(s) of the deceased (as an example) as well as custody of children, etc. -- as well as other ancillary matters. If property and assets in general were not the issue, why would governments care if someone has multiple spouses? It is easy to confuse our religious beliefs with our political ones, I think, and the questions of polygamy and apostasy touch on the interface between them.
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