Polygamy in Sharon, MA!

Put down your cup of coffee for this one or you'll spew it all over the place. 

Miss Kelly was forwarded this letter, which was sent to the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE) Board of Directors last week.  I have of course removed all the names to protect peoples' privacy:   

Assallamu Alaykum Wa Rahmato Allahi Wa Barakatoh;

"My name is (Jane Doe).  I am a Muslim American Arab member of the community of New England, and I have contributed to the community in my ways in Sharon as well as  R.I."

"I believe its the duty of the Islamic center to watch out for their
community members and correct any misconduct  by the best available methods provided by the Imam of that center,I also strongly believe that as a Islamic Legitamate organization we as muslims have to bind by the rules and regulations of  the states of america."

"With that said I, (Jane Doe), report my complaint of the misconduct not only by my husband (John Doe) but also by Brother (Abdul Doe) reprensentative of Islamic center of Sharon,where through the authority given to brother (Abdul Doe) by the center of Sharon ,my husband (John Doe) was able to marry illegally and secretly and without my knowledge three american muslim women, and because of that my self and my children have suffered and still suffering tremendously,and because of the failure of the Islamic center as well the Imams to prevent such misconduct, I had no choice but to file for divorce, and demand through the court for my rights as well as my childrens,and for me to insure that, I will expose this misconduct to the court and media if I have to, I also hope through this letter that you will make sure that this victimizations doesn't happen to any other sisters."

"Thank you."

I don't know why I'm even surprised by this, as most Muslim religious "leaders" calmly assert that it is the right of a Muslim man to marry up to four wives.  Apparently, American laws against polygamy don't bother some religious leaders in the least little bit. 

A reminder to imams in Massachusetts: polygamy is against the law here for everybody, including Muslims.  According to my Muslim readers, it's also against Islamic law to take additional wives without obtaining the permission of the first wife.  So this Abdul Doe has just broken all sorts of laws. 

My questions:

1. What has the Administration of Islamic Center of New England done about it?
   I'm happy to provide space to Dr. Rashid Noor, President, ICNE, to let us know his position on the matter.
2. The complaint is with Dr. Rashid Noor of the ICNE. If the FBI, DOJ or local police are intererested, contact Dr. Noor.
3. Do you think this is the first or only case of an imam in Massachusetts performing polygamous marriages?  I'm guessing it's not. 
4. Have these polygamous marriages been conducted with the approval of the Board of Directors of the ICNE?  Aren't they supposed to stop polygamous marriages or report them to the civil authorities?
5. Why do you suppose some religious leaders don't think that they have to obey American laws that, as this woman pointed out, is incumbent upon all U.S. residents?
6. Is this going on at other mosques in Massachusetts too?  How many women and children in Massachusetts are suffering from their husbands going out and secretly - or openly - marrying other women?
7. What in God's name is wrong with these American Muslim women that they agree to be second and third wives?  Who raised or brainwashed these women to be door mats? 
8. Who is this imam of ICNE who is doing these four marriages?  There is a house still occupied by a former imam at ICNE Sharon.  Is this possibly the same Imam that is in this complaint?

Comments

[Azzam]

1.A crime was reported to Mr.Rashid Noor. He has not informed the authorities till this time.
2.This is the same board of directors who was telling the members, even in court affidavits that "all was well with the immigration papers of Imam Masood"
3.Inspite of all that is going on, Imam Masood is still occupying the House at Sharon Center and about $900 a month utilities are being paid by this board.
He is actively working for the next election of the Board of Directors so that he is not evicted. Why can't the members take action? They have relatives in Pakistan. His brother Hafiz Saeed, even with all the farce of Emergency in Pakistan, is allowed to roam around in the heart of Lahore with gun wielding guards in jeeps, in front and back. You need a license to carry a gun in Lahore. Even the Government is afraid of this man. How are the members going to speak?
4. Under the old Religious Director there was a system. All marriage applications were filed and record kept. But one day a Lady Director( who is trying to become a Muslim Chaplain at Tufts University) picked up all the record (other than marriage record) and took it to Sharon. Got a P.O.Box in Sharon, never informing the Secretary of State of the change of address. It is alleged that under the old Religious Director "hancky pancky" was not allowed.
5. It is alleged that a present Director even is remarried without producing a divorce certificate from a former wife. He is a big Houncho in other Islamic Organizations also. He was so mad at the Religious Director that he violated every rule to get rid of him and capture the official record of marriages.
6.We do not need an unmanned drone over North Waziristan. We need a drone over Sharon. What does the Attorney General have to say about this?
7.What do the ladies of the old Aafia Siddiqu halaqa group at Sharon have to say about this?
8.What does the Muslim Chaplain of Wellesley and her Hijab squad have to say about this? Silence?
Why? This answer later.
9.And if it is the same beloved of the Interfaith group then what does Rabi Starr have to say about this?

[dreamer]

The comment about fearing relatives in Pakistan means that we have here two characteristics of Islamic culture that will become more and more important as the immigration continues: intimidation and deception.

The immigration goes on. The Web site jihadwatch.org and other sources explain that Islam is not primarily a private religion, but a supremist social order, a political system that is not compatible with the norms of American democracy. Our accommodation of this social order is not an extension of American tolerance, but an extension of American ignorance about history and culture.

The immigration of Muslims is not like other immigrations, and it will do us harm, not necessarily in the next 2 weeks, but over a few decades. Stop it now.

[miss kelly]

Dreamer, I agree with much of what you say, but not all of it. I don't agree that stopping all Muslim immigration is a good idea. There are millions of Muslims who are wonderful American citizens and who contribute to the good of this country. If there were a reliable - and constitutional - way to separate out the Islamic supremacists from the immigrant pool, I'd be all for it. Certainly we should stop letting in people who hate Western society and seek to undermine it. Duh! The rub is how to do that.

[dreamer]

The children and grandchildren of the good Muslims may become more "religious"; and "religious" often means to take on the mainstream teachings. Those teachings are supremist, requiring that adherents work toward the advance of the umma (the muslim community, worldwide) and the weakening of the infidel.

The truth of these sentiments, when less than 1% of the population is Muslim, is less obvious than will be the case when millions more Muslims are here and are reinforcing the norms of Islam, from the disdain for other religions to the attacks on Muslims who stray from the code to the fatalism and lack of inquiry that are characteristic of the many Islamic states that (absent oil) are poor. We will see more intimidation and more deception in our political system.

It will be hard to stop Muslim immigration, just as it will be hard to stop immigration solely from terrorist-supporting regions (and someone will decide that immigrants from non-terrorist-supporting countries like Egypt are just perfectly okay). So... we will need to put draconian curbs on immigration of any kind.

People should be disturbed by our lack of understanding or of action.

[randian]

"Apparently, American laws against polygamy don't bother some religious leaders in the least little bit."

Why should they be bothered? Islam teaches that Islamic law is "higher" than "man made" (infidel) law. Obeying infidel law "oppresses" Muslims and it's the duty of every Muslim to fight such oppression.

[Martial Law]

No, true Muslims do not do that. They obey the law of the land.
When people went to Habsha (now Ethiopia) the Prophet(PBUH)told to obey the just ruler. So this continuous revolution business is part of a stealth ideology that does not walk in from the front door. What is happening is that this "stealth" is taking over unknown to people. You can't even find the denomination of a overtaken mosque in America now. Why?

[randian]

Indeed Muhammad commanded Muslims to obey the just ruler. You forgot (or more likely are engaged in taqiyya) to mention that no unbeliever can be a just ruler.

[miss kelly]

Please don't accuse every single Muslim commenter of taquiya! We are on the same side here.

[randian]

Where did I accuse every Muslim commenter of taqiyya? The only one I accused of that is "Martial Law", what with their patently fraudulent claim that "true Muslims" are commanded by Muhammad to obey the edicts of infidel rulers.

[Lynne]

I have often wondered why the illegal aspects of polygamy aren't investigated more vigorously by authorities. When I read this story, some questions came to mind:
1. How many 'extra' wives are officially registered with the state- and how? As dependents? As children?
2. Are the wives of legal age?
3. Are they legal residents or citizens? Or are they in the country illegally?
4. If they have children, are they signing up for benefits like welfare and food stamps as 'single mothers'? (This is a common scam in FLDS territory and regularly bilks taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands per poygamous family.)
Polygmay can never be self-supporting. No ordinary man can provide for the enormous families produced by multiple wives and children. Inevitably, the single and non-polygamous are exploited- usually by abuse of public monies. This is clearly seen in investigations of polygamous "mormon" cults in Utah and Arizona. (I did a piece on this recently. http://defsi.typepad.com/deafening_silence/2007/11/feeling-waziris.html)
I wish all the handwringing over the damage polygamy inflicts on women and children would lead somewhere, but maybe the most effective approach will prove to be the public money angle. Polygamy is a financial sinkhole for the state.