It’s good that there is any debate at all over this. “Cleric’s 2nd wife sparks polygamy debate,” by Sugita Katyal for Reuters, with thanks to James:
JAKARTA (Reuters) – A popular Indonesian Islamic cleric’s decision to take a second wife has sparked a fiery debate about polygamy laws in the world’s largest Muslim country where multiple marriages are only banned among civil servants.
The turban-clad but leather-jacketed Abdullah Gymnastiar’s announcement prompted the government to consider extending the ban to lawmakers, a move that sent many legislators leaping to the defense of polygamy arguing that it is allowed under Islam.
“If the government wants to regulate polygamy, it has to do it correctly because Islam allows polygamy with some strict conditions,” Ichwan Sam, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, an umbrella group of Muslim clerics, told Reuters.
“There should not be an impression that government regulations or laws are reducing religious teachings.”