It is no surprise that an imam would be involved in this. Shi’ites justify temporary marriage, mutah, by their reading of Qur’an 4:24: “And all married women except those whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful to you are all beyond those mentioned, so that you may seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those whom you enjoy, give them their shares as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what you do by mutual agreement after the duty. Indeed, Allah is ever-knower, wise.”
While Sunnis ostensibly reject this practice, it is rising among Saudis and in Egypt.
“The Hague mosque wanted to cooperate with short-term marriages for sex and money,” translated from “’Haagse moskee wilde meewerken aan kortstondig uithuwelijken voor seks en geld,’” De Telegraaf, May 24, 2022:
THE HAGUE – A mosque in The Hague wanted to participate in so-called “pleasure marriages.” Women are married off for a short period of time for sex and money.
This is apparent from a Swedish documentary by research program Uppdrag Granskning. The episode is mainly about Swedish mosques that would participate in this on a large scale. A man and a woman marry for a few hours, days or months and then have sex for money. Once the time is up, the marriage is dissolved again.
According to RTL Nieuws, many women are forced to participate in this form of prostitution, for example if they are in need of money. In principle, this is not illegal, but there would regularly be talk of coercion. The documentary features an example of an imam in a local mosque in Sweden who initiated the affair. A woman who anonymously tells her story to the program tells how she presented herself to the mosque with financial problems and was then offered to marry a strange man for a while.
The test was put to the test by having two Arabic-speaking employees call several Shia mosques. The man pretended to be looking for a pleasure marriage and the woman pretended to be a lady with money worries. Then you can see and hear how the imams on the phone propose the pleasure marriage.
A mosque in The Hague is also part of the investigation. When the woman also contacted them and pretended to have money problems, the pleasure marriage was proposed. “I have a suggestion. What do you think of me?” said the imam. He then offered her 1200 euros for a marriage for a month, he wanted her for himself.
Muhsin Köktas, chairman of the Contact Body Muslims and Government (CMO) tells RTL Nieuws that this situation is “very worrying.” The form of marriage only occurs among Shia Muslims, says Köktas. I am surprised that this is happening in Europe, and especially in the Netherlands.” He also says “that an imam and mosque are involved in this exploitation is unacceptable to us as a CMO. We urgently ask those involved to stop this immediately and to combat any form of exploitation on religious grounds.”
The Hague mosque falls under the Alcauther foundation. He was unavailable for comment at this time.
