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Australian Court Rejects Muslim Man's Claim of Invalidity of Marriage

By Howard M. Friedman

The Family Court of Australia has handed down an interesting decision in Wold & Kleppir, ([2009] FamCA 178, Feb. 6, 2009), a case in which a husband defended against his wife's claim for a property settlement by asserting that the couple were never validly married. The court rejected husband's claim that he believed the ceremony performed by an Imam was merely one to convert to Islam the woman with whom he was living and with whom he had fathered two children. The court concluded that the husband "well knew it was a ceremony of marriage."

The court also rejected a a second argument made by husband. He claimed that the marriage is invalid because it is potentially polygamous, since any Muslim man in Australia can take up to 4 wives. The court accepted the argument by wife's counsel that this would lead to the absurd result of every Muslim marriage in Australia being invalid. Today's Australian reports on the decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on May 03, 2009 (boomark / email).