Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 98
98 islam’s response to contemporary issues young widows, and the balance of male and female population is severely disturbed. A similar situation prevailed in Germany after the Second World War. Islam not being the predominant religion of Germany, Germany was left with no solution for the problem. The strictly monogamous teaching of Christianity could offer no relief. As such, the people of Germany had to suffer the consequence of these imbalances. There were a large number of virgins, dejected spinsters and young widows for whom it was impossible to get married. Germany was not the only country in the vast continent of Europe to experience such social problems of extremely dangerous and gigantic proportions. It was too great a challenge for the post-war Western society to stem the tide and check the growth of moral degradation and promiscuity, which so naturally and exuberantly thrived on the prevailing imbalances. As can be plainly seen by every unbiased person, the only answer to all such problematic disturbances is to permit men to marry more than once. This is not proposed as a solution to satiate their sensual desires but to meet the genuine requirements of a large number of women. If this very logical and realistic solution is rejected, the only alternative left for society is to rapidly degenerate into a growingly corrupt and permissive society. Alas! That seems to have been the option taken by the West. When you re-examine more realistically and unemotionally the two attitudes, you cannot fail to notice that it is not a question of equality between men and women but it is simply a choice between responsibility and irresponsibility. Islam only permits marriage more than once with the proviso that men accept the challenge of such difficult and specific situations with