CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top Muslim cleric has stirred up controversy after saying that polygamy is an "injustice" for women, but stopped short of calling for a ban on the practice.
"Those who say that marriage must be polygamous are all wrong. We have to read the (Quranic) verse in full, said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar's Grand Imam.
He said that monogamy was the rule and polygamy a restricted exception. It is restricted in Islam and requires fairness and "if there is not fairness it is forbidden to have more than one wife," he said.
Al-Tayeb said the practice came from "a lack of understanding of the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet" and it is "often an injustice to women and children.