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Journal of The American Oriental Society
Volume 99/Number 1/January-March 1979

Polygamy And The Druze Family In Israel *

By: AHARON LAYISH
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The ban on polygamy seems to have been transmitted to the Druzes by the Isma'iliyya along with some dogmatic-theological inspiration; it subjects the offender to a religious-ethical sanction reinforced by a social one. Lebanese legislation, which has been adopted by the Israeli Druzes, goes further by negating the validity of the polygamous marriage. Israel prohibits polygamy by criminal legislation. There is evidence of polygamy subsisting among the Druzes though on a very small scale. The qadis' approach to polygamy reflects an ongoing, probably unconscious, synthesis of the religious and secular norms. It seems that they wish to use the secular (Lebanese and Israeli) legislation to buttress the religious norm.

* The article is based on a study of the Druze family in Israel written under the auspices of the Middle East Research Unit of the Harry S. Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The sources of the study are the judgments of the Druze Religious Courts in Israel and on the Golan Heights, of non-statutory Druze committees on matters of personal status and waqf and of the Muslim Shari'a Court of Acre, as well as registers of Druze marriage contracts of selected years. In preparing the study, the author was greatly assisted by the members of the Spiritual Leadership of the Druze Community in Israel: Shaykh Amin Tarif, Shaykh Ahmad Khayr and Shaykh Kamal Mu'adr, who also serve as ex -officio as members of the Druze Religious Court of Appeal; the qadis of the Druze Religious Court in Israel: Shaykh Labib Abu Rukn and Shaykh Nur al-Din al-Halabi; the qadis of the Druze Religious Court on the Golan Heights: Shaykh Nayif Fandr Abu -Salih and Shaykh Muhammad' Ali Farhat; the Director of the Druze Religious Courts, Advocate Zaki Kamal and the Director of the Druze Division of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Dr. Nissim Dana. To ail these and many others the author tenders his sincerest thanks.