Bangladesh Islamist leader says ‘men can conceal truth to make wives happy’

Mamunul Haque, the Hifazat-e Islam leader who is at the centre of a controversy after being caught at a resort with a woman who he claims to be his second wife, now says that men can “conceal the truth on a limited scale if necessary to make their wives happy”.

He went live on Facebook to defend himself on Thursday afternoon, days after a leaked audio clip of his conversation with his “first” wife went viral on the internet.

Describing the leak as a breach of privacy, Mamunul threatened to take legal action against those involved with it and demanded an apology from them.

He said he was consulting legal experts on privacy laws to take action.

“I’ve married more than once. Sharia allows a Muslim man to wed four times. The law of the land also doesn’t restrict or discourage four marriages,” he argued.

He said only his family, including his wives, have the right to object to his polygamy, but they have not filed a complaint.

“It is my private decision to take how much I will reveal about my relations to which wife,” the radical Islamist leader.

“How I will manage which wife, what I will say to comfort them in what situation is also my personal business. Islamic Sharia has given full authority to individuals in this regard.

“It is [allowed] to conceal the truth on a limited scale, if necessary, to make a wife happy.

“Only the wife can have objections about it,” he remarked.         

Mamunul did not take phone calls for comments.