Myanmar Muslims at prayer

Muslims, according to the dictates of Islam can marry up to four wives, if they can love them equally.

In Myanmar, a  Muslim man, living true to his faith,  is facing a possible jail term for allegedly living with a woman while he was still married to someone else, authorities said on Friday.

Police in Ayeyaewady Division has charged 37-year-old masonry worker Myint Soe Aung under a contentious new law called the Monogamy Law.

Local official Myo Min Zaw said on Wednesday the man and the Buddhist woman were found to have stayed in a house for three days without notifying the authorities.

The development led the local Committee on Race and Religion to file a complaint last week.

“At first he denied it, but later he confessed, and we reported him to police,” Myo was quoted as saying.

Police said the case, the first of its kind, would come to court on Sept. 29.

The Monogamy Law was one of four bills governing aspects of race and religion in Myanmar drafted under pressure from hard-line Buddhist monks, and signed into law in July.

A maximum seven-year jail sentence can be given to anyone convicted of having more than one spouse.

In Islam, men are generally allowed to have more than one wife, however, the practice is not common in Myanmar.