On January 14, 2019 The Fifth Estate, the Premier Investigative Documentary Program of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) exposed that some Canadian “imams are willing to perform marriages for men who already have a wife, and many of these second marriages likely go unregistered.”
CBC reported that “several Muslim women fed up with polygamous men in their community pointed us in the direction of Imam Aly Hindy of the Salaheddin Islamic Center in Toronto.”
Here is the transcript of the conversation between CBC’s undercover reporter and Imam Aly Hindy:
Undercover reporter: So Sheikh I’ve decided to have a marriage again, to take a second wife.
Aly Hindy: Okay. Do you have the wife?
Undercover reporter: I’m married, yes.
Aly Hindy: No, but you found a second wife?
Undercover reporter: Yes.
[…]
Aly Hindy: Okay, sure.
Undercover reporter: Okay, so, what do I need to do?
Aly Hindy: You have to have two witnesses.
[…]
Undercover reporter: Okay. Can you provide the witnesses?
Aly Hindy: Oh yeah, sure. You have to pay her some dowry.
Undercover reporter: Yes. We’ll agree to that.
[…]
Undercover reporter: Okay, there will be like a contract?
Aly Hindy: Oh, yeah.
Undercover reporter: You will write that up for me?
Aly Hindy: Yeah, yeah I have a contract.
[…]
Aly Hindy: I have a contract like this.
Undercover reporter: Yeah, okay.
Aly Hindy: I will have the original with you.
Yeah, that’s perfect.
Aly Hindy: I’ll have a copy with me.
[…]
Aly Hindy: We have no problem with the government because this is Nikah. No problem. We are not going to register. If you register then it is illegal, because you are already married.
https://youtu.be/Y2d7gez5Tk4?t=568
Here is the transcript of the conversation between CBC’s investigative journalist who confronted Imam Aly Hindy with hidden camera video:
Aly Hindy: What is the problem?
CBC: You said what is the problem?
Aly Hindy: Eh?
CBC: Imam, that’s illegal.
Aly Hindy: So, sue me. Let them sue me and the we will go to the Supreme Court and we’ll see who is going to win.
[…]
CBC: Are you aware that the Justice Department says whether it is a Nikah or a marriage done in the City Hall under the law if a person is already married that is illegal.
[…]
Aly Hindy: This [was] happening thousands years ago and continue to happen. This case will happen all the time. You cannot prevent it.
[…]
Aly Hindy: We have a problem and eventually, eventually, the society will recognize that.
[…]
Aly Hindy: There is not enough men for each women. There is not enough men for each women.So many women will not be able to get married, because [there are] not enough men. Why not? Because men die in war.
[…]
Aly Hindy: Men die [at] early [younger age], [there are] more boys than girls. You also lost some number of men for homosexual marriage. So those people will not reproduce any children.
CBC: So Imam, you may not agree with the law, but that is the law of Canada.
Aly Hindy: The law has to change. I’m telling you, because [interrupted]
CBC: But the law doesn’t change by just choosing not to respect the law, right?
Aly Hindy: Okay. The law is a law [that] cannot be enforced.