Woman says husband misled her before ending Islamic marriage after five days

The woman, called Jane by the BBC to protect her identity, said she met the man on the Muslim marriage website Muzz. They spoke online and on video calls for six months before meeting in person.

She said she believed he wanted to build a life with her. They had a nikah, an Islamic marriage ceremony, in Brierfield, Lancashire, on 2 June. Five days later, he sent her a message saying: “I divorce you and have divorced you.”

Jane told the BBC she later discovered that the man had a different name and was already married. She described her experience as emotional and sexual exploitation.

His lawyers said he rejected her allegations in full, calling them false and unsupported by evidence. They said he had not deceived Jane about his previous marriage because he had not mentioned it, and that he had provided his driving licence at the ceremony.

The imam who conducted the ceremony, Mufti Adeel Zaman, acknowledged that mistakes had been made in checking identification, the BBC reported. He said he had helped establish the man’s true identity and that the ceremony had been between two consenting adults who appeared happy. The BBC said it had seen Jane’s Islamic marriage certificate, which contained missing and incorrect details.

A nikah on its own is not recognised as a legal marriage in England and Wales. A 2018 independent review presented to Parliament found that a significant number of Islamic marriages were not followed by civil marriages, leaving people without the protections of a legally recognised marriage.

Police Scotland told the BBC that no criminality had been established in Scotland. Greater Manchester Police confirmed it had been asked to investigate a complaint from Jane.

Muzz said it had permanently blocked the man from its platform. Its chief executive, Shahzad Younas, said users were asked to declare whether they were married and that identity verification was optional, with profiles showing which checks had been completed.