Five days after her Islamic wedding, a woman identified as Jane received a text message that shattered her world: "I divorce you and have divorced you," it read. The message came from the man she had met on the Muslim marriage website Muzz just ten months earlier.
Jane, whose real name the BBC has chosen not to disclose, believed she was marrying a man named Adam from Manchester. Instead, she says she became entangled in what she describes as a "sham marriage" that left her feeling shocked and confused.
"It's very hard for me. I thought I was getting into a marriage and instead I got into my worst nightmare," she told the BBC. "It's just crazy. I don't understand why people do this kind of stuff for sex."
According to Jane, the couple spent six months communicating online and via video calls before meeting in person. She says their relationship seemed genuine, and when he proposed, she had no reason to doubt him. "He made me believe that he loved me and that he wanted to build a life with me," she said.
However, Jane later discovered that Adam's real name was different and that he was already married. Adam's lawyers have rejected her allegations in their entirety, stating that the claims are part of a sustained campaign against him, unsupported by evidence, and false. They also said he had not deceived Jane about his previous marriage because he had not mentioned it, and that he had not hidden his identity during the ceremony because he provided his driving licence.
On 2 June, Jane, a convert to Islam, traveled to Brierfield in Lancashire for a nikah, an Islamic marriage ceremony. Such ceremonies are not legally recognized as marriage in England and Wales unless accompanied by a civil marriage. Jane had wanted to marry in her home city of Glasgow, surrounded by friends and family, but her husband-to-be objected to a wedding in Scotland. She now sees this as a warning sign. "In Scotland, they asked for legal marriage and a nikah to be done at the same time," she explained. "He said 'Why do they need to see my ID? I mean, nikah is very simple and they don't need to see my ID at all'."
The ceremony took place in the presence of two imams who acted as witnesses, and the couple spent two nights at a hotel. Five days later, Jane received the divorce text.
Jane believes her experience amounted to emotional and sexual exploitation. The BBC understands that the man remains married to another woman, both legally and religiously.
The imam who conducted the ceremony, Mufti Adeel Zaman, said the marriage had been between two consenting adults who appeared happy and that he did not consider it his responsibility to ask further questions. "We are deeply saddened by the circumstances that have arisen," he told the BBC. "Our intention throughout has been to provide appropriate support and assistance while remaining fair to all parties and limiting our comments to matters of which we have direct knowledge." He acknowledged that mistakes had been made over checking identification but said he had helped uncover the true identity of the man Jane married.
The Lancashire Council of Mosques, which has been involved in mediation, said those conducting such ceremonies have a responsibility to carry out appropriate checks. Bilal Brown, founder of New Beginnings, a group supporting converts to Islam, said there are "charlatans" in the community who seek to deceive. He warned that rushed relationships or marriages where extended family are not involved are clear warning signs, and that converts can be particularly vulnerable.
Saima Afzal, a former assistant police and crime commissioner for Lancashire, highlighted the lack of legal recognition for Islamic marriages. "There is the nikah loophole that you hear about quite a lot around: 'Well, we can't do them for bigamy because nikah is not legally recognised in the UK'," she said. "Putting that to one side about nikah, let's look at the behaviours here. So you've got trickery, manipulation and ensnaring really a woman."
An independent review presented to Parliament in 2018 found that a significant number of Islamic marriages were not followed by civil marriages, leaving people without the protections associated with legally recognized marriages.
Police Scotland said no criminality had been established in Scotland. Greater Manchester Police confirmed it had been asked to investigate a complaint made by Jane.
Muzz said the man had been permanently blocked from its platform. Its chief executive, Shahzad Younas, said: "We ask users to declare if they are married (legally or otherwise). If they are we block them from the app during sign-up." He added that the company carries out email, telephone number, device and selfie validation as standard checks, while identity verification is optional.
Jane said she wants her case to help prevent other women from experiencing similar situations. "It's an issue in the community," she added. "If I can help any other vulnerable woman like I was, it's a win."
