Old_Geezer - //But as I read it this is breaking Islamic laws/rules/traditions isn't it ? "Under Islamic tradition, the 49-year-old can have up to four wives – as long as he can support them financially." If folk are getting the State (i.e. everyone else) to support them then they, themselves, are not doing the supporting; and so they are not allowed to have them. //
I am guessing here, but I would suggest that, in common with all religious teaching, this edict can be stretched to permit almost all circumstances.
So, as long as the wives are 'being supported' - i.e. not starving, then the edict can turn a blind eye to exactly who is actually doing the supporting - that being the sort of minor detail that religious teachings for all faiths overlook so that people can suit themselves.