IslamicAnswers.com: Islamic Advice

asalamalaykum,

My name is Asiya, I converted to Islam 7 years ago, alhamdulillah, but within that time frame I have managed to get myself into a messy situation and I do not know how it should be interpreted Islamically.

After conversion I rushed into a marriage with an Algerian brother.  I married him somewhat unwillingly but wanted to please others who were pressuring me to accept.  We got married in Algeria and consumated it there.  Later, I returned to the US to file for his visa but there were too many problems and we decided to get a divorce before he had a chance to join me here in the US.

He had a conference call with my local imam and me and 3 witnesses and pronounced divorce 3 times as prescribed.  Later he informed me that he went to the courts and filed the paperwork.  Months later he said the divorce was finalized then he vanished.  I called my former in-laws to confirm and they also said it was final and the courts didnt send my paper because I was a foreigner so it was delayed...but not to worry because it was already final so I didnt have to worry about anything.  I fulfilled my iddat and later remarried to a new brother and have been married to him for almost 4 years since then.

This is where it gets confusing: I was recently contacted by the former brother and he said he never actually filed the paperwork and he wanted to go forth with it now.  He and his family lied to me for over 4 years about the divorce.  So I was legally married to 2 men at the same time!  Wallah I never would have done that if I had known.  Since I found out about it I have been denying my new husband sexual rights because I don't know if it is zina. The divorce is now finalized, or so he says, but I wont have proof of it for a couple months.  Was the phone conference sufficient for an Islamic divorce or do the courts in an islamic country have the final say in the matter?  Is my marriage to my new husband invalid?  Am I living in sin to stay with my new husband?  Please help me.  I need some Islamic advice, and the evidence to support it, so I can decide what to do and live in peace.

On another note, the first man never paid my mahr because I agreed to wait until he moved to the US. In addition, he never gave me any money to support me while married.  I worked and paid for my own requirements.  Now he is demanding that I pay for half of the divorce fees.  I don't have the money to pay it. Does he have a right to ask me for divorce fees?

Thanks.  Jazakallahu khayran

- Asiya