The likely explanation for this is that female genital mutilation has justification in Islamic law.
This story repeats the usual establishment media line: “People in countries where FGM is still common attempt to link it to religion, but the practice has nothing to do with any faith and predates both Christianity and Islam. It has also been denounced by religious leaders worldwide.”
That is only partially true, at best.
Yes, “people in countries where FGM is still common attempt to link it to religion”: “It is a religious thing. Do you want to change religion?” said one Egyptian in response to a campaign to eradicate female genital mutilation. “You only listen to what the West is saying.”
However, StepFeed, like all the rest of the establishment media, ignores the fact that actually FGM is mandated in Islamic law: “Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — Umdat al-Salik e4.3, translated by Mark Durie, The Third Choice, p. 64
Why is it obligatory? Because Muhammad is held to have said so: “Abu al- Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75
“Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251
That hadith is classified as weak, but this one is classified as sahih (reliable): “Aishah narrated: ‘When the circumcised meets the circumcised, then indeed Ghusl is required. Myself and Allah’s Messenger did that, so we performed Ghusl.’” — Jami` at-Tirmidhi 108
If Muhammad had the genitals of his favorite wife, Aisha, mutilated, that is a strong endorsement of the practice from the man who is an “excellent example” (Qur’an 33:21) for Muslims.
Why does it matter whether or not FGM is Islamic? Because the practice will never be eradicated if its root causes are not confronted. As long as those Muslims continue to believe that Allah and Muhammad want it done, for some that will override all other considerations.
“Women approve of FGM more than men in Egypt, survey reveals,” by Leyal Khalife, StepFeed, March 20, 2020:
Female genital mutilation (FGM), which is defined as a “partial or total removal of external genitalia, or any other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons” by the World Health Organization (WHO), is extremely common in Egypt.
According to a 2014 survey, 92 percent of Egyptian women aged between 15 and 49 have been circumcised. The procedure – which has killed young girls in Egypt – can lead to worrisome side effects including severe physical pain, bleeding, and the risk of wound infections. The practice has also been revealed to cause a delay in women’s sexual response cycle.
Yet, people in Egypt don’t seem to be concerned over the practice nor do they seem to acknowledge its effects. In a recently conducted survey by research firm Arab Barometer, around 2,400 citizens in Egypt and Iraq each were asked if they generally approve of female circumcision. As it has been explained by Arab Barometer, the participants who took part in the survey were asked about the topic in a less direct way. FGM appeared in a list of options of taboo subjects that respondents were asked to choose from.
The survey revealed that the number of individuals who “approve” of female circumcision in Egypt totaled 32 percent, more than double of those in Iraq (13 percent).
The horrific practice is illegal yet common in the country. Those who engage in the procedure – or enforce it on their daughters – claim that it “protects” a girl’s purity because it can “diminish sexual pleasure.”
The country first outlawed FGM in 2008 and further deemed it a felony in 2016 following the case of a 17-year-old teen who bled to death after undergoing the procedure. Before the law was updated, the practice was classified as a misdemeanor and carried a penalty of three months to a maximum of three years in prison. However, stricter laws aimed at curbing the phenomenon haven’t stopped some parents from trying to find other ways to have it administered. Just last month, a 12-year-old girl died during the operation. The deceased victim, Nada Hassan Abdel-Maqsoud, was taken to a retired doctor who performed the surgery on her in a private clinic located in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut. Her parents, uncle, and aunt accompanied her to the medical center where she later died of “surgery complications.” Her family members have since been arrested.
Despite all measures taken by the government, Egypt continues to register one of the highest FGM rates in the world. According to a 2016 survey by UNICEF, “87 percent of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49” have been genitally cut….
According to the survey, the percentage of individuals who reported approval of FGM was higher among females (51 percent) and lower among males (14 percent).
You would think that women would support the protection of other women – and their daughters – from such a vile procedure but it seems as though the concept of “female pleasure” is still very much a taboo topic in the country as is the case in many other Arab countries. The protection of “family honor” seems to be more important than guarding a woman’s agency and bodily choices….
It’s so bad that one Egyptian lawmaker, Elhamy Agina, once claimed that Egyptian men are “sexually weak” and that women needed the procedure to reduce their “sexual appetite.”…
It is also estimated that 3 million girls are at risk of FGM every year, with the majority being under 15 years of age. People in countries where FGM is still common attempt to link it to religion, but the practice has nothing to do with any faith and predates both Christianity and Islam. It has also been denounced by religious leaders worldwide.
Dude says
They should cut off men’s appendages too so they won’t be so nuts about sex (i.e. rape).
Quazgaa says
Ballz as well..
mortimer says
Look, Dude, your remarks are reprehensible. ‘Cut off’ your stream of consciousness … except with your psychiatrist. Therapy will help you deal with your rage.
Dude says
Mortie, I cannot fathom the source of your delusions of superiority. DUH. A silly mundane egocentric headcase cannot possibly understand my words. Just accept that, and walk on.
garylthmp says
I believe that’s actually part of the nature of the two-edged sword of the gospel in the Bible: the righteous are circumcised, the wicked are castrated; the righteous are baptized, while the wicked are drowned (Noah’s flood, Pharaoh’s chariots pursuing Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea, the Canaanites overwhelmed by the Kishon’s flood before Deborah and Barak, etc.)
Anjuli Pandavar says
“According to the survey, the percentage of individuals who reported approval of FGM was higher among females (51 percent) and lower among males (14 percent).”
—
Can we discount simple spite? I’ve had my pleasure taken away and I don’t see why you should get to keep yours.
gravenimage says
From what I have read, this also seems to be a factor, Anjuli.
God, I hate Islam.
william carr says
FGM is intended to dull women;s sexual urges, however as is frequently made obvious. Islam dulls the intellectual abilities of its followers. If there is an omniscient ‘god’ he/she would surely have arrange that his ‘creations’ were equipped as he wishes in the first place. Cutting bits off people would not then be necessary
william carr says
typo ‘arranged’
Paul Freeman says
It may also be that supporting the practice is the way these unfortunate women cope with the damage done to themselves. The alternative, to condemn it, would be to acknowledge its utter senselessness. For many, if they can believe it’s good thing, it’s far easier to live with the trauma.
revereridesagain says
I think that plays a large part. Few of these women dare to defy their husbands or the thugs who enforce their religion’s rules. Most of them can’t escape or don’t have the courage to try or the individuality to question Islam. Their lives have been about all they can expect as a Muslim wife, and few can see a different fate for their daughters or even realize how much better a life that could be.
mortimer says
The Muslim women are insisting that their daughters get sliced. It’s the family tradition.
Terry Gain says
Nobody is going to believe this but I am confused. As I read the fact sheet 13 % of Iraqis approve of FGM. Of that 13%, the fact sheet seems to state that 14% are male and 51% or female. So what gender are the other 35%? Transgendered? Zombie? Or are they members of some of the other 57 genders? It is of the utmost importance for me to know how these Iraqis self- identify.
On a more optimistic note I see that only 1% of university educated Iraqis approve this horrific practice.
CogitoErgoSum says
So it’s another short-cut way of getting into Paradise? Seems like nothing more than a cheat for people lacking in willpower or faith in God. Yes, I know Jesus did say that if your hand causes you to sin you should cut it off but would it not be better to exert control over your hand? Jesus was most certainly not saying you should cut off your hand before you have a chance to sin. And why would enjoying sex with your husband be sinful anyway? An intelligent person would understand that female circumcision should be very rarely used, if at all, and would only be a last resort for an adult who lacks any ability whatsoever to control themself and it is definitely NOT something parents should be forcing upon their little girl anymore than they should be cutting off the hands of their daughters to preempt them from sinning. If anyone needs further proof that Islam and intelligence do not go together, female circumcision is it.
revereridesagain says
Enjoying sex with the husband is not the point. What the husbands worry about is her enjoying it with somebody else. The value of a woman enjoying sex for any reason is not held high in Western religion generally, though there was that period when it was believed that orgasm was necessary for conception which gave rise to many an interesting sermon by Puritan preachers (here in New England, anyway) wishing to encourage fertility.
Every now and then I get reminded of these obscure sayings by the gentle meek and mild Lord Jesus. It’s always a bit startling.
CogitoErgoSum says
It is startling but Jesus wanted to be startling sometimes to shock people into believing that Hell could be many times worse than what could happen to us here on Earth. Yes, cutting off your hand or plucking out your eye is really bad but not as bad as going to Hell … so make sure you avoid that. I have little doubt that back in New Testament times most people did not take Hell very seriously just as most people still don’t and Jesus wanted to impress on people just how bad a place it can be. I’m sure He does not want people physically harming themselves any more than He wants to be sending people to Hell on Judgment Day and that’s why he talked more about being meek, mild and kind to others and His startling words about self-mutilation were meant to jolt us into seeing that by respecting God and avoiding sin we are also respecting ourselves. Just my opinion.
somehistory says
Absolutely right. Jesus Christ came to “heal” mankind, to give “life in abundance.” Sometimes, He spoke in hyperbole to gain the attention of all in His audience and to have the rest of us read in this time since He spoke.
Jesus never meant to suggest that one literally cut off a hand or gouge out an eye in order to avoid the Judgment that is to come on willful sinners. God’s Holy Spirit promotes “self-control” as well. So, Jesus was telling us to “control” what we do, what we look at, what we think, etc.
And Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as you so love yourself.” Cutting of hands and gouging of eyes is not a loving thing, so we can understand that He was speaking figuratively, not literally.
Carolyne says
It seems to me that Jesus didn’t understand that the hand, in itself, is not an independent appendage but that it acted on its own. In which case, if he understood that he would have directed that one cut off one’s head.
gravenimage says
Carolyne, Jesus often used symbols and spoke in parables. That there has never been a rash of guilt-stricken Christians cutting off their hands shows this is the case here.
CogitoErgoSum says
Carolyn, if Jesus thought that was the best way to solve the problem he would have directed his followers to help out by cutting off the heads of others — as Muhammad did. But no, Jesus didn’t say anything like that and so we don’t have Christians going around cutting off the heads of people. However, with Muslims on the other hand ……..
David says
Did you mean FGM was a short-cut way?
CogitoErgoSum says
Yeah, but not at first. I thought about changing my wording but then decided to go with it anyway.
Wellington says
Respecting FGM, it constitutes just one more thing Mohammed got wrong.
Mohammed got a shitload of things wrong. There is no earthly reason to think of Mohammed positively. Anyone who does is deficient and only the magnitude and nature of the deficiency can be matters of debate. But admiring Mohammed should be beyond debate, just as admiring Adolf Hitler should be, must be.
Terry Gain says
Wellington
I love your eloquent and factual comment from which it can be reasonably concluded that Islam may be a lot of things but it is clearly not a religion. I couldn’t have said it better.
gravenimage says
Terry, you are quite aware that this is not what Wellington was saying. You are entitled to your own views–you do not need to pretend that others are saying the same thing.
mortimer says
Unstudied pontificating is harmful, Terry. Islam calls itself a ‘DIN’.
Studying Islam is hard work, Terry. Bigoted, unstudied spontaneity is what we condemn in the mullahs. You are guilty of the same thing.
No one can force you to educate yourself if you are so determined to be rash and ignorant.
Muslims use ‘deen’ to mean ‘religion’ in English, but it means more than that.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEEN AND RELIGION?
Natalie Smolenski, BA, Middle Eastern Studies; MA, Anthropology and History
Answered Oct 7, 2015 · Author has 1.3k answers and 1.7m answer views
This is a good question and one that scholars have discussed and debated for generations. Here’s my view: The Arabic word “din” is etymologically connected, through its roots d-y-n, to the word for “debt.” There is an implication, then, that din signifies the source of your provision and fortune and an obligation toward that source–again likely connected to the Islamic notion of God as the source of “rizq,” literally fortune (in both a material and a moral sense). Debt also implies servitude. Thus a common name for both pre-Islamic and Islamic Arab devotees of particular gods was “slave of (God/god)” (i.e. Abdallah).
Religion, on the other hand, comes from the Latin root which is connected to the verb ligo, which means to tie or bind. Religere therefore means to “re-bind,” thus religious practice is one which binds us again and again both to gods and to other people. This may also imply relations of debt and servitude.
Much has been made, particularly in theological polemics, about the supposedly vast differences between “religion” and “din.” In reality, they are not that different. They hearken to human economies of sociality founded on sacred obligation, ritual and moral, which were believed to be inextricably tied to human social hierarchies (relations between men and women, parents and children, rulers and ruled, etc.) and human material prosperity (rain, crops, game or livestock, sex, children, peace and war, civilization, etc.).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
A good definition of ‘deen’ from Urban Dictionary:
There are several meanings of Deen. One meaning is honour, government, empire, monarchy and rulership. The second meaning is quite opposite to it, i.e. subordination, obedience, slavery, servitude and subjection. Third meaning is to account, to give judgment, and dispense reward and punishment of actions. The word Deen has been used in the Qur’an in all these three meanings.
“Deen with Allah is al-Islam” and
“And whoso seeketh as Deen other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him.”
gravenimage says
Mortimer, I don’t agree with Terry Gain that Islam is not a religion, as I have said here many times. Islam is indeed a religion by any mainstream definition.
But neither do I believe that he is being bigoted, rash, or ignorant. He is actually quite knowledgeable about Islam.
Carolyne says
Certainly if one married one’s first cousin the resulting offspring will not be geniuses. Multiply this by several centuries of this practice and what do you get?
Terry Gain says
The English Royal Family?
Terry Gain says
Comment removed
Giacomo Latta says
I am waiting for the day when a survey asks the man/woman in the street: what is your definition of the word ”religion?” My guess is the majority view, in the West, at least, and certainly among non-muslims, is that a religion is an attitude that encourages all to respect each other in order for us to all get along without killing or maiming each other unnecessarily.
To define Islam as a religion would be a total gut-buster if it weren’t for all the violent activity by muslims in the name of Islam. Furthermore, we have all sorts of laws that prohibit discrimination against those of another religion. At the time (pre-2001) few people had ever heard of Islam let alone knew what visitors to this website know. Now we have human-rights laws that allow FGM, wife-thumping, the killing and hatred of non-muslims, etc. Now only other laws that contradict the HR laws are there to somewhat preserve us. What a wonderful world we have created for ourselves!
DHazard says
If these figures are correct than I’m pretty sure we can link support for FGM from women who have been FGMed is mostly a case of “My sex life was ruined so I’m not going to let some pretty little 12 year old escape her due punishment”. Or, more broadly, it’s another way Islam hijacks minds and hearts to the extent that a practitioner actually wishes ill will to others just out of spite, and still gets the nod from Allah.
tim gallagher says
I suspect that the bizarre attitude of the Muslim women, as indicated in the survey, is, as other commenters have pointed out, because they have had their ability to enjoy sex destroyed, so they aren’t going to let other women enjoy sex at all. They would be bitter types of people. But I guess it also shows how brainwashing people with the vile content of Islam works very well. Islam certainly fills its followers minds with all types of twisted, sick content. That Muhammad (if the evil creep ever actually did exist at all) was a very sick human being, his appalling attitude towards women and girls being just one aspect of his sick attitude to pretty much every aspect of human life. Islam has turned so many people into twisted, sick monsters.
gravenimage says
This was the case with Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her sister. Her father was–by Somali Islamic standards, anyway–fairly civilized, and wanted them spared FGM, which is close to universal in Somalia. It was her grandmother who arranged to have the girls mutilated when her father was away on business.
Her sister was severely damaged by the mutilation–more even than usual–and suffered from pain and complications for the rest of her short life.
James Lincoln says
Very sad story, gravenimage…
tim gallagher says
gravenimage, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her sister (who I hadn’t heard about before) and millions of other girls and women have had their lives pretty much destroyed by Islam, there’s no doubt about that. Islam, in so many areas of human life, has brought so much misery to humanity. I find the people in Somalia and other areas where this FGM is considered to be acceptable disgusting. How bent and twisted do people’s minds have to be to find this type of behaviour acceptable? Beyond barbaric. At least there’s a bit of a happy ending in that Ayaan Hirsi Ali has managed to escape Islam, although I think she needs security all the time to prevent the Muslim scum killing her.
gravenimage says
Yes–the story is in Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s book “Infidel”. Harrowing, but well worth reading.
gravenimage says
Egypt: Survey shows that women approve of female genital mutilation more than men do
………………….
More proof that Muslim women can be as brutal as the men.
More:
According to a 2014 survey, 92 percent of Egyptian women aged between 15 and 49 have been circumcised.
………………….
Note that this figure almost exactly corresponds to the percentage of the Egyptian population that is Muslim–the Christian population is usually estimated to be between 8 and 10% of the population there.
drljr says
Just as a note, any place the word “allah” is read replace it with “the god”. The Arabic word “allah” is a contraction of the Arabic phrase “al” “ilah” or “the god”. The god of Islam is the god Hubal, who is associated with the moon and is the chief god of a pantheon of around 360 gods and goddesses. The Arabic word “allah” was used to reference Hubal. Islam has no relationship to Christianity or Judaism.
somehistory says
Misery…in the case of moslims…lusts for company. (moslims don’t “love” anything or anyone).
Jealousy. ‘If I lost mine, if I suffer pain and disfigurement, if I remember the feelings while it was being perpetrated on me, why should any other have it better?’
Because moslims don’t know love. Not even a “mother’s love,” exists in islam. Lust, hate, arrogance, jealousy, spite, anger, all combine in the hearts and minds of those raised on islam to destroy anything normal, natural, good and virtuous.
What else can be expected from something satan the devil spawned?
mortimer says
somehistory, I studied historiography. You cannot prove that Islam comes from ‘The Devil’, but you can show that it is unscientific and harmful to women.
David says
mortimer, wherever islam comes from, the end result is misery for all concerned. Who cares if Allah is Satan? His attitude certainly indicates that, if either exists. Evil can be seen to be the result.
Liz says
Mortimer, What about Mohammad believing he was visited by a demon prior to his wife convincing him he was a prophet and the demon was ‘Gabriel’? The fact that he was having a physical reaction that lead him to become suicidal after each visit sure sounds like a satanic visit, isn’t this good evidence?
Terry Gain says
Mortimer
My first reply to you contained an unintended repetition of your attack and my defence, so it was kindly removed at my my request. Since you have much to learn about argument I am re-posting it with necessary amendments.
………….
Mortimer
Unstudied pontificating is harmful, Terry. Islam calls itself a ‘DIN’.
Studying Islam is hard work, Terry. Bigoted, unstudied spontaneity is what we condemn in the mullahs. You are guilty of the same thing.
No one can force you to educate yourself if you are so determined to be rash and ignorant.
Muslims use ‘deen’ to mean ‘religion’ in English, but it means more than that.
………………………
Nastiness is never helpful. I have not harmed anyone.
Conceding that Islam is a religion is harmful. Your knowledge of Islam is acknowledged, but you are obviously lacking an ability to argue effectively. If I had your knowledge of Islam I would put it to better use.
What have I said that is bigoted? Referring to someone as a bigot just because his ideas about solving this Intractable threat is different from your is vicious, dishonest and dishonourable. In this context it is really no better than calling someone an Islamophobe. I would have thought that it would be beneath someone like you.
There was no need to get so personal. Engaging in this vicious name-calling, which is completely unwarranted, in order to puff up oneself is rather sad. Your expertise with respect to Islamic doctrine is acknowledged.
You have no history of expertise in persuasion. I do. My strengths are kindness, logic and humour. I have helped people my whole life. Muslims who discover the truth about their “religion” (or if you will their “cult” as the estimable Wellington calls it) but still want to believe in God logically have nowhere else to turn but atheism given the concession of the world’s largest religion, Christianity, that Islam is a religion.
Americans generally have great respect for religion. It is bred in the nation’s bones, Most Americans believe that religion is benign. Conceding that Islam is a religion makes it very difficult to persuade people that Islam is not benign. Notwithstanding your deep knowledge of Islam you are fighting it with one arm tied behind your back.
This exchange reminds me of the media’s attack upon President Trump for his disagreement with Dr. Fauci concerning whether hydroxychloroquine should be used, as a last resort, to treat those suffering from C-19 which precedes swiftly from onset to death.
In an approach very similar to yours Dr. Fauci initially stated that hydroxychloroquine should not be used until it has been subjected to clinical trials (which will take months and months during which the death toll will mount.) President Trump respectfully disagreed. He pointed out with impeccable logic that HCQ has been used to treat malaria for decades with very few side effects, so he borrowed his sound advice to the black people of America living in poverty on the Democrat party plantation “what have you got to lose”.
The media immediately pounced but it only took a couple of days for President Trump’s impeccable logic to overcome Dr. Fauci’s bureaucratic rigidity and Dr. Fauci changed his mind. Please do not pounce and accuse me of saying that I am a very stable genius.
I read Edward DeBono 40 years ago. You need to try thinking outside the box. You are most welcome.
I apologize to everyone for this personal exchange with Mortimer. The site should not be used for this purpose. I rely upon the defensive necessity.
Terry Gain says
Oh shoot. Obviously I meant the defence of necessity. And I was doing so good up to that point. Some will enjoy the Freudian slip.I did.
Naildriver says
Well presented retort to often tiresome pretensions — and with this obvious dripping agenda, from Mortimer.
We don’t have to respect Islam, nor even regard Islam a religion — it is major delusion, lies, and, has pernicious effects upon the minds of hundreds of millions.
Islam needs eradication; and its black lick rock and all the Korans pitched into a very hot furnace.
Robert Spencer likely knows the difference between those who vent but are of good intent, and those who are loaded with facts, but have twisted intentions. I’d prefer to hear real anger expressed at Islam’s progress in the West, instead of some fool’s self-agrandizement.
Terry Gain says
Naildriver
Your name describes your comment perfectly. Thank you.
somehistory says
Well, mortimer,
I studied the Bible…the best book of history ever written. And it clearly shows the source of evil….and that is satan the devil. He was spoken to by God in the Book of Genesis. He was named in the account of King David having a census of the people taken, against what God had commanded.
He was identified in the Book of Job when he appeared before God and demanded that he be allowed to tempt Job with all sorts of torture.
He was named again when he confronted Jesus Christ in the Wilderness.
Again, by Jesus when He said, “Satan has demanded to have you men to sift as wheat.”
Again, he was named in the Book of Revelation, chapter 12 when we are given the information about “war in Heaven” and the “great dragon…devil and satan…being hurled down to the earth and his angels being hurled down with him.
This list of times he was named in the Bible is not all inclusive.
Yes, the Bible proves that the source of the false religion of islam is straight from satan the devil. I don’t have to prove it. The Bible does.
mortimer says
Robert Spencer has assembled a perfect collection of quotes that prove conclusively that FGM is not considered a mere option, but a compulsory operation for all Muslim women.
Surely, women would be expected to reject it. Islam’s compulsory FGM is a proof that Islam is irrational and therefore false.
Because FGM is so harmful and dangerous to women, no woman should except it nor believe in the system that declares it compulsory.
notnolib says
Does anybody know if Ilhan Omar is a proper pious muslima, or is she sporting a cli’tot’is like a common street wh’ore?
And what of the terrorists at the terror organization CAIR? What do they say about it?
gravenimage says
I don’t know if she was personally subjected to this horror or not–but she has more than once refused to condemn it:
“Rep. Ilhan Omar Was Asked To Condemn Female Genital Mutilation — Again. She Was Not Happy.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kadiagoba/ilhan-omar-questions-muslim-american-politicians-fgm
OLD GUY says
In their own country I don’t care what they cut off of each other. If they want to live like that its their choice, but when they leave their islamic home country they need to follow the laws of the country they are in. If they do not what to follow the countries laws go home.
gravenimage says
I think it’s important to know what Islam has in store for us, OLD GUY.
David Nelson says
Our Politicians should be alerted to the fact that Muslim refugees are bringing with them and practising the same set of Cultural values that caused then to be refugees
thehostagerescueattemptiniran says
https://answering-islam.org/Sharia/fem_circumcision.html
Islamic Law on Female Circumcision
There is a lot of controversy on the issue of Female Circumcision or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It is prohibited by law in most Westen Countries since it is a horrendous and cruel procedure that women are forced so suffer in many countries, particularly in North East Africa. It has a long tradition that goes back way before the time of Islam. It is practiced in varying degrees (see the links in this section). In Egypt the practice dates back even to the the time of the Pharaohs and it is sadly performed by people of different religious backgrounds. In discussions about this topic, Muslims usually insist that this practice is a cultural issue, and it is not religiously mandated by Islam.
The following quotation is taken from Reliance of the Traveller, Revised edition, amana publications, Beltsville, 1997. The title page informs us that this book is
The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law ‘Umdat al-Salik
by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (d. 769/1368) in Arabic with
Facing English Text, Commentary, and Appendices
Edited and Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller
In this book, in the section titled “THE BODY”, we find on page 59 the following entry:
Nuh Hah Mim Keller’s Translation Arabic Original
e4.3 Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. Bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)”
The above used abbreviations mean:
A: … comment by Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wakil Durubi
Ar. Arabic
n: … remark by the translator
O: … excerpt from the commentary of Sheikh ‘Umar Barakat
However what the Arabic actually says is:
Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female)
by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male,
but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the clitoris
(this is called HufaaD). {bold emphasis ours}
The Arabic word bazr does not mean “prepuce of the clitoris”, it means the clitoris itself (cf. the entry in the Arabic-English Dictionary). The deceptive translation by Nuh Hah Mim Keller, made for Western consumption, obscures the Shafi’i law, given by ‘Umdat al-Salik, that circumcision of girls by excision of the clitoris is mandatory. This particular form of female circumcision is widely practiced in Egypt, where the Shafi’i school of Sunni law is followed.