Delinking female genital mutilation cutting from islam unfpa. No mention of female circumcision is to be found in the quran either directly or indirectly. Male and female circumcision female circumcision has triggered a passionate public debate in the west, with. About twothirds of urban respondents have heard of female circumcision, compared with less than half of women in rural areas 69 versus 45 percent. Religious views on female genital mutilation wikipedia. Female genital mutilation fgm, also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. As will be shown in this article, there is no concept of female circumcision in islam and therefore it can only be suitably defined as female genital mutilation fgm. Islamic law and the issue of male and female circumcision. The question is not to ban female circumcision because of the position of certain nations, but how. It occurs mainly in countries along a belt stretching from senegal in west africa to somalia in east africa and to yemen in the middle east, but it is also practised in some parts of southeast asia. Delinking female genital mutilationcutting from islam.
Fgmc and islam, arguing that there is no religious. The case of female genital mutilation or female circumcision, published in 20, several fatwas condemning fgm, among them one by the late sheikh of the egyptian al azhar muhammad. Women circumcision in islam circumcision is sunnah by the prophet saw, and it is mentioned in the hadeeth narrated from abu hurairoh. Female circumcision female genital mutilation, sometimes called female circumcision, is common in many cultures. Female genital mutilation cutting fgm c is a traditional practice with severe health consequences for girls and women.
While the exact origin of female circumcision is not known, it preceded christianity and islam. This may signify that it may have been practiced long before the rise of islam, christianity and possibly judaism. An analysis of female circumcision according to islamic law al islam. The procedure is performed using a blade or shard of glass by a religious leader, town elder, or a medical professional with limited training.
In the bawku municipality and pusiga district, sixty one percent of women have undergone the procedure. Albarr further states, those who consider female circumcision a sunna, use as evidence the tradition hadith of abu almulaih, which is based solely on the evidence of hajjaj ibn artaah, who cannot be admitted as an authority when he is the sole transmitter. Ford school of public policy, university of michigan mjpa. The scholarship on women in islamic societies section describes features that pervade the entire literature. Geneva 2 ibid 3 the term is used to describe this form of genital cutting because it is thought to have been introduced by the pharaohs of egypt. Girls undergo circumcision also called excision in females around age seven or eight. Female genital cutting, also known as female genital mutilation or female circumcision 1, is a term used to describe operations on female genitalia ranging from a small nick in the clitoris to total removal of the clitoris and labia. There is a widespread view among practitioners of female genital mutilation fgm that it is a religious requirement, although prevalence rates often vary according to geography and ethnic group.
Noting the lack of doubt that male circumcision is a legitimate practice, the papers largely address common misunderstandings about the islamic ruling in the case of daughters. Female genital mutilationcutting fgmc is controversial, because communities that. One of their trusted apologetic websites, makes such medical claims, which we have refuted in. There is a mistaken belief that the debate on fgmc is a new one, but this is not the case. Female genital mutilation, sometimes referred to as female circumcision, refers to the cutting off of the external female genitalia.
In some cases the procedure is accompanied by infibulation, the sewing together of the labia. Circumcision and the quran the traditional justification for circumcision is found in some of the sayings of mohammed. The consensus of muslim scholars shows that circumcision is for men 6. In addition, the liwa alislam journal of june 1951 surveyed the opinions of senior muslim scholars on this issue, including. Drs tobian and gray1 highlight the medical benefits of male circumcision, especially protection against infection with the sexually transmitted viral pathogens hiv, herpes simplex. Fgm the problem of female genital mutilation in islam. Male circumcision, also known as tahara meaning purification and cleanliness is not mentioned in the quran but it is highlighted in the sunnah which is the prophet muhammads pbuh recorded words and actions.
Female genital mutilationcutting fgmc is a human rights issue that affects girls and women worldwide. It may also involve sewing up the opening of the vagina. Bilal philips is female circumcision allowed in islam. In the shafii school its obligatory, and in the maliki and hanbali schools its recommended. There is a widespread view among practitioners of female genital mutilation fgm that it is a. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link.
Female circumcision is prohibited, regardless of whether it is performed in a hospital or a public or private health clinic. Senior muslim religious authorities agree that fgm is neither required nor prohibited. Original islamic jurisprudence literature endorses only male circumcision and regards female circumcision as not being. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims. It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles about different aspects of islam.
There is an ongoing debate about the extent to which the practices continuation is influenced by custom, social pressure, lack of healthcare information, and the position of women in society. An analysis of female circumcision according to islamic law. Female circumcision is not associated with any one religious group. This can include the clitoris, inner and outer labia, and the closure of the vulva. One feature is that the studies tend to align themselves on a spectrum between two interpretive poles, one relatively negative, the other positive, about the situation of women in islamic societies.
Muhammed munir a professor at the department of law at the international islamic university of pakistan lists in a paper on islamizing custom or customizing islam. For they already believe that female circumcision is something positive. Male circumcision is among the rites of islam and is part of the in arabic. The jewish and christian view on female genital mutilation.
Pdf the islamic view on female circumcision researchgate. Female circumcision religious aspects islam, circumcision religious aspects islam, circumcisie. There are some forms of female circumcision that in islam are absolutely. Islamic law and the issue of male and female circumcision sami a. A collection of three brief scholarly treatises on male and female circumcision as viewed in the body of islamic law. The various types of female genital cutting fgc, its geography, and the different reasons it was performed in various societies. Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilationcutting, fgmc is deeply rooted in the history of many nations and peoples. The quran also does not mention abrahams circumcision, as such is a judeochristian fabrication inserted into the old testament along with other fabricated stories of prophets who commit zina, incest, etc. The practice is found in africa, asia and the middle east, and within communities from countries in which fgm is common. Or at least in three of the four branches of sunni islam.
Muslim identities and zero tolerance policies in rural west java lynda newland department of sociology and social work, faculty of arts and law, university of the south pacific, fiji available online 11 july 2006 synopsis in the current parlance of the united nations, female circumcision is often referred to as female. This study therefore aimed at identifying the factors that sustain the practice of fgm despite its illegality. Islamic scholars in the country have come out strongly to oppose the notion that the religion supports female circumcision. Some scholars have regarded the act as commendable. However, the practice has been linked to islam in the predominantly muslim. In general, women in the south are more than twice as likely as women in the north to have heard of the practice. An example are the persians, who did not practice neither. Five things including nature fitrah is shaving the pubic hair, circumcision, shaving the mustache, plucking the hair under armpits and clipping the nails. Reference to the non authenticity of hadith on female circumcision, pp. Largely practised in parts of africa and the middle east, this ritual is presumably done to lessen a womans sexual urge. The ethics of harm reduction policies rachel ruderman abstract female genital mutilation fgm is a critical global health issue for millions of girls. Female circumcision fc or female genital mutilation fgm describes practices that manipulate, alter, or remove the external genital organs in young girls and women. Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation fgm or female genital cutting fgc, is practiced in many countries spanning parts of africa, the middle east and southeast asia. Islam, sharia, and female genital mutilationcircumcision.
The practice, particularly female circumcision, is being openly questioned by many muslims. Female genital cutting fgc is the cutting or removal of part or all of the external. The islamic view on female circumcision article pdf available in african journal of urology 193. Only in the hanafi school is there considerable ambiguity, where some jurists hold that female circumcision is preferred, and others resist a religious prescription and. Female genital mutilation cutting fgm c is a human rights issue that affects girls and women worldwide.
It has been documented in 28 african countries and in some countries in asia and the middle east, but due to increasing immigration from these countries to the western world, fgm has become a worldwide human rights and health issue. It is practiced by muslims, christians, jews and members of indigenous african religions. Circumcision is actually a pagan ritual and was promoted by elites, an offering to fake fertility gods. The islamic view on female circumcision sciencedirect. This file should not be deleted if the license has. One such horrifying practice erroneously associated with the religion of islam is female circumcision. However, i feel that the term female circumcision is also not technically accurate, because circumcision means to cut around, which is overwhelmingly the method of male foreskin removal. Fgc predates islam and although fgc is not solely practised in islamic communities. Islamic ruling on circumcision someone asked me about circumcision, the ruling on it in the case of both. Circumcision was introduced to many lands for the first time through islam itself following the early muslim conquests under the rashidun, who were the companions and contemporaries of muhammad.
Mazharul islam is a professor in the department of statistics, university of dhaka, dhaka, bangladesh. Knowledge and perspectives of female genital cutting among the. Within islam, the ritual of circumcision is known as kitan or khatna, which symbolizes cleanliness, used to be carried out as a rite of puberty when a boy was between 7 and 10 years old, but now it is more commonly performed in a hospital following a boys birth. There is no known hadeeth which requires female circumcision. It is an ancient practice where parts of a girl s genitalia are removed to eliminate sexual desire and pleasure in a woman. Islamic scholars strongly oppose female circumcision youtube. Female genital mutilation fgm is a practice involving the removal of all or parts of the female external genitalia. Others use the term female circumcision fc or female genital cutting fgc to maintain a sense of neutrality. By shahid aziz president ahamdiyya association for the propagation of islam ntroduction female circumcision is known in the west as fgm, which stands for female genital mutilation. Pdf the history of islam had not itself been previously confronted with what is now called womens issues, despite the great diversity in. Delinking female genital mutilation cutting from islam. It involves removing part or all of a females clitoris.
The perceived islamic requirement is a major justification for fgmc in practicing muslim communities such as the somali. Background globally, an estimated two million women have undergone female genital mutilation fgm, and approximately four percent of women who have been circumcised live in ghana. By focusing on two distinct issues, the islamic headscarf and the practice of female circumcision, questions are raised as to whether islam and human rights, especially womens rights, are truly incompatible or whether there are other issues at stake. The history, the current prevalence and the approach to a patient. In 2012, the united nations general assembly adopted a milestone resolution calling on the international community to intensify efforts to end the practice. Female genital mutilation or cutting fgmc, also known as fgmc, is practiced in at least 28 countries of subsaharan africa, a few countries in the middle east and asia, and among immigrant populations from these countries in europe, north america, and australia.
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