Autochecked users, em-bypass-1, em-bypass-2
645
edits
User:Flynnjed/Sandbox: Difference between revisions
→FGM is not required by Islam
| Line 385: | Line 385: | ||
As the above quote (dating Mar 27, 2017) confirms, the idea that FGM might be un-Islamic appears to be quite recent. In recent decades there has been a flurry of fatwas concerning FGM in response to a world-wide increasing sensitivity to the rights of women and children, and a growing international awareness of the practice of FGM. The earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM appears to be one from 1984<ref name=":1" /> [[File:Fgmwordsearches.jpg|alt=NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision'|thumb|NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision']]An Ngram for the terms ‘fgm’, ‘female genital mutilation’ and ‘female circumcision’ shows a sharp and steady rise in the more condemnatory terms (‘mutilation’ and 'FGM' rather than ‘circumcision’) in English-language literature starting around 1989. This coincides with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which first identified female genital mutilation as a harmful traditional practice, and mandated that governments abolish it as one of several ''<nowiki/>'traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children'''.<ref>[http://archive.today/2016.10.21-124829/http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx Convention on the Rights of the Child]</ref> Soon afterwards reports and condemnations were issued by organisations such as the World Health Organisation (1995),<ref>[https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/63602/WHO_FRH_WHD_96.10.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Female genital mutilation : report of a WHO technical working group, Geneva, 17-19 July 1995]</ref> the Council of Europe (1995), and UNICEF & UNFPA (1997).<ref>[https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/41903/9241561866.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Female Genital Mutilation - A Joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA Statement]</ref> Parts of the Islamic world, especially those parts which don't practice FGM, for the first time in Islamic history, began to endeveour to de-link FGM from Islam. | As the above quote (dating Mar 27, 2017) confirms, the idea that FGM might be un-Islamic appears to be quite recent. In recent decades there has been a flurry of fatwas concerning FGM in response to a world-wide increasing sensitivity to the rights of women and children, and a growing international awareness of the practice of FGM. The earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM appears to be one from 1984<ref name=":1" /> [[File:Fgmwordsearches.jpg|alt=NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision'|thumb|NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision']]An Ngram for the terms ‘fgm’, ‘female genital mutilation’ and ‘female circumcision’ shows a sharp and steady rise in the more condemnatory terms (‘mutilation’ and 'FGM' rather than ‘circumcision’) in English-language literature starting around 1989. This coincides with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which first identified female genital mutilation as a harmful traditional practice, and mandated that governments abolish it as one of several ''<nowiki/>'traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children'''.<ref>[http://archive.today/2016.10.21-124829/http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx Convention on the Rights of the Child]</ref> Soon afterwards reports and condemnations were issued by organisations such as the World Health Organisation (1995),<ref>[https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/63602/WHO_FRH_WHD_96.10.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Female genital mutilation : report of a WHO technical working group, Geneva, 17-19 July 1995]</ref> the Council of Europe (1995), and UNICEF & UNFPA (1997).<ref>[https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/41903/9241561866.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Female Genital Mutilation - A Joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA Statement]</ref> Parts of the Islamic world, especially those parts which don't practice FGM, for the first time in Islamic history, began to endeveour to de-link FGM from Islam. | ||
''<nowiki/>'' | ''<nowiki/>'' | ||
In recent decades many agencies and charities have engaged themselves in the fight against FGM<ref>[http://archive.today/2021.04.09-035738/https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/organizations-fighting-female-genital-mutilation/ 20 Organizations Fighting Female Genital Mutilation]</ref>. These agencies (and other individuals working to combat FGM) face a particular challenge: when interacting with populations who practice FGM, telling the truth is guaranteed to make matters worse. For example how should a worker for an anti-FGM charity, who is giving a lecture to a roomful of Somali mothers in the hope of persuading them to abandon the practice, respond the the question '''is FGM Islamic''?' | In recent decades many agencies and charities have engaged themselves in the fight against FGM<ref>[http://archive.today/2021.04.09-035738/https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/organizations-fighting-female-genital-mutilation/ 20 Organizations Fighting Female Genital Mutilation]</ref>. These agencies (and other individuals working to combat FGM) face a particular challenge: when interacting with populations who practice FGM, telling the truth is guaranteed to make matters worse. For example how should a worker for an anti-FGM charity, who is giving a lecture to a roomful of Somali mothers in the hope of persuading them to abandon the practice, respond the the question '''is FGM Islamic''?' | ||
If the charity worker tells those mothers about the FGM hadith, and about how FGM is part of the fitrah (which Qur'an 30:30 exhorts Muslims to adhere to - see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM in the Qur.27an|FGM in the Qur'an]]), and how the Shafi'i (the school of fiqh which Somalia follows) scholars are unanimous in making FGM mandatory - those mothers will leave the lecture ''more'' likely to have their daughters mutilated, rather than ''less'' likely, as intended. This dilemma faces not just on-the-ground charity workers, but the whole hierarchy of institutions devoted to combating FGM, and a variety of strategies have emerged to resolve the dilemma. Most involve some form of obfuscation or diversion which gives the ''impression'' of showing FGM to be un-Islamic whilst, on closer examination, doing no such thing. | If the charity worker tells those mothers about the FGM hadith, and about how FGM is part of the fitrah (which Qur'an 30:30 exhorts Muslims to adhere to - see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM in the Qur.27an|FGM in the Qur'an]]), and how the Shafi'i (the school of fiqh which Somalia follows) scholars are unanimous in making FGM mandatory - those mothers will leave the lecture ''more'' likely to have their daughters mutilated, rather than ''less'' likely, as intended. This dilemma faces not just on-the-ground charity workers, but the whole hierarchy of institutions devoted to combating FGM, and a variety of strategies have emerged to resolve the dilemma. Most involve some form of obfuscation or diversion which gives the ''impression'' of showing FGM to be un-Islamic whilst, on closer examination, doing no such thing. | ||
| Line 395: | Line 395: | ||
{{anchor|arguments}} | {{anchor|arguments}} | ||
===Arguments de-linking FGM from Islam === | ===Arguments de-linking FGM from Islam=== | ||
<!-- appear to be cataloguing polemics rather than addressing them. | <!-- appear to be cataloguing polemics rather than addressing them. | ||
| Line 404: | Line 404: | ||
'modern revisionist perspectives say this, and critics respond' -->{{anchor|equivocation}} | 'modern revisionist perspectives say this, and critics respond' -->{{anchor|equivocation}} | ||
====FGM is not required by Islam==== | ====FGM is not required by Islam==== | ||
Probably the most cited instance of this is a fatwa issued by Dr Ahmed Talib, the former Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious university for Sunni Islamic learning.{{Quote|[https://www.academia.edu/6142789/Egypts_Villages_Fight_Female_Genital_Mutilation_WFS_NEWS Dr Ahmed Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University]|“All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs… it is not an obligation in Islam.”}}Dr Talib | Probably the most cited instance of this argument is a fatwa issued by Dr Ahmed Talib, the former Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious university for Sunni Islamic learning.{{Quote|[https://www.academia.edu/6142789/Egypts_Villages_Fight_Female_Genital_Mutilation_WFS_NEWS Dr Ahmed Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University]|“All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs… it is not an obligation in Islam.”}}In this fatwa Dr Talib so emphatically condemns FGM that the implication of his final phrase could pass unnoticed. If one assumes Dr Talib to have weighed his words and meant what his words mean, then FGM’s legitimacy stops short of ‘obligatory’. ''<nowiki/>'Not an obligation'<nowiki/>'' includes everything from '<nowiki/>''forbidden''<nowiki/>' to '<nowiki/>''highly recommended'<nowiki/>'', and the fact something is '<nowiki/>''not obligatory''’ in no way implies that it is forbidden or even undesirable. Examples of acts that are '''not obligatory''<nowiki/>' include owning a dog, giving to charity, child sexual abuse and murder. For Dr Talib to conclude that ''‘FGM is not obligatory under Islam’'' suggests that he was unable to state that ''‘FGM is forbidden under Islam’''. And 'not obligatory', 'allowed' or 'tolerated' are no more acceptable legal or ethical positions for a practice such as FGM than they would be for murder, child sexual abuse or rape. | ||
<nowiki/>''<nowiki/>''<nowiki/>''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | |||
It should also be noted that the Shafi'i school of Islam and some Hanbali scholars have ruled FGM obligatory. | It should also be noted that the Shafi'i school of Islam and some Hanbali scholars have ruled FGM obligatory. | ||
| Line 413: | Line 412: | ||
====There is no FGM in the Qur'an==== | ====There is no FGM in the Qur'an==== | ||
It is correct that there is no mention of FGM in the Qur'an. But according to traditional interpretive methodology Qur'an 30:30, by requiring one to ''<nowiki/>'adhere to the fitrah','' indirectly, but ineluctably, advocates FGM (see [[#quran|FGM in the Qur'an]]). There is likewise no mention of male circumcision in the Qur'an. | |||
Indeed, most of what constitutes Islam is found not in the Qur'an but in the Sunnah (the hadith and sirat). The Qur'an has 91 verses commanding to follow Muhammad's example to the last detail. However the Qur'an contains virtually none of Muhammad's life. Muslims can only know about Muhammad's life by turning to the hadith and sirat. Most of the practical details of how what it means to be a Muslim come from the Sunnah. None of the Five Pillars of Islam are explained in the Qur'an, which, for example, tells Muslims to pray, but not ''how'' to pray. | |||
{{anchor|before}} | {{anchor|before}} | ||
| Line 422: | Line 421: | ||
This argument assumes that ''if a practice existed before Islam then it can not be Islamic''. | This argument assumes that ''if a practice existed before Islam then it can not be Islamic''. | ||
FGM ''did'' indeed exist before Islam (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM before Islam|FGM before Islam]]). However, if this disqualified | The archaeological and historical record prove that FGM ''did'' indeed exist before Islam (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM before Islam|FGM before Islam]]). However, if this meant that FGM was disqualified from being Islamic - then monotheism, ideas of heaven and hell, male circumcision, pilgrimage to Mecca, praying, the veneration of the Kaaba, abstention from pork, giving to charity, interdictions on lying and murder, and much more would also be un-Islamic - previous religions and societies having held these beliefs and engaged in these practices. Indeed, if Islam were only that which was unique to Islam, almost nothing that has been considered Islamic over the last 1400 would remain. | ||
Mohammed took a localized tradition and sacralised | Mohammed took a pre-Islamic localized tradition and integrated it into the religion he was inventing. He thus sacralised FGM, guaranteeing that it would flourish wherever, and for as long as, Islam existed. But in addition, he sacralised the causes of FGM - polygyny and many of its consequences (sex-slavery, child marriage, bride-price, sexual violence - see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#The sociology of FGM|The Sociology of FGM]]) thus 'locking-in' the practice into a legal, normative and institutional structure. Practices such as FGM tend to die out on exposure to non-tribal, monogamous cultural influences - footbinding, sati, slavery, child marriage and non-Islamic FGM have all been eliminated or curtailed where the West has had influence. Islam, because it is diametrically opposed to such influences and values has perpetuated the conditions where FGM can continue to flourish. | ||
{{anchor|african}} | {{anchor|african}} | ||
| Line 431: | Line 430: | ||
[[File:Indonesia-religion-fgm-map-reworked.jpg|thumb|Maps showing the correlation between Islam and FGM in Indonesia: the first map shows the distribution and prevalence of FGM in Indonesia; the second map shows the distribution of religions in Indonesia:|alt=]] | [[File:Indonesia-religion-fgm-map-reworked.jpg|thumb|Maps showing the correlation between Islam and FGM in Indonesia: the first map shows the distribution and prevalence of FGM in Indonesia; the second map shows the distribution of religions in Indonesia:|alt=]] | ||
It is true that FGM existed in parts of Africa before the invention of Islam – notably Egypt and the West coast of the Red Sea (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#Non-Islamic sources|FGM before Islam: non-Islamic Sources]]). But the hadith report that FGM was also practiced in Arabia before the invention of Islam, not least by Mohammed's tribe | It is true that FGM existed in parts of Africa before the invention of Islam – notably Egypt and the West coast of the Red Sea (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#Non-Islamic sources|FGM before Islam: non-Islamic Sources]]). But the hadith report that FGM was also practiced in Arabia before the invention of Islam, not least by Mohammed's tribe, the Banu Quraysh. It should also be noted that: | ||
#most of Africa does not practice FGM, | #most of Africa does not practice FGM, | ||
#about 40% of FGM happens outside of Africa, in South Asia in particular.<ref name=":2" /> | #about 40% of FGM happens outside of Africa, in South Asia in particular.<ref name=":2" /> | ||
#It appears to have been the Islam's plundering of Africa for sex slaves that spread FGM to its current extent (which closely coincides with that of Islam). | |||
It is also well documented that FGM was brought to Indonesia by Muslim traders and conquerors in the 13<sup>th</sup> Century. Indonesia is of the Shaafi school (the madhab that makes FGM obligatory) and has +90% rates of FGM amongst its Muslims. This suggests that FGM is not so much an African practice as an Islamic one. {{Quote|William G. Clarence-Smith (Professor of the Economic History of Asia and Africa at SOAS, University of London) in ‘Self-Determination and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies’ Ed. Chitra Raghavan and James P. Levine|'The Southeast Asian case undermines a widespread notion that female circumcision is a pre-Islamic custom that has merely been tolerated by the newer faith. In contrast to other regions, female circumcision seems to have been introduced into Southeast Asia as part of the inhabitants’ conversion to Islam from the thirteenth century on. Indeed, for Tomás Ortiz, writing about the southern Philippines in the early eighteenth century, female circumcision was not only a Muslim innovation, but also one that had spread to some degree to non-Muslims.'}} | |||
{{Quote|William G. Clarence-Smith (Professor of the Economic History of Asia and Africa at SOAS, University of London) in ‘Self-Determination and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies’ Ed. Chitra Raghavan and James P. Levine|'The Southeast Asian case undermines a widespread notion that female circumcision is a pre-Islamic custom that has merely been tolerated by the newer faith. In contrast to other regions, female circumcision seems to have been introduced into Southeast Asia as part of the inhabitants’ conversion to Islam from the thirteenth century on. Indeed, for Tomás Ortiz, writing about the southern Philippines in the early eighteenth century, female circumcision was not only a Muslim innovation, but also one that had spread to some degree to non-Muslims.'}} | |||
{{anchor|christians2}} | {{anchor|christians2}} | ||
====Christians practice FGM too==== | ====Christians practice FGM too==== | ||
This argument assumes that ''if Christians engage in a practice then it can not be Islamic.'' | This argument assumes that ''if Christians engage in a practice then it can not be Islamic.'' | ||
If this were true, then what is 'Islamic' is influenced by what Christians do (or don't do) - something that Muslims would undoubtedly reject. | |||
However, about 20% of global FGM is attributable to non-Muslims, for the most part Christians.<ref name=":2" /> But | On the map showing the prevalence of Female Genital Cutting, many Western Christian countries are assigned the rubric ''<nowiki/>'rare or limited to particular ethnic minority enclaves'.'' This does not indicate that ''Christians'' in those countries engage in FGM, but rather reflects the presence of FGM-practicing immigrants, who are almost entirely Muslim.[[File:Infibmap correct20111.jpg|thumb|the prevalence of Female Genital Cutting|alt=|left]] | ||
However, about 20% of global FGM is attributable to non-Muslims, and are for the most part Christians.<ref name=":2" /> But these Christians nearly all live as isolated and persecuted minorities within a dominant Islamic FGM-practicing culture. FGM is an islamic purity practice, and within FGM-practicing societies girls who are not cut are considered impure. Any contact or proximity with them, or sharing of objects will be considered as contaminating. Individuals, families and communities that do not follow the dominant culture's purity observances are perceived as gravely threatening the spiritual and religious lives of that community since, for example, a Muslim's prayers will be rendered invalid if he is inadvertently contaminated, and will continue to be invalid until he correctly purifies himself. | |||
This means that in such Islamic communities, non-Muslims who do not follow the communities purity observances are shunned, stigmatised, discriminated against and persecuted. An example of this recently occurred in Pakistan when a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, drank from a Muslim's cup - and brought upon herself, her family and her community much violence, hatred and persecution.<ref>[https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/the-aasiya-noreen-story/ The Story of Asia Bibi]</ref> | This means that in such Islamic communities, non-Muslims who do not follow the communities purity observances are shunned, stigmatised, discriminated against and persecuted. An example of this recently occurred in Pakistan when a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, drank from a Muslim's cup - and brought upon herself, her family and her community much violence, hatred and persecution.<ref>[https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/the-aasiya-noreen-story/ The Story of Asia Bibi]</ref> | ||
Hence, non-Muslims come under great pressure to adopt the dominant Islamic purity practices in order to minimise persecution. The Copts are Christian and make up 10 to 15% of the population of Egypt. Copts practice FGM at about a 74% (compared to 92% Muslims). Copts acknowledge that they practice FGM in order to minimise persecution. It is Christian minorities such as the Copts who appear to be the most ready to abandon FGM when it becomes safe | Hence, non-Muslims come under great pressure to adopt the dominant Islamic purity practices in order to minimise persecution. The Copts are Christian and make up 10 to 15% of the population of Egypt. Copts practice FGM at about a 74% (compared to 92% Muslims). Copts acknowledge that they practice FGM in order to minimise persecution. It is Christian minorities such as the Copts who appear to be the most ready to abandon FGM when it becomes safe for them to do so.<ref>[https://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/prevalence-of-and-support-for-female-genital-mutilation-within-the-copts-of-egypt-unicef-report-2013/ Prevalence of and support for Female Genital Mutilation within the Copts of Egypt: INICEF report (2013)]</ref> | ||
There are however three countries where FGM appears to be practiced by Christian majorities – Ethiopia, Eritrea and Liberia. The FGM in Liberia is practiced as part of the initiation into secret women's societies. FGM in Ethiopia and Eritrea is due to a combination of historical factors | There are however three countries where FGM appears to be practiced by Christian ''majorities'' – Ethiopia, Eritrea and Liberia. The FGM in Liberia is practiced as part of the initiation into secret women's societies. FGM in Ethiopia and Eritrea is due to a combination of historical factors: much of their history the surrounding Islamic states for centuries kept them isolated from mainstream Christianity, and they were the hubs of the Islamic slave trade, where slave girls captured in West Africa were infibulated to guarantee their virginity and thus raise their price, in preparation for the slave markets of the Islamic Middle East. This Islamic practice was adopted by the locals, and has persisted. | ||
The following graphs (adapted from graphs found at https://www.28toomany.org/research-resources/) combine rates of decline of FGM practice in a variety of African countries with (in green and | The following graphs (adapted from graphs found at https://www.28toomany.org/research-resources/) combine rates of decline of FGM practice in a variety of African countries with (in green and mauve) the proportion of the population that is Muslim. Note that the lower the proportion of the nation that is Muslim, the steeper rate of decline of FGM-practice. <gallery perrow="10" mode="slideshow" caption="rates of decline of FGM in African countries with (in green and red) the proportion of the population that is Muslim"> | ||
File:Somaliland-1.jpg|Somaliland | File:Somaliland-1.jpg|Somaliland | ||
File:Sudan prevalence graph-1.jpg|Sudan | File:Sudan prevalence graph-1.jpg|Sudan | ||
| Line 470: | Line 471: | ||
====Not all Muslims practice FGM==== | ====Not all Muslims practice FGM==== | ||
''This argument assumes that only those practices which all Muslims engage in can be Islamic''. | ''This argument assumes that only those practices which all Muslims engage in can be Islamic''. | ||
This is, in turn, based on an underlying assumptions that religions are defined only by that which they make universally obligatory. But religions are also defined by (and responsible for) what they recommend, encourage, allow, and discourage and forbid; and also the ''consequences'' of what they recommend, allow, discourage and forbid - whether those consequences are intended or unintended. | |||
The fact that FGM is not universally obligatory under Islam does not mean that Islam is not responsible for any FGM it has brought about - or failed to prevent. | |||
Furthermore, not all Islamic practices are obligatory: whilst a Muslim must complete 5 prayers a day, there are optional (nawafil) prayers which confer additional rewards. Fasting outside of the month of Ramadhan, or giving sadaqah (voluntary charity) are also optional. The Maliki school recommends FGM, and the Hanafi school allows it. The schools' different levels of obligation are reflected in the incidence of FGM. And where it is merely 'allowed' or 'tolerated' are we surprised that parents abstain from an act that goes against parents deepest instincts? | |||
. But religions are also defined by what they encourage and discourage, by what they allow and tolerate. For example, no one would question that the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is Christian, but it is recommended, not obligatory. | . But religions are also defined by what they encourage and discourage, by what they allow and tolerate. For example, no one would question that the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is Christian, but it is recommended, not obligatory. | ||