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User:Flynnjed/Sandbox: Difference between revisions
→Not all Muslims practice FGM
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''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, is based on the assumption that a religion is defined only by that which it makes universally obligatory. But religions are also defined by - and responsible for - what they recommend, encourage, allow, discourage and forbid | This is, in turn, is based on the assumption that a religion is defined only by that which it makes universally obligatory. But religions are also defined by - and responsible for - what they recommend, encourage, allow, discourage and forbid. For example, the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is undoubtedly Christian. But it is recommended, not obligatory. And polygyny is unquestionably Islamic, but not every Muslim takes several brides. | ||
Religions are selective in what they accrue to their identity and responsibility - keen to take 'credit' for any good that can be attributed to themselves, but less keen to acknowledging responsibility for any ills they may give rise to. | Religions are selective in what they accrue to their identity and responsibility - keen to take 'credit' for any good that can be attributed to themselves, but less keen to acknowledging responsibility for any ills they may give rise to. | ||
The | Not all Islamic practices are obligatory: polygyny and child marriage are not obligatory, and 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 Shafi'i school makes FGM obligatory, the Maliki school recommends it, 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? | ||
The variations in the stances of the schools of fiqh to a large extent account for why not all Muslims practice FGM. There is also the encroachment of Christian and Western values, improving levels of education and progress in women's rights. However, the most condemnatory stance Islamic scholars can take on FGM is that it can't be forbidden, that it is 'allowed'. | |||
But FGM is not an ethically neutral act, such as the Eucharist - swallowing a wafer - or Baptism - sprinkling water on a baby's head. FGM is an act of mutilation and torture carried out on a child. 'Allowing' is no more the appropriate base-line for such an act than it would be for child sexual abuse, rape or murder. | |||
Imagine a religion that has three different schools - one school merely tolerates CSA , another recommends it and another makes it mandatory | Imagine a religion that has three different schools - one school merely tolerates CSA , another recommends it and another makes it mandatory | ||