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[[Female Genital Mutilation in Islam]] | [[Female Genital Mutilation in Islam]] | ||
FGM: History | FGM: Causes, Function, History & | ||
FGM: | |||
=Female Genital Mutilation in Islam= | =Female Genital Mutilation in Islam= | ||
[[File:712px-fgc types-ii.svg .jpg|thumb|274x274px|Female Genital Mutilation]] | [[File:712px-fgc types-ii.svg .jpg|thumb|274x274px|Female Genital Mutilation]] | ||
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Whilst most modern fatwas favour or defend FGM, there has been, over the past half century, a growing unease in the Islamic world concerning the practice (due to a growing concern on the part of organisations such as the UN and UNICEF). This has resulted in some fatwas critical of FGM. It appears that the earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM was issued in 1984.<ref name=":12">p54 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=qof6J4n1860C&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Sheikh+Abu-Sabib+1984&source=bl&ots=-apLOOha6B&sig=dpINFFLI-N9KO8_FmEET-MDFKbI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXh5Gi5OfcAhVOyoUKHeSgDWUQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sheikh%20Abu-Sabib%201984&f=false "Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy" By International Symposium On Sexual Mutiliations 1996]</ref> (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#Modern%20Fatwas|Modern Fatwas]] and [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM%20as%20Un-Islamic|FGM as Un-Islamic]]) | Whilst most modern fatwas favour or defend FGM, there has been, over the past half century, a growing unease in the Islamic world concerning the practice (due to a growing concern on the part of organisations such as the UN and UNICEF). This has resulted in some fatwas critical of FGM. It appears that the earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM was issued in 1984.<ref name=":12">p54 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=qof6J4n1860C&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Sheikh+Abu-Sabib+1984&source=bl&ots=-apLOOha6B&sig=dpINFFLI-N9KO8_FmEET-MDFKbI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXh5Gi5OfcAhVOyoUKHeSgDWUQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sheikh%20Abu-Sabib%201984&f=false "Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy" By International Symposium On Sexual Mutiliations 1996]</ref> (see [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#Modern%20Fatwas|Modern Fatwas]] and [[User:Flynnjed/Sandbox#FGM%20as%20Un-Islamic|FGM as Un-Islamic]]) | ||
==FGM before Islam== | ==The History of FGM== | ||
===Islamic sources=== | ===FGM before Islam=== | ||
====Islamic sources==== | |||
The hadith [[#other ladies|'One Who Circumcises Other Ladies']] suggests that FGM was practiced by the Banu Quraysh, Mohammed's native tribe, and that the FGM reported in the Hadith (which therefore took place after Mohammed's migration to Medina) was a practice carried over from pre-Islamic Mecca.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|5|59|399}}|“[…] I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba’ came out and said, ‘Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?’ Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib came out and said, ‘O Siba’. O Ibn Um Anmar, '''the one who circumcises other ladies!''' Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?’ […]”}}The Hadith tells how, prior to the battle of Uhud, Hamza, one of Mohammed’s companions, taunts the Meccan warrior, Siba. Hamza implies that Siba is like ‘Ibn Um Anmar’ – a woman who was a known circumciser of women. The more descriptive phrase ''muqteh al-basr'' – ‘one who cuts clitorises‘ – is used rather than the usual ''khitan''. | The hadith [[#other ladies|'One Who Circumcises Other Ladies']] suggests that FGM was practiced by the Banu Quraysh, Mohammed's native tribe, and that the FGM reported in the Hadith (which therefore took place after Mohammed's migration to Medina) was a practice carried over from pre-Islamic Mecca.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|5|59|399}}|“[…] I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba’ came out and said, ‘Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?’ Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib came out and said, ‘O Siba’. O Ibn Um Anmar, '''the one who circumcises other ladies!''' Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?’ […]”}}The Hadith tells how, prior to the battle of Uhud, Hamza, one of Mohammed’s companions, taunts the Meccan warrior, Siba. Hamza implies that Siba is like ‘Ibn Um Anmar’ – a woman who was a known circumciser of women. The more descriptive phrase ''muqteh al-basr'' – ‘one who cuts clitorises‘ – is used rather than the usual ''khitan''. | ||
This taunt suggests that clitoridectomy was practiced by the Quraysh, and that it was a role reserved for women, probably of low-status, hence its insulting nature when directed against a warrior. The taunt could only be effective if it humiliated Siba in the eyes of ''both'' his fellow Meccan warriors and also the Muslim warriors. Thus its use implies that members of both camps had knowledge of the practice and a shared culture of clitoridectomy. The fact that a circumciser of women could be famous (or notorious) also suggests that it was an established practice with the Meccan Quraysh. | This taunt suggests that clitoridectomy was practiced by the Quraysh, and that it was a role reserved for women, probably of low-status, hence its insulting nature when directed against a warrior. The taunt could only be effective if it humiliated Siba in the eyes of ''both'' his fellow Meccan warriors and also the Muslim warriors. Thus its use implies that members of both camps had knowledge of the practice and a shared culture of clitoridectomy. The fact that a circumciser of women could be famous (or notorious) also suggests that it was an established practice with the Meccan Quraysh. | ||
===Non-Islamic sources=== | ====Non-Islamic sources==== | ||
There is evidence that FGM was practiced before the birth of Muhammad in the Middle East and along the African coast of the Red Sea. The following are listed in roughly chronological order. | There is evidence that FGM was practiced before the birth of Muhammad in the Middle East and along the African coast of the Red Sea. The following are listed in roughly chronological order. | ||
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'''Paulus of Aegina''' (Aegina is one of the Saronic islands of Greece), a 7th Century AD urologic surgeon, was something of an expert and gives his version of how to perform the procedure (the word ‘nympha’ usually refers the labia minora, but here seems to be being also used of the clitoris): | '''Paulus of Aegina''' (Aegina is one of the Saronic islands of Greece), a 7th Century AD urologic surgeon, was something of an expert and gives his version of how to perform the procedure (the word ‘nympha’ usually refers the labia minora, but here seems to be being also used of the clitoris): | ||
{{Quote|Paulus of Aegina “De Re Medica” book 7|'In certain women the nympha is excessively large and presents a shameful deformity, insomuch that, as has been related, some women have had erections of this part like men, and also venereal desires of a like kind. Wherefore, having placed the woman in a supine posture, and seizing the redundant portion of the nympha in a forceps we cut it out with a scalpel, taking care not to cut too deep lest we occasion the complaint called rhoeas'}} | {{Quote|Paulus of Aegina “De Re Medica” book 7|'In certain women the nympha is excessively large and presents a shameful deformity, insomuch that, as has been related, some women have had erections of this part like men, and also venereal desires of a like kind. Wherefore, having placed the woman in a supine posture, and seizing the redundant portion of the nympha in a forceps we cut it out with a scalpel, taking care not to cut too deep lest we occasion the complaint called rhoeas'}} | ||
===FGM since 622 CE=== | |||
{{Quote|al-Zahrawi (born 936 AD, Córdoba, Spain)|The clitoris may grow in size above the order of nature so that it gets a horrible deformed appearance; in some women it becomes erect like the male organ and attains to coitus. You must grasp the growth with your hand or a hook and cut it off. Do not cut too deeply, especially at the root of the growth, lest hemorrhage occur. Then apply the usual dressing for wounds until it is healed.}}{{Quote|[https://archive.org/details/ethiopiaorienta00santgoog Fr Joao Dos Santos (1609)]|a custome to sew up their Females, specially their slaves being young to make them unable for conception, which makes these Slaves sell dearer, both for the their chastitie , and for better confidence which their Masters put in them}} | |||
reported that inland from Mogadishu a group has | |||
{{Quote|James Bruce (British explorer)|The Falasha [as the Agaazi] submit to both [male and female circumcision]. These nations however they agree in their rite, differ in their accounts of the time they received this ceremony, as well as the manner of performing it. The Abyssinians of Tigre say, that they have received it from Ishmael’s family and his descendants, with whom they wee early connected in their trading voyages. They say also , athat the queen of Sheba, and all the women of that coast, had suffered excision at the usual time of life, before puberty, and before her journey to Jerusalem. The Falasha again declare, that their circumcision was that commonly practiced at Jerusalem in the time of Solomon, and in use among them when they left Palestine, and came into Abyssinia.}} | |||
The British explorer in his account of his journey in Africa between 1768 and 1772 reports | |||
James Bruce also reports that the Catholic missionairies in Egypt thought Copts practiced excision ''“upon Judaic principles”'', therefore, they ''“forbade, upon pain of excommunication, that excision should be performed upon the children of parents who had become Catholics”.'' | |||
Browne reported in 1799 that Egyptians practice female excision, and that infibulation to prevent pregnancy is general among female slaves, who come from the Black south. | |||
<nowiki>***</nowiki> | |||
Other travellers to Egypt (Larrey 1803 and Burckhardt in 1819) confirm Browne and claim that Moslem slave traders infibulated young female captives. | |||
<nowiki>*</nowiki> * * | |||
The explorer Sir Richard Burton claimed that ''“Female circumcision'' […] ''is I believe the rule among some outlying tribes of Jews.”'' | |||
==The origins of FGM== | ==The origins of FGM== | ||
The roots of FGM as lying in polygyny, particularly the kind of extreme polygyny that existed at the heart of empires, where some men could become powerful and wealthy enough to be able to afford harems of hundreds of concubines (the word 'concubine' is a euphemism for sex-slave).<ref name=":0">'[http://webarchiv.ethz.ch/soms/teaching/OppFall09/MackieFootbinding.pdf Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account' Gerry Mackie (1996)]</ref><ref>[https://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/BeginningOfEndMackie2000.pdf 'Female Genital Cutting: the Beginning of the End' Gerry Mackie (2000)]</ref><ref>[http://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/UNICEF.pdf 'Social Dynamics of Abandonment of Harmful Practices: A New Look at the Theory' - John Lejeune and Gerry Mackie (2008)]</ref> | The roots of FGM as lying in polygyny, particularly the kind of extreme polygyny that existed at the heart of empires, where some men could become powerful and wealthy enough to be able to afford harems of hundreds of concubines (the word 'concubine' is a euphemism for sex-slave).<ref name=":0">'[http://webarchiv.ethz.ch/soms/teaching/OppFall09/MackieFootbinding.pdf Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account' Gerry Mackie (1996)]</ref><ref>[https://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/BeginningOfEndMackie2000.pdf 'Female Genital Cutting: the Beginning of the End' Gerry Mackie (2000)]</ref><ref>[http://pages.ucsd.edu/~gmackie/documents/UNICEF.pdf 'Social Dynamics of Abandonment of Harmful Practices: A New Look at the Theory' - John Lejeune and Gerry Mackie (2008)]</ref> | ||
In a monogamous marriage a husband and wife can spend much time together (and thus better monitor each others fidelity), can grow close to one another, and their sexual and emotional needs are more-or-less proportional. In polygynous societies the | In a monogamous marriage a husband and wife can spend much time together (and thus better monitor each others fidelity), can grow close to one another, and their sexual and emotional needs are more-or-less proportional. In polygynous societies the high-status men who can afford to keep multiple wives face a problem guaranteeing the fidelity of their many wives, whom he must satisfy emotionally and sexually, provide with offspring. If these needs are not satisfied, his wives will be tempted to look elsewhere, and this may result in the high-status man rearing children that are not his own.[[File:Polygamy-fgm.jpg|alt=maps showing distribution of polygamy (its legal status and/or its practice) and the distribution of FGM|thumb|maps showing distribution of polygamy (its legal status and/or its practice) and the distribution of FGM]] | ||
Chastity assurance practices evolve to which assure the chastity of wives: '''harems''' keep 'concubines' locked away, guarded by eunuchs; '''footbinding''' (as once practiced by the Chinese) reduces the mobility of girls and women '''chaperoning and gender segregation''' eliminate interactions between the sexes; '''arranged and child marriages''' obviate the dangers that romance and courtship pose to a girl's chastity and reputation; '''veiling''' makes girls less desirable and identifiable to other males. | |||
FGM is, of course, a chastity assurance practice. It reduces women's capacity for sexual pleasure both physically (through the removal of the clitoris and labia, or sealing the vagina shut) and mentally (through the effects of trauma). | |||
In polygynous societies: | |||
*a married high-status man remains available to further marriages (unlike in monogamous societies); | *a married high-status man remains available to further marriages (unlike in monogamous societies); | ||
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*marriage to high status men is highly advantageous to the bride's family, who will benefit from the bride-price and from having a high-status male as a relative. | *marriage to high status men is highly advantageous to the bride's family, who will benefit from the bride-price and from having a high-status male as a relative. | ||
To stand a chance of making an 'advantageous' marriage girls must meet the requirements of the high-status polygynous men. | Thus in polygynous societies it is preferable to be the n<sup>th</sup> wife of a rich man than the only wife of a poor man. This makes polygynous societies intensely ''hypergynous'' (hypergyny is the tendency for women to marry men of higher social status). | ||
To stand a chance of making an 'advantageous' marriage girls must meet the requirements of the high-status polygynous men i.e. persuade him that she is 'pure', chaste and will be faithful. This is demonstrated by adopting the chastity assurance practices required by polygynous elite, whether it be FGM and/or other practices mentioned earlier. The intensely hypergynous nature of polygynous societies means that the marriage requirements of high-status polygynous men cascade down through the ranks of society, and are adopted by almost all families. | |||
In polygynous societies the marriage market heavily favours polygynous elite men, because they are relatively few elite polygynous men whilst there are many lower-ranking potential brides. Low-ranking families must therefore compete with each other and ''persuade'' higher-ranking men to marry their daughters. It is not enough to simply ''adopt'' the elite’s marriage-practices, the daughter has to be made to stand out from the crowd of other candidates hoping to make a hypergynous match. | In polygynous societies the marriage market heavily favours polygynous elite men, because they are relatively few elite polygynous men whilst there are many lower-ranking potential brides. Low-ranking families must therefore compete with each other and ''persuade'' higher-ranking men to marry their daughters. It is not enough to simply ''adopt'' the elite’s marriage-practices, the daughter has to be made to stand out from the crowd of other candidates hoping to make a hypergynous match. | ||
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==FGM as Un-Islamic== | ==FGM as Un-Islamic== | ||
(to Female Genital Mutilation in Islamic Law){{Quote|[https://www.memri.org/tv/egyptian-cleric-supports-fgm-cites-protocols-elders-zion 'Egyptian Cleric: Female Circumcision Has Economic Benefits; Jews Fight It in Keeping with Protocols of the Elders of Zion' (Mar 27, 2017)]|”The discussion about female circumcision goes back to the past century. The first time that this subject was debated extensively was in the past century. Who were the first to talk about it? The Jews. They do not want Islam or the Muslims to be pure, developed, and civilized, so they started talking about it.”}} | |||
As the above quote confirms, the idea that FGM might be un-Islamic appears to be relatively new. The earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM appears to be from 1984<ref name=":1">p54 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=qof6J4n1860C&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Sheikh+Abu-Sabib+1984&source=bl&ots=-apLOOha6B&sig=dpINFFLI-N9KO8_FmEET-MDFKbI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXh5Gi5OfcAhVOyoUKHeSgDWUQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sheikh%20Abu-Sabib%201984&f=false "Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy" By International Symposium On Sexual Mutiliations 1996]</ref> and since then there have been more fatwas critical of, or even vetoing, FGM (see section...). [[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 texts starting around 1990. 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 - all critical of FGM - 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> And even prior to these were several decades of increasing sensitivity in the international community concerning the rights of women and children. | |||
Such narratives were penetrating the Islamic world, parts of which, for the first time in Islamic history, began to be troubled by Islam's association with FGM, and to seek to break the link. | |||
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 individuals and populations who practice FGM: telling the truth is likely to make matters worse. For example, how should a campaigner for an anti-FGM charity respond to a Somali mother who asks whether FGM is Islamic? | |||
''<nowiki/>'' | ''<nowiki/>'' | ||
If the charity worker tells her 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 school of fiqh which Somalia follows, the Shafi'i, makes FGM mandatory - that mother will come away from that interaction ''more'' likely to have her daughter 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. To resolve the dilemma a number of propositions have evolved which argue that FGM is un-Islamic. | |||
The 'FGM as un-Islamic' narrative is also reinforced by the fact that it is a minority of Muslims that practice FGM. Muslims who don't practice FGM have become more aware of FGM over the past decades, and generally share the objections of non-Muslims towards the practice. and are, in addition, troubled by its association with Islam. Immigration to the West has tended to come from these non-practicing schools and traditions - from the Maghreb, Pakistan and Turkey, where the presiding school of fiqh is Hanafi - the school of fiqh under which there is the least incidence of FGM. These immigrant populations have effectively imported the 'FGM is un-Islamic' narrative to the West. | |||
The following section examines the principal arguments used to support the 'FGM is Un-Islamic' position. | |||
The following section | |||
{{anchor|arguments}} | {{anchor|arguments}} | ||
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{{anchor|equivocation}} | {{anchor|equivocation}} | ||
====FGM is not required by Islam==== | ====FGM is not required by Islam==== | ||
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. | 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. | ||
Critics of this position .... 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/>'' | <nowiki/>''<nowiki/>''<nowiki/>''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ||
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====There is no FGM in the Qur'an==== | ====There is no FGM in the Qur'an==== | ||
{{Quote|[http://archive.today/2021.04.09-062048/https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/09/18/fatwa-fgm-could-be-part-solution%23 A Fatwa on FGM Could be Part of the Solution – Kurdistan (2010)]|[...] its clear and unequivocal statement that the practice is not required by Islam was significant for women in Kurdistan, where the practice is widespread. '''The practice is not mentioned in the Quran''', and many other Muslim scholars have disassociated the practice from Islam.}} | |||
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. | 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. | ||
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====FGM existed before Islam==== | ====FGM existed before Islam==== | ||
{{Quote|[http://fiqhcouncil.org/gender-equity-in-islam/ 'Gender Equity in Islam' Dr. Jamal Badawi (2016)]|While the exact origin of female circumcision is not known, '''“it preceded Christianity and Islam.”''' The most radical form of female circumcision (infibulation) is known as the Pharaonic Procedure. This may signify that it may have been practiced long before the rise of Islam, Christianity and possibly Judaism.}} | |||
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''. | ||
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====FGM is an African practice==== | ====FGM is an African practice==== | ||
[[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=]] | {{Quote|[https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/female-genital-mutilation-not-uniquely-muslim-problem/ 'Female Genital Mutilation Is Not a Uniquely Muslim Problem' Kevin Drum]|Basically, '''FGM is a practice limited to certain parts of Africa''' [...] As for Britain, its FGM problem is more due to where their African immigrants come from than it is to Islam per se.}}[[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, the Banu Quraysh. It should also be noted that: | 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: | ||
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====Christians practice FGM too==== | ====Christians practice FGM too==== | ||
{{Quote|[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/06/female-genital-mutilation-facts Female genital mutilation: facts you need to know about the practice]|Although the practice is mainly found in some Muslim societies, who believe, wrongly, that it is a religious requirement, it is also carried out by non-Muslim groups such a '''Coptic Christians in Egypt'''', and '''several Christian groups in Kenya'''.}} | |||
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.'' | ||