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====Critical====
====Critical====
The following are extracts from fatwas critical of FGM. The extracts are classified according to the arguments they make against FGM being Islamic. These arguments are evaluated in the section [[#arguments|Arguments de-linking FGM from Islam]].   
The following are extracts from fatwas critical of FGM, classified in such a way as to illustrate the range of arguments made for FGM being un-Islamic. These arguments are evaluated in the section [[#arguments|Arguments de-linking FGM from Islam]].   


<u>'''FGM is not required by Islam'''</u>
<u>'''FGM is not required by Islam'''</u>
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The previous section shows that FGM existed before Islam. The fact that FGM can exist without it being justified by religious doctrine suggests that its causes may in part be social.  
The previous section shows that FGM existed before Islam. The fact that FGM can exist without it being justified by religious doctrine suggests that its causes may in part be social.  


Much of what follows is based on the work of Gerry Mackie, a political scientist who has investigated the social origins of FGM, using comparative-historical sociology and game theory. Mackie identifies 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).
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>'[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>'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 rich and high-status men who can afford to keep multiple wives face a problem guaranteeing the fidelity of their many wives. And the more they have the greater that problem becomes. A polygynous man may have anything from two to a thousand 'concubines' whom he must satisfy emotionally and sexually, provide with offspring and keep faithful. If the needs of his wives are not satisfied, they 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]]
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 rich and high-status men who can afford to keep multiple wives face a problem guaranteeing the fidelity of their many wives. And the more they have the greater that problem becomes. A polygynous man may have anything from two to a thousand 'concubines' whom he must satisfy emotionally and sexually, provide with offspring and keep faithful. If the needs of his wives are not satisfied, they 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]]
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