Female genital mutilation “is part of the Sunna of the Prophet”

Two FGM Updates from MEMRITV. “Egyptian Villagers Explain Why They Circumcise Their Daughters”:

First of all let me make this clear: this is not about circumcision, which, in itself is totally unnecessary and an insult against G-d and the female body. This is about Female Genital Mutilation,  and why it spreads through Islam.

Following are excerpts from a television program about female circumcision in Egypt, which aired on Al-Mihwar TV on May 10, 2007:

Interviewer: In the Islamic religion, and in the villages and neighborhoods, it is always said that girls should be circumcised just like boys. Does it come from the Sunna, or is it a custom or yours?

Female villager: Circumcision is part of the Sunna of the Prophet. We used to bring a daya, and she would circumcise the children, but when the role of the daya was abolished, we stopped. Now we take our children to the doctor, and he circumcises them.

Interviewer: So it is the doctor who circumcises the girl?

Female villager: Yes. If a girl is not circumcised, she can’t stand it. When she is circumcised, she is calm and has self-restraint. The circumcision protects the girl and makes her calm.

[...]

Interviewer: So you think all women should be circumcised to protect their honor.

Female villager: The Prophet said that the men go and wage Jihad for a year. He said that girls should be circumcised so they can bear it for a whole year until the men return. [...]

And “Al-Azhar Cleric Farahat Sa’id Al-Munji Justifies Female Circumcision: It Replaces the Chastity Belts of Ancient Times”:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Al-Azhar Cleric Farahat Said Al-Munji, which aired on Al-Mihwar TV on May 10, 2007:
Farahat Sa’id Al-Munji: The Prophet said that circumcision is obligatory for men, and is noble for women. This means that for the sake of her honor, a woman can be circumcised. This noble act can be either carried out or not. Moreover, this noble act is subject to restrictions nowadays. I once had a discussion with a gynecologist, who said: “A man brought his daughter to me, and I told him she must be circumcised immediately.” Why? Because he discovered that her clitoris was so big that it was bound to cause her pain or bother her when she reached puberty, and therefore, she had to be circumcised. He told me that other girls came to him, and he said they should not be circumcised. Why? Because their clitoris was normal in size, and did not bother them. It would be crazy to deal with such a clitoris, which does not protrude to an extent that might bother the woman, when it rubs against her clothing and so on…

A victim of genital mutilation in Somalia: How is she able to endure such pain? [SPIEGEL PHOTO GALLERY]

Guys, all these things appear in Islamic law. Don’t think we are making these things up. It all exists [in religious law] and is determined… We say that if the clitoris is so on and so forth… What am I saying? When the Prophet Muhammad met Umm Salama in Al-Madina – what did he say to her? “Are you still doing what you used to do in Mecca?” In other words, are you still circumcising girls, like you used to do in Mecca? She said: Yes. He said: “Trim it, but don’t cut it off.” According to another version, he said: “Shorten it, but don’t cut it off.” “Trim it” means leaving room for sexual desire. That little bit on top, which looks like the rooster’s crest, is shortened, but just the upper part. She needs to cut off the prepuce, the little bit at the top.

“All Religions” means “Muslims Only”

From Islam Online:

My profession is a gynecologist and during my work I examine women of nearly all religions and nationalities. For few years I worked in Makkah as well as in Kuwait where you could sample women of all religions and I found that only Egyptians, Sudanese, and Ethiopians have this habit of circumcision.

*  Makkah is ‘Muslims Only’- how this nutbag can claim that she could ‘sample women of all religions’ is a mystery.

*****

Update: Warning Graphic Images!

17 January 2009

Clit-Cutting Tradition in Indonesia:

Warning: Graphic Images!

Female circumcisers and their attendants waiting in an elementary-school classroom, where they do their work

* More Pic’s here

*

By SARA CORBETT/NYT

A Cutting Tradition

* Looks like the NYT has removed the article. Here’s another link…

When a girl is taken — usually by her mother — to a free circumcision event held each spring in Bandung, Indonesia, she is handed over to a small group of women who, swiftly and yet with apparent affection, cut off a small piece of her genitals. Sponsored by the Assalaam Foundation, an Islamic educational and social-services organization, circumcisions take place in a prayer center or an emptied-out elementary-school classroom where desks are pushed together and covered with sheets and a pillow to serve as makeshift beds. The procedure takes several minutes. There is little blood involved. Afterward, the girl’s genital area is swabbed with the antiseptic Betadine. She is then helped back into her underwear and returned to a waiting area, where she’s given a small, celebratory gift — some fruit or a donated piece of clothing — and offered a cup of milk for refreshment. She has now joined a quiet majority in Indonesia, where, according to a 2003 study by the Population Council, an international research group, 96 percent of families surveyed reported that their daughters had undergone some form of circumcision by the time they reached 14.

Tears are wiped from the face of a 9-month-old following her circumcision.

*

These photos were taken in April 2006, at the foundation’s annual mass circumcision, which is free and open to the public held during the lunar month marking the birth of the prophet Muhammad. The Assalaam Foundation runs several schools and a mosque in Bandung, Indonesia’s third-largest city and the capital of West Java. The photographer Stephanie Sinclair was taken to the circumcision event by a reproductive-health observer from Jakarta and allowed to spend several hours there. Over the course of that Sunday morning, more than 200 girls were circumcised, many of them appearing to be under the age of 5. Meanwhile, in a nearby building, more than 100 boys underwent a traditional circumcision as well.

According to Lukman Hakim, the foundation’s chairman of social services, there are three “benefits” to circumcising girls.

“One, it will stabilize her libido,” he said through an interpreter. “Two, it will make a woman look more beautiful in the eyes of her husband. And three, it will balance her psychology.”

Female genital cutting — commonly identified among international human rights groups as female genital mutilation — has been outlawed in 15 African countries. Many industrialized countries also have similar laws. Both France and the U.S. have prosecuted immigrant residents for performing female circumcisions.

In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, a debate over whether to ban female circumcision is in its early stages. The Ministry of Health has issued a decree forbidding medical personnel to practice it, but the decree which has yet to be backed by legislation does not affect traditional circumcisers and birth attendants, who are thought to do most female circumcisions. Many agree that a full ban is unlikely without strong support from the country’s religious leaders. According to the Population Council study, many Indonesians view circumcision for boys and girls as a religious duty.

* But of course: none of this has anything to do with Islam, right?

* Read it all

Update:

Warning: What follows now is very graphic:

Clitoridectomy; Wikipedia; The Age and Islam

t;/tr>

Written by Circe

Friday, 18 July 2008

Warning: Very graphic and disturbing content! Surprise, surprise the Age (9/7/08) does its usual article concentrating on ‘female circumcision’, particularly the most horrific variety with the ‘gosh isn’t it shocking but it’s nothing to do with Islam’….  The reality that Islamic text/laws make clitoridectomy mandatory or regard it as sunnah (supported by Mohammad) or at least a worthy practise is completely ignored.  Also ignored are the many hadiths (which dictate day-to-day life) that support the practise. No-one claimed Islam invented clitoridectomy – the Arabs practiced it at the time of Mohammad ..but to deny that it was taken up by Islam, is promoted by Islamic religious leaders, is mostly practised by Muslims and has spread around the world with Islam just shows the power of Islam in stopping people (including UN groups) from telling the obvious truth – in the case of Islam, there IS a religious base to the practice!!!  Note: May 2008 the Egyptian parliament seemed to have dropped laws making female genital mutilation illlegal in Egypt (other laws re increasing marriageable age and reporting families who beat their children were also over-ruled) (reference), though more recent reports claim clitoridectomy has been criminalised with trivial maximum sentences of up to 2 years jail and $1000 fine –AND it’s allowed in cases of ‘medical necessity!!! Conservatives maintain that Islam condones the removal of a girl’s clitoris to tame her sexual desires and condemn the amendment as a western import. (reference) In a recent study in Yemen, of the 39 clerics who participated, 72 percent wanted the practice to continue for reasons of religious mandate, virginity and tradition. (Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC) >The sad truth is: FGM is performedall around the world wherever  Muslim communities are present Clitoridectomy alone ensures a woman will never have an orgasm (this has been medically proved) ie her right to full sexual pleasure is denied!!  It is the same as removing the penis.  If the Islamic laws and text that support the practice are constantly hidden, they cannot be eradicated and whenever those who know Islam’s text and laws are in positions of power, they will be enforced again!   Pretending it isn’t Islamic seems good but is a dangerous distortion of the truth.   It is only pressure from the west and colonialism that has altered ‘Islamic’ behaviour but such western influence (leading to depravity) is resisted and can be overturned.   * Update: Denmark: Mother sentenced in FGM case Some hope appeared when Wikipedia, which still tries to excuse Islam, actually had the courage to state accurately that there was a Shafi law (an important school of Islamic law) that mandated CLITORIDECTOMY.  And it also daringly referred to two hadith – there are many others but hey, it’s a start!!  Can we hope for more?? Islamic Law “One of the four Sunni schools of religious law, the Shafi’i school, rulesthat clitoridectomy is mandatory” (Wikipedia) Yes!  The Arabic version of the law states: “Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the clitoris (bazr in Arabic)- (this is called HufaaD). “  (Reliance of the Traveller, a classical manual of Islamic sacred law in Arabic with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller (1994) p59. Note the English version falsely translates bazr as ‘prepuce ‘ of the clitoris!!) Sadly – Wikipedia fails to report the comment by Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wakil Durubi in the English ‘version’ who notes: “Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.”(Reliance of the Traveller p 59;) Note: ‘sunna’ means the actions and words of Mohammad, the perfect example for all Muslims to follow!Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wakil Durubi’s comments show that support for clitoridectomy is widespread across Islam, not limited to the followers of Shafi Law!Sadly – Wikipedia also allows Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wakil Durubi to try the ‘it really only means trimming the clitoral hood’  line.  Of course, that’s why it says ‘removal of the clitoris’ and naturally those illiterate Arab/Muslim tribes-people past and present would have been right up with the fine detail of female anatomy. Often the clitoris is cut from babies when the clitoris is enlarged due to pregnancy hormones and the ‘hood’ not visible (even the labia minora are just threads and are often cut too) or the clitoris is destroyed by applying hot sand and chemicals to it or it is grabbed and stretched out and sometimes a band applied and rolled back along the clitoral shaft to fully expose it for cutting —- hood, yeah, right!!   They’ve all just been ‘mistaken’ for 1400 years!!  (until some westerner put them right??). Wikipedia also notes: In 1994, Egyptian Mufti Sheikh Jad Al-Hâqq ‘Ali Jad Al-Hâqq issued a fatwa stating, “Circumcision is mandatory for men and for women. If the people of any village decide to abandon it, the village imam must fight against them as if they had abandoned the call to prayer.” [60] The Al-Azhar University in Cairo has issued several fatwas endorsing FGC, in 1949, 1951 and 1981. There has been ongoing endorsement of ‘circumcision’ but note the swift switching of terms – it’s not female genital mutilation, it’s just harmless female genital cutting FGC!! Once again I will post this recent support for clitoridectomy (as in Egypt): On 12/2/2007 Al-Arabiya TV aired  ‘Al-Azhar University Scholars Argue over the Legitimacy of Female Circumcision Practiced in Egypt. The debate was between Egyptian Al-Azhar University scholars Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mussayar and Sheikh Mahmoud Ashur.  The exerts are interesting because they acknowledge the hadiths related to FGM -Muhammad Al-Mussayar notes: “All the jurisprudents, since the advent of Islam and for 14 centuries or more, are in consensus that female circumcision is permitted by Islam. But they were divided with regard to its status in shari’a. Some said that female circumcision is required by shari’a, just like male circumcision. Some said this is the mainstream practice, while others said it is a noble act. But throughout the history of Islam, nobody has ever said that performing female circumcision is a crime. There has been a religious ruling on this for 14 centuries.” And this is why it is impossible to reform Islam … even if there attempts from within they fail. “First of all, there are reliable hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim which support female circumcision. The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘If a circumcised woman and man have intercourse, they must undergo ablution.’ Unreliable hadiths do not cancel out the reliable ones. We have unreliable hadiths regarding prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. Should we abolish prayer and charity just because some hadiths are unreliable?..”Female circumcision is no less valid just because it was practiced in Pharaonic times and in the Jahiliya.  Islam accepted some customs, which were harmonious with human nature, and rejected others, which contradicted human nature.” (reported byMEMRI.org 27/2/2007 and FGMnetwork ) Hadith: these apply to all (sunni) Muslims: 1) Wikipedia has the courage to note the hadith supporting the view that clitoridectomy is sunnah – Umm Atiyyah was a known clitoris cutter. Abu-Dawud   Book 41, No.  5251: Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah:    A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina.  The prophet (peace be upon him) said to her:  Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband. (Note:  The powerful Mohammad did NOT stop the procedure yet he stopped adoption so he could marry his adopted son’s wife Zainab, regarded as incest by the Arabs because adopted sons were held as sons!) Sadly – Wikipedia  then allowed the usual excuse – it’s ‘weak in transmission.’ (Isn’t this an opinion?)   Funny then that it’s survived 1400 years, including revisions and influenced Islamic law!!   Both the ‘science’ of the hadith and this excuse are too absurd to waste time on!2) Wikipedia also notes a hadith from the highly authentic, reliable Muslim collection: Muslim  book 3 No. 684:  Abu Musa reported: There cropped up a difference of opinion between a group of Muhajirs ….He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to ‘A’isha and sought her permission and it was granted…… I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and the circumcised parts touch each other a bath becomes obligatory. Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Whoever finds it serving the interest of his daughters should do it, and I personally support this under the current circumstances in the modern world. * The good Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi is also an expert on female masturbation among other things: Qaradawi: can AIDS be cured with camel urine? Sadly it implies this is the only one – WRONG and it allows Dr. Muhammad Salim al-Awwa, Secretary General of the World Union of the Muslim Ulemas, who agrees that the hadith is authentic, to state the most absurd, convoluted, twisted lack of reason to claim that silly Aisha, when she said TWO circumcised organs  (in the feminine form) she really meant one – the male one of course… (see logical alternative explanation below) Both Wikipedia and Dr al-Awwa might like to try these which show that the circumcised parts were often referred to  separately ie ‘when the circumcised part touches the circumcised part’  and that both Aisha and Malik tracing several different transmitters,  refer to two separate circumcised parts and that the instruction re circumcised parts and ghusl is reported in several sets of hadith making it important!  Remember, female circumcision meant cut out the clitoris in Mohammad’s time! a) Maliks Muwatta Section: Obligation to Do Ghusl when the Two Circumcised Parts Meet Maliks Muwatta Book 2 , Number 2.19.73: Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan and A’isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, “When the circumcised part touches the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory.” Maliks Muwatta Book 2 , Number 2.19.74: Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu’n Nadr, the mawla of Umar ibn Abdullah that Abu Salamaibn Abdar-Rahman ibn Awf related that he had asked A’isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what made ghusl obligatory. She said, “Do you know what you are like, Abu Salama? You are like a chick when it hears the cocks crowing and so crows with them. When the circumcised part passes the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory.” Maliks Muwatta Book 2 , Number 2.19.75: Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Said ibn al-Musayyab that Abu Musa al-Ashari came to A’isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said to her, “The disagreement of the companions in a matter which I hate to bring before you has distressed me.” She said, “What is that? You did not ask your mother about it, so ask me.” He said, “A man penetrates his wife, but becomes listless and does not ejaculate. “She said, “When the circumcised part passes the circumcised part ghusl is obligatory.” Abu Musa added, “I shall never ask anyone about this after you.” Maliks Muwatta Book 2 , Number 2.19.77:   Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, “When the circumcised part passes the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory.” b) Hajj Maliks Muwatta Book 20   No.  20.46.161 - very long, all about penalties for contact between a male and female during hajj –……………Malik said, “What spoils a hajj or an umra and makes sacrificing an animal and repeating the hajj necessary is the meeting of the two circumcised parts, even if there is no emission. Above hadiths from this SITE suggest that ‘circumcision’ of females was normal for Muslims: c) Tirmidi hadith: Tirmidi hadith 166    Narrated Aisha;  Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: When the circumcised parts bypass one another (i.e. have intercourse), taking of a bath is necessary. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and I did that and then we took a bath.  (from ALIM CD rom) Logical alternative explanation:    Clitoridectomy was widely practised by Arabs at the time of Mohammad;   Aisha was an Arab;    Mohammad had endorsed the practice of clitoridectomy when speaking to Um Attiyyah (clitoris cutter) and Aisha simply spread Mohammad’s instructions;    hence it would be reasonable for Aisha  (probably circumcised herself) to address people re ‘washing after dirty sex,’ to refer to the TWO circumcised organs coming into contact as this would be the normal case.    Malik likewise notes the same statements coming from Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan and A’isha. d) As for female circumcision (clitoridectomy in Mohammad’s day) being a sign of respect for women, and a hadith  where the women of al-Ansar were addressed endorsing female circumcision, they are referred to in Dr al-Awwa’s paper ‘Female Circumcision Neither a sunna, nor a Sign of Respect’    – ( I own a copy but it’s nolonger available!). Indonesia- Inside a Female-Circumcision Ceremony: A girl is soothed by an attendant before her circumcision being sexually -and mentally- crippled. Also Hadith in the Musnad by Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, where Shaddad Ibn Aws reports that the prophet said: “Cicumcision is a sunnah for Men, MAKRUMAH for women”      (MAKRUMAH can be translated as “noble deed” or “honorable”) cited HERE These show that such hadith exist—call them ‘weak’ if you like!Shia View Foster states that female circumcision is rumoured to be common amongst Shi’ite communities ruled by Hezbollah in Lebanon  (Wikipedia)Judaism;  Christianity: Wikipedia may note correctly that neither Judaism nor Christianity have text supporting clitoridectomy etc and notes that the only members of these two groups that carry it out are those from Africa ie from areas under considerable Arab/Islamic influence for 1400 years.  Christian converts from Islam sometimes continue the practice.  Old WHO reports showed much higher practice rates amongst Muslims in FGM areas than Christians but it’s now politically incorrect to note this. Sadly- Wikipedia refers to an extremist nut case who calls himself a Christian in regard to FGC but fails to report the array of Islamic clerics that endorse the practice, in full accordance with Islamic text/laws in the Islamic world and the west.   The false Christian-Muslim’ equivalence continues while hiding the full extent of Islamic involvement. Indeed further instances of such practices are found in the Islamic world all the time and becoming more prominent in Muslim countries where the progress of Islam was slowed by colonialism eg Indonesia ( see ‘In the cut’  Sydney Mornig Herald  January 13, 2004 and NYT. ‘A cutting tradition’ where practices vary from pricking the clitoris, cutting/removing it or removing it plus labia with more destructive procedures increasing). Note how the spread of FGM/clitoridectomy matches the spread of Islam  – Africa (NOT in the south where Arab/Islam didn’t penetrate initially); Middle-East;  Turkey;  India;  Malaysia;  Indonesia… Female Genital Mutilation in Indonesia – Let’s blame it on the Black Africans! Will we blame the Africans for all of it? – surely, given the thousands of years since the Pharaohs, it would have spread throughout Africa if we are to only blame the Pharaohs who were generally not black, and the black Africans! Irfan Yusuf blames an old Indonesian practice! ( Does Yusuf mean liar in Arabic?) It’s practised in Australia- – will we call it an old Australian practice?  Dito Europe, America? ______________________________ Australia’s Mufti supports clitoridectomy – do you think he’s ignorant of Islamic text and laws? Pamela Bone (who also thought clitoridectomy wasn’t part of Islamic law!) referred to an interview with Sheik Fehmi al-Imam of the Preston Mosque where she asked him about clitoridectomy and he replied: “You probably don’t need it but women in hot countries do”!!! (Melbourne   Age 21/7/01 p7) What’s the bet that the first person prosecuted for genital mutilation/clitoridectomy is an African Christian or Animist – in an effort to show it’s not Islamic!Including other forms of genital cutting helps to fudge the relationship between Islam and clitoridectomy.  Remember, when overtaken, some cultures take-on the culture of their overlords particularly if there are already some similarities (eg some African tribes) while others resist certain practises  (eg initially Christian Syria resisting clitoridectomy) so culture does have an influence but in the case of Islam so does religion (religious culture!!).   So, the fact that a restricted few others perform FGM/clitoridectomy/FGC (genitals have always been fascinating) and some Muslim groups don’t, does NOT mean there is not a close link between FGM/clitoridectomy and Islam. Quiz: Which religion has a law that makes clitoridectomy obligatory? Which religion has a prophet who endorsed clitoridectomy? Which religion has hadiths that support clitoridectomy/circumcision of females The spread of which religion is most closely related to the spread of clitoridectomy/FGM? Which religion carries out most clitoridectomies  the world over? Which religion has an Australian mufti that supports clitoridectomy? If you answered Islam to all, give yourself a tick!! But remember, it’s nothing to do with Islam!! Some articles on FGM/clitoridectomy on the site: Female Genital Mutilation  – 18/04/07 Female Genital Mutilation Part 2 – 07/06/07 Female Genital Mutilation Part 3 – 21/06/07 Does Yusuf mean liar in Arabic?   Wednesday, 19 March 2008 Comments (22)

The Arabic version of the law states:

“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the clitoris (bazr in Arabic)- (this is called HufaaD). ” (Reliance of the Traveller, a classical manual of Islamic sacred law in Arabic with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller (1994) p59.

* Note the English version falsely translates bazr as ‘prepuce ‘ of the clitoris!!)

Strict adherence to islamic values, of course! I was being rhetorical. If you are still uncertain as to what good islamic values might actually be, those values so superior to our Australian un-islamic values, the ever reliable dhimmi SMH has printed a guide.http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/slaughtered-in-name-of-family/2008/12/05/1228257318380.htmlI wonder if Keysar would care to comment? Which part of these much-vaunted “values” should we attempt to emulate? Islamic “honor” or Islamic murder?

I also wonder if he has any comment on the 16 cases of backyard clitorectomy reputed to have been performed in Queensland this past year?
http://fgmnetwork.org/news/show_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1206899204&archive=&template=

Things to emulate from “islamic values”.

An article I recently read, relating to FGM, asks “whether groups that are illiberal and sexist should be afforded group rights and protections by liberal states, or whether, instead, sexist cultural practices and perhaps entire cultures should be altered or allowed to become ‘extinct’.”
The author, Susan Moller Okin, was discussing multiculturalism under the question,“Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?” and her conclusion, in terms of the barbarity that has been sanctioned in order to appease politically correct, cultural tyranny, is… YES, M/C has been bad for many women, usually those who come from “3rd World” countries.

Like the students at the Brisbane school in question.
I watched video of the poor little mites, 2 nights ago, trotted out to do what the adults can’t do… defend islam. “See, how brightly they shine!”
Headscarf and other signs of inferior status proudly worn, it was quite obvious that the student body is made up of immigrant children and just as obvious that many of their parents would have been from those ‘3rd World countries’ we aren’t supposed to be critical of. Except if you are a Feminist academic, apparently.

About 12% of the schools student body (or their parents) come from Egypt.

“Egypt is the second most populous African nation and the most populous Arab nation. Egypt is a leader in Islamic jurisprudence, and its citizenry is 90% Muslim. Female circumcision (female genital mutilation or FGM) has been practiced in Egypt for thousands of years and perhaps as many as 97% of Egyptian “ever-married” women have endured the practice. Although there is disagreement among theologians, fundamentalists continue to promote FGM as an Islamic mandate for the preservation of women’s chastity.” (Source unknown) In fairness, the Egyptians have made FGM illegal, as of ’97, but reports from reliable sources indicate that the letter of the law and the practice of it is lagging somewhat in Egypt. Many tens of thousands of Egyptian women still face these horrors, just without access to modern medicine!

The chance that some of Keysar’s charges have been cut up to placate some primitive, religiously-inspired barbarity?
In MY AUSTRALIA, I don’t want to run the chance that even ONE has suffered this barbarity. I guess that is un-islamic, but I can live with it.
Keysar says upholding Australian law and culture is a pre-eminent focus of the school. Well, as FGM is illegal in Queensland and every other State, I suggest his school has a legal responsibility to inform Authorities of cases it knows of.

In the abridged Table below, please note that Indonesia, from where this school also draws a large number of its students, is rated as 100% in instituting 2 forms of FGM.
Note also the likelihood of the remaining school populace to be comprised of students from the other nations listed.

FGM Around the World

COUNTRY – PREVALENCE (%) – TYPE PERFORMED

Benin – 16.8 – II

Burkina Faso – 76.6 – II – Performed throughout the country in all but a few provinces.

Cameroon – 1 – I, II

Central African Republic – 35.9 – I, II

Chad – 44.9 – II – Widely practiced in all parts of Chad.
III – Confined to areas bordering Sudan in the eastern part of the country.

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) – 44.5 – II

Djibouti – 90-98 – II – Performed on girls of Yemeni origin. III – Most common among the Issa and Afar.

DRC (Congo)- Unknown – II

Egypt – 97.3% – I, II, III

Eritrea – 88.7 – I, II, III

Ethiopia – 79.9 – I – Commonly practiced among Amharas, Tigrayans and the Jeberti Muslims living in Tigray.
II – Most commonly practiced form. The Gurages, some Tigrayans, Oromos and the Shankilas practice this form.
III – Practiced in the eastern Muslim regions bordering Sudan and Somalia.
IV – Referred to as “Mariam Girz” in Ethiopia, it is practiced mainly in Gojam in the Amhara region.

Gambia – 60-90 – I – The Sarahulis perform this on girls one week after birth. The Bambaras perform the procedure on girls between 10-15 years of age.
II – Nearly all Mandinkas, Jolas and Hausas practice this form on girls 10-15 years old.
III – The Fulas perform a procedure similar to Type III that is described as “vaginal sealing” on girls from one week old to 18 years old.
IV – The Fulas perform this type on girls from one week old to 18 years old.

Ghana – 5.4 – I, II, III

Guinea – 98.6 – I, II, III, IV

Indonesia – 100 – I, IV

Kenya – 32.2 – I and II most common.
III – found in the far eastern areas bordering Somalia.

Liberia – 50 – II

Mali – 91.6 – I, II, III (Type III practiced in southern areas of country)

Mauritania – 71.5 – I, II

Niger – 4.5 – II

Nigeria – 19 – I, II, III, IV
(Type I and II more prominent in the south; Type III more prominent in north)

Senegal – 28.2 – II, III
(Type II is most common)

Sierra Leone – 80-90 – II

Somalia – 90-98 – I – practiced mainly in the coastal towns of Mogadishu, Brava, Merca, and Kismayu.
III – Approximately 80% of the circumcisions are this type.

Sudan – 90 – I, II, III
(Type III is most common)

Tanzania – 17.7 – II, III

Togo – 12 – II

Uganda – 5 – No information available.

Yemen – 22.6 – II, III

DEFINITIONS OF TYPES OF FGC/FC :
Type I – Circumcision is the excision (removal) of the prepuce (clitoral hood) with or without removal of a part of the clitoris (a.k.a. sunna circumcision).

Type II – Excision or clitoridectomy is the excision of the clitoris together with part or all of the labia minora (the inner vaginal lips).

Type III – Infibulation is the excision of part or all of the external genitalia (clitoris, labia minora and labia majora) and stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening, leaving a very small opening, about the size of a matchstick, to allow for the flow of urine and menstrual blood. The girl or woman’s legs are generally bound together from the hip to the ankle so she remains immobile for approximately 40 days to allow for the formation of scar tissue (referred to as Sudanese circumcision in Egypt; referred to as Pharaonic circumcision in Somalia).

Type IV – Unclassified includes the p***king, piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia; also includes symbolic rituals. The application or insertion of corrosive substances into the vagina is also considered Type IV.

Defibulation or deinfibulation – Cutting open the scar tissue that has formed around the vaginal opening to allow penetration by her husband or for the birth of a child.

Refibulation or reinfibulation or recircumcision – The sewing up of a circumcised woman’s vaginal opening after childbirth or periodically during her life when she feels as though her opening has gotten too big or loose.

Alternative rituals – An alternative to FGM in which the traditional ceremony takes place without the actual cutting. In Kenya, girls go through a week-long program designed as a coming-of-age workshop. This ritual is called “Ntanira Na Mugambo” or “Circumcision Through Words.”

Introcision – A form of FGM/C that is practiced by the Pitta-Patta aborigines of Australia where the vaginal orifice is enlarged by tearing it downward with three fingers bound with an opossum string. The procedure is performed by an elderly man when the girl reaches puberty. In other districts, the perineum is split with a stone knife. Compulsory sexual intercourse with a number of young men usually follows the introcision. Mexico, Brazil, and Peru reportedly practice this form of FGM/C. In Peru, among a division of Pano Indians, an elderly woman uses a bamboo knife to cut around the hymen from the vaginal entrance and severs the hymen from the labia, at the same time exposing the clitoris. Medicinal herbs are applied, followed by the insertion of a phallic clay object into the vagina.

Islamic values or Australian? Frankly, the concept of “islamic values” is an affront to every person who calls himself Australian.

There is no way to overstate this – the implications of allowing islam to continue unchecked and cosseted by appeasing lawmakers, etc, MUST BE STOPPED, or this country runs the risk of sliding into a dark pit of depravity such as it has never known.
People of Australia – the time to fight for your country is NOW.

Update:

Female genital mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan: “we will never stop because Islam and our elders require it”

The mainstream media and Islamic advocacy groups in the United States constantly tell us that female genital mutilation is a cultural practice that has nothing to do with Islam. They do this despite the fact that the among the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, Shafi’is consider circumcision obligatory for women; Hanbalis say it is an honorable custom, but not obligatory; Hanafis say it should be done as a courtesy to the husband. None of the three, you’ll note, say that the practice is wrong, immoral, un-Islamic.

Anyway, the upshot of this situation is that while most Westerners take for granted, if they’ve ever heard of female genital mutilation at all, that it is un-Islamic, it remains only Muslims who haven’t gotten this message.

“For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual,” by Amit R. Paley for the Washington Post, December 29 (thanks to Morgaan Sinclair):

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq – Sheelan Anwar Omer, a shy 7-year-old Kurdish girl, bounded into her neighbor’s house with an ear-to-ear smile, looking for the party her mother had promised.There was no celebration. Instead, a local woman quickly locked a rusty red door behind Sheelan, who looked bewildered when her mother ordered the girl to remove her underpants. Sheelan began to whimper, then tremble, while the women pushed apart her legs and a midwife raised a stainless-steel razor blade in the air. “I do this in the name of Allah!” she intoned.

As the midwife sliced off part of Sheelan’s genitals, the girl let out a high-pitched wail heard throughout the neighborhood. As she carried the sobbing child back home, Sheelan’s mother smiled with pride.

“This is the practice of the Kurdish people for as long as anyone can remember,” said the mother, Aisha Hameed, 30, a housewife in this ethnically mixed town about 100 miles north of Baghdad. ”We don’t know why we do it, but we will never stop because Islam and our elders require it.”

Kurdistan is the only known part of Iraq –and one of the few places in the world–where female circumcision is widespread. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish territory, 95 percent of women have undergone the practice, which human rights groups call female genital mutilation.

The practice, and the Kurdish parliament’s refusal to outlaw it, highlight the plight of women in a region with a reputation for having a more progressive society than the rest of Iraq. Advocates for women point to the increasing frequency of honor killings against women and female self-immolations in Kurdistan this year as further evidence that women in the area still face significant obstacles, despite efforts to raise public awareness of circumcision and violence against women. [...]

Supporters of female circumcision said the practice, which has been a ritual in their culture for countless generations, is rooted in sayings they attribute to the prophet Muhammad, though the accuracy of those sayings is disputed by other Muslim scholars….

Of course. But they don’t seem to be able to dispute the accuracy of those sayings effectually enough to curb this practice where it is found among Muslims.

Update:

Thousands of girls in Britain have suffered genital mutilation

Circumcision is “obligatory” for “both men and women” — so says a legal manual of the Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence, ‘Umdat al-Salik (e4.3). This school is dominant in Egypt, where 97% of women have suffered genital mutilation. The Hanbali school teaches, in contrast, that female genital mutilation is not obligatory, while noting that it is accepted Islamic practice; the Hanafi school calls it “a mere courtesy to the husband.”

In any case, the Islamic justifications given for the practice enable it to continue. Yet in the West it is considered “Islamophobic” to mention these Islamic justifications. However, the longer they are ignore, the more girls will be mutilated in Britain and the West in general. Calling this an African custom, as this article does, is a misdiagnosis, and like all misdiagnoses it will contribute nothing toward a cure.

“Thousands of girls mutilated in Britain,” by Richard Kerbaj in the Times, March 16 or Jihad Watch

The NHS is to advertise free operations to reverse female circumcisions, with experts warning that each year more than 500 British girls have their genitals mutilated.Despite having been outlawed in 1985, female circumcision is still practised in British African communities, in some cases on girls as young as 5. Police have been unable to bring a single prosecution even though they suspect that community elders are being flown from the Horn of Africa to carry out the procedures.

The advertisement will appear from next month on a Somali satellite TV station much viewed in Britain. It features Juliet Albert, a midwife who does the reverse operations, and promises, in English and Somali, confidentiality for victims of female genital mutilation.

The advertisement was expected to help to undermine demand for girls to be circumcised, and to popularise the reversal procedure, Ms Albert said. Thousands of such operations have been carried out at specialist clinics and hospitals around Britain and demand is growing slowly.

Female circumcision, which is done for various reasons, such as religious and cultural traditions, can cause severe health complications including infections and psychological problems. The procedure, predominantly carried out on girls aged between 5 and 12, can range from the removal of the clitoris to the removal of all the exterior parts of the vagina, which is then sewn up.

A study by the Foundation for Women’s Health, Research and Development (Forward), estimated that 66,000 women living in England and Wales had been circumcised, most before leaving their country of origin. The government-funded research also found that more than 7,000 girls were at a high risk of being subjected to genital mutilation in Britain.

Sarah McCulloch, of the Agency for Culture Change Management UK, said that every year more than 500 British girls were having circumcisions. “A lot of them are done in the UK, but some still travel overseas,” she said….

Update:

Mali: Women demand law against genital mutilation

Brava! But they will face an uphill battle, with opposition sure to come from Islamic clerics. “Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)” – ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3.

“Women Finally Demand Law Against Genital Mutilation,” from MISNA, August 7 (thanks to JW):

Yesterday, some 700 activists, mostly women, have marched in favor of the introduction of laws to ban the practice of female genital mutilation (FMG) in Bamako. The demonstrators presented the request directly to parliament. The long overdue initiative, organized by the Coordination of women’s NGO’s in Mali, was repeated in other areas of the country, where more women also staged small gatherings. “The rate of FMG in Mali is very high, reaching some 92%” said Nicola Giovannini of the “No Peace without Justice” NGO to MISNA; the organization has been engaged in a vast campaign against female mutilation alongside Malian NGO’s. Giovannini said that in Mali, there is a strong political consensus for a law to ban the practice, but authorities have so far suggested that Malian society itself is not yet ready to penalize this terrible and very established practice. The participation in anti FMG protests suggests that there is an ever stronger – if long overdue – desire for change.

Al-Misri on Circumcision

Baron Bodissey

I reported briefly yesterday on the sharia requirement for female circumcision, as mandated by Reliance of the Traveller, which is the authoritative law manual under the Shafiite school of Islamic law. In the comments section on the post, Inalienable Rights requested that I scan the page in question and post it so that everyone could have a look.

I’m more than happy to comply, but a first brief introduction is in order. We (that is, people who resist the Great Jihad) are routinely accused of distorting Islamic doctrine, quoting material out of context, relying on “extremist” sources that do not represent “true Islam”, etc. I’ll present the material here as if I were establishing an evidentiary chain in a court of law, citing factual material from creditable sources so as to present a case that could stand up before a judge and a jury.

But this process represents Western standards of logic and legality. None of it will stop me from being accused of “defaming Islam”, because anything I do — even quoting authoritative sources on Islamic law — is defined as “defamation” under sharia if it does not serve to further Islam.

That’s why the kuffar may be legitimately shouted down for quoting the Koran, while Muslims may do the same freely. This is not illogical, and there’s no contradiction: it makes complete sense, once you understand the basic premises of Islamic doctrine.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
The source I cite here is ’Umdat al-salik wa ’uddat al-nasik, or The reliance of the traveller and tools of the worshipper. It is commonly referred to as Reliance of the Traveller when cited in English.

According to the title page, my copy is the Revised Edition (published 1991, revised 1994) and is “The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law ’Umdat al-Salik by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri (d. 769/1368) in Arabic with Facing English Text, Commentary, and Appendices”, edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller. The publisher is listed as amana publications in Beltsville, Maryland.

Why do I consider this an authoritative source on Sunni Islamic law?

Because it is certified as such by Al-Azhar University in Cairo. There is no higher authority on Sunni Islamic doctrine than Al-Azhar; it is the closest equivalent to the Vatican that can be found in Islam.

On page xx of the “Documents” preface, we find this encomium (the Arabic version, including official stamps and seals, is on the facing page xxi):
- – -  – - – - -

[CERTIFICATION OF AL-AZHAR]

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST MERCIFUL AND COMPASSIONATE

al-Azhar
Islamic Research Academy
General Department for Research, Writing, and Translation

Mr. Nuh Ha Mim Keller
Amman, Jordan

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

To commence: In response to the request you have submitted concerning the examination of the English translation of the book ’Umdat al-salik wa ’uddat al-nasik by Ahmad ibn Naqib in the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence, together with appendices by Islamic scholars on matters of Islamic law, tenets of faith, and personal ethics and character: we certify that the above-mentioned translation corresponds to the Arabic original and conforms to the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni Community (Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’a). There is no objection to printing it and circulating it.

The stamping of the pages of the above-mentioned work with the seal of the department has been completed.

May Allah give you success in serving Sacred Knowledge and the religion. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Composed on 26 Rajah 1411 A.H./11 February 1991 A.D.

General Director of Research, Writing, and Translation
Fath Allah Ya Sin Jazar [signed]

Muhammad ’Umar Muhammad ’Umar [signed]

Seal of al-Azhar [stamped] General Department for Research, Writing, and Translation

This establishes the unassailable credentials of Nuh Ha Mim Keller’s translation of ’Umdat al-Salik.

In Book E “Purification”, section e4.0 “The Body”, we find on page 59 the following text:

This is the original Arabic, for those of our readers who read the language and can translate it for themselves. For everyone else, below is an image of the English side-by-side with the Arabic. I include e4.4 just to give you an idea of the type of material covered by Book E:

And here is the same text after it has been processed through the OCR:

e4.3 Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)

As I mentioned yesterday, this section demonstrates that all four schools of Sunni law consider female circumcision a good thing, and two of them list it as mandatory.

I also mentioned that the original Arabic is more stringent than the English version, in that it specifies excising the entire clitoris rather than just the prepuce. I find further backing for this assertion in the Australian Islamist Monitor, which reports:

Reliance of the Traveller, a classical manual of Islamic sacred law in Arabic with facing English text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller (1994) re ‘circumcision’ we find the Arabic actually says -

“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the clitoris (this is called HufaaD). “ (p59) (Shafi’I jurisprudence)

(Note the English version is falsely translated as ‘prepuce ‘ of the clitoris!!)

The Arabic word bazr does not mean “prepuce of the clitoris”, it means the clitoris itself (cf. the entry in the Arabic-English Dictionary). The deceptive translation by Nuh Hah Mim Keller, made for Western consumption, obscures the Shafi’i law, given by ’Umdat al-Salik, that circumcision of girls by excision of the clitoris is mandatory. This particular form of female circumcision is widely practiced in Egypt, where the Shafi’i school of Sunni law is followed. Note a comment by Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wakil Durubi in the English ‘version’ notes “Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.” (answering-Islam.org)

This is supported by several hadiths eg

Abu-Dawud Book 41, No. 5251: Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.

(Note: The powerful Mohammad did NOT stop the procedure yet he did stop the Arab practise of adoption when he wished to marry his adopted son’s wife Zainab, regarded as incest by the Arabs because adopted sons were held as sons!)

Anyone who reads Arabic is invited to check the image posted above against what AIM says here, and see if you agree with it.

With this, the sharia justification (and, under Shafi, requirement) for radical female circumcision is now clearly and fully demonstrated, and constitutes a “fact in evidence”.

Case closed.

Besotted multiculturalist anthropologists defend female genital mutilation

Tagged as: Female Genital Mutilation