Female circumcision?

Question

I am really worried about something, my boyfriend and I would like to get married and we would like to have babies.

My boyfriend is from Egypt and he is muslim and I am from a Latinamerican country and I am Christian Catholic.

I know that in many religions, including Islam when baby boys are born, they have a circumcision. I agree with that, as in my religion, many parents ask the doctor to make the circumcision to baby boys when they born.

But of what I am really scared and is that I have read that sometimes, also baby girls when they are born have circumcision. Is that true?

Answer 1

Dear,
Circumcision for baby boys is highly recommended now in many western countries.
Muslims do it since the beginning of time.
However, circumcision for baby girls is not. It is neither in Islam’s concept nor in Egyptian modern culture any more.

Circumcision girls in South of Egypt were a traditional old cultural performance. Based only on some tribe’s believe. Many Egyptians now - especially in the South- understood that it should never be done, as they have been educated that it is risky and harmful. .
The procedure of girl’s circumcision used to practice unprofessionally and in awful environment. Therefore, many females suffered of terrible physical condition based on that believe. And I assure you, this is not based on ISLAM AT ALL.

Read some articles for Dr. Saadawi About this matter.
"" Nawal El-Saadawi, a Muslim victim of infibulation, stated:

"The importance given to virginity and an intact hymen in these societies is the reason why female circumcision still remains a very widespread practice despite a growing tendency, especially in urban Egypt, to do away with it as something outdated and harmful. Behind circumcision lies the belief that, by removing parts of girls' external genitals organs, sexual desire is minimized. This permits a female who has reached the dangerous age of puberty and adolescence to protect her virginity, and therefore her honor, with greater ease. Chastity was imposed on male attendants in the female harem by castration which turned them into inoffensive eunuchs. Similarly female circumcision is meant to preserve the chastity of young girls by reducing their desire for sexual intercourse.""

& I found this article for Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, head of the al-Azhar Islamic Institute

The Debate in Egypt:

""Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, head of the al-Azhar Islamic Institute has stated that the practice is un-Islamic. The Health Minister of Egypt, Ismail Sallam, announced the ban on FGM in 1996-JUL. This was upheld by a junior administrative court in Cairo.

Sheik Youssef Badri, a Muslim fundamentalist, took the health minister to court. In 1997-JUN, an Egyptian court overturned the country's ban on FGM. Eight Muslim scholars and doctors had testified that the ban exceeded the government's authority and violated the legal rights of the medical profession. Sheik Youssef Badri commented: "[Female] circumcision is Islamic; the court has said that the ban violated religious law. There's nothing which says circumcision is a crime, but the Egyptians came along and said that Islam is a crime." About 1997-JUL-6, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel interviewed Sheik Badri. He claimed that many Muslim women are pleased with this victory of Islam over its enemies. When it was pointed out to him that parents in Morocco and Algeria do not practice FGM, he replied that the clitoris in Egyptian girls was larger than in those countries and had to be cut back to a normal size. He quoted a French study which showed that circumcised girls are less likely to catch AIDS. * He believes that the United States is spreading misinformation on the health risks of FGM. ""

&
The Debate Among Muslims:

As noted above, FGM is a social custom, not a religious practice. However, in those Muslim countries where it is practice, FGM is often justified by a controversial saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed that seem to favor sunna circumcision. The authenticity of these sayings are unconfirmed, and some scholars have refuted them. Even if true, they only permit the practice; they do not mandate it.

FGM has probably been performed for at least 1,400 years (some references estimate 2,000 years), and started during what Muslims call "al-gahiliyyah" (the era of ignorance). The Qu'r'an, Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and Christian Scriptures (New Testament) is silent on the subject. The Sunnah (the words and actions of the Prophet Mohammed) contains a reference to female circumcision.
One interpretation of this passage is that the woman was going to proceed with the circumcision anyway; Muhammad suggested that she remove a smaller amount of her genitalia than she had perhaps intended to.

This passage is regarded by many Muslims as having little credibility or authenticity. The Muslim Women's League comments: "According to Sayyid Sabiq, renowned scholar and author of Fiqh-us-Sunnah, all hadiths concerning female circumcision are non-authentic." 1 An extensive analysis of classical Muslim authors is available online.

Many Muslims see passages in the Qur'an which, by implication, oppose FGM. they reason:
bulletGod apparently created the clitoris for the sole purpose of generating pleasure. It has no other purpose. There is no instruction in the Qur'an or in the writings of the Prophet Mohammed which require that the clitoris be surgically modified. Thus God must approve of its presence. And so, it should not be removed or reduced in size or function.
bulletThe Qur'an promotes the concept of a husband and wife giving each other pleasure during sexual intercourse. For example:
bullet"It is lawful for you to go in unto your wives during the night preceding the (day's) fast: they are as a garment for you and you are as a garment for them." (2:187)
bullet"...and He has put love and mercy between you." (30:21)

Mutilated genitalia reduce or eliminate a woman's pleasure during the act.

bulletThe Qur'an (An-Nisa': 119) states that Satan will try to trick humans into body modification: "And I will surely lead them astray, and arouse desires in them, and command them and they will cut the cattle's ears, and I will surely command them and they will change Allah's creation." This might be interpreted as forbidding FGM as well as tattoos, piercing and any other modification that alters the design of the human body as Allah created it.""

So, relax & good luck to you & the baby.

Answer 2

Actually circumcision is a euphemism. They remove the clitoris so in effect it is equivalent to male castration. It was never a practiced in Islam. Some tribes in the Yemen have it. Removing the clitoris removes sexual pleasure and therefore guarantees fidelity on the part of the female. She can still birth children but without the pleasure of conceiving. Both practices are rather barbaric. The Jews have elevated it to a religious standard. Originally it was a social thing to be different from non Jews. A bit of advice. I'm not a young man and I have spent over 17 years in the Middle East and Egypt. I do not know if you have ever been o Egypt so here goes...The country is wallowing in religion. The Quran is drummed in to you 24 hours a day every day 5 times per day. There are loud speakers everywhere. Life revolves around religion. No holding hands in public no public kissing, no public show o any kind of affection for the opposite sex. There is heavy handed censorship of periodical magazines and movies. No "Playboy", no "Cosmo". Fashion magazines are heavily censured with pages where ladies in underwear or "nudity" are torn out. The country politically is a dictatorship. No freedom of speech. There are army and security checkpoints everywhere. Love aside, it would be intelligent on your part to have an extended visit and travel around the country and decide if you can live in that environment. Find out if you can adapt to local conditions. If not your marriage is doomed from the word go. The only place where a westerner can live with ease is Lebanon. Which is as good if not better than a lot of western countries

Answer 3

No. They both should be banned untill a person is 18. They are the same exact thing. People always think that female circumcision involves removing of the clitoris. This is only part of the time. Most female circumcisions just remove th inner labia and the clitoral hood. Which is the same exact thing as male circumcision. -Connor

Answer 4

Yes it is true.

Genital mutilation of baby boys and baby girls is a form of torture and an act of child abuse which is practised by many Muslims and other stupid ignorant religious people. Circumcision ruins the sex lives of boys and girls permanently which is precisely the reason this evil religious practice started.

If you marry a Muslim you are a fool. Read the Quran, I mean ALL of it not just the good bits and then read the hadiths and then read the biography of Mohamed. If you do these things with an honest and open mind you will realise that Islam is an evil perverted totalitarian ideology which is determined to destroy civilisation as we know it. If you become a Muslim yourself and change your mind and leave Islam you will be considered by Muslims to be an apostate. The penalty for aposticy in Islam is death.

Answer 5

The circumcision that I know of in Egypt takes place between ages 7 and 10 for little girls.

Considering what you have written I think that you should take a really careful look at the direction in which you may be heading.

I want to cry everytime I put a little Egyptian girl on my lap.
I give them a doll at age six and next year they will have female genital mutilation.

Search the web for books articles and pictures.

4 years ago they did a poll in Cairo for 14,000 women and 97% of the women had had female circumsion. Out side of Cairo in Upper Egypt it is very prevelant.
But as a hope for the future this is Suzanne Mubarach's platform to rid Egypt of this ancient practice.

Answer 6

Did your Egyptian boy friend explain to you what parts are actualy removed in this so-called circumcision? Is it comparable to the male circumcision where the hood covering the clitoris is removed ? Or does it involve cutting off the clitoris itself? If this is the case, you Will then be deprived of sexual pleasure ! Is that something you are looking for ?

Answer 7

it's illegal tradition and not from Islam. It's found in Egypt and some places of North Africa. Most of the well educated and living in big cities they don't do it. No statistics was getting the real number or how wide is that, but high rate considered in the south. Simply you can agree with him now on what to do and he will do what you both agree on. logic question and I wish you luck.

Answer 8

First of all it should not be called circumcision in case of girls, it is a severe mutilation that has little to do with male circumcision. It is a tradition in Egypt but is not a rule of Islam, and if your boyfriend is intelligent he will not demand this terrible practice for your children. Given that he is willing to marry you as a non-Muslim, as someone from another part of world and, very important, as someone not genitally mutilated, I suppose that he is not struck in such a tradition and won't want that to be done to his daughters.

Answer 9

The best thing is, ask this question from your boyfriend, I am sure he will give you peace of mind, as far as I know Muslims don't circumcise girls, and besides we are living is USA.
I am christian but, from a Muslim country and I have never seen something like that, maybe there was such thing 100s of years ago, think about it they were burning innocent women on fire in
Europa, or there was slavery in USA, are they doing it now?

Answer 10

why not just ask him about it?! but anyway, as far as i know, the vast majority of muslims dont believe in female circumcision, and to be honest, if he was part of such an extreme religious group like that, he probrbly wouldnt have married a catholic. anyway even if he did want that for your daughter, which i very much doubt, you have a say in the matter aswell! also, i cant think of any countries where a doctor would be likely to perform this surgery anyway, when ive read about it its been like a tribal thing.

Answer 11

Yes it is true. Female circumcision is a barbaric tradition in some cultures.I've not heard that Muslims circumcise their females though.