Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbit
Yeah, me too. But I've read one hadith about it and I don't think it even says that female circumcision is recommended. Maybe somebody else can shed some light on that.
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I gave it a search... I think the fact of the matter is, the whole issue is vague. It's vague in such a way that nothing will likely change one way or the other. Those who do it seem to have enough religious backing to keep doing it without sounding contradictory.
Here's an online scholar:
However, the most moderate opinion and the most likely one to be correct is in favor of practicing circumcision in the moderate Islamic way indicated in some of the Prophet's hadiths – even though such hadiths are not confirmed to be authentic. It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a midwife: "Reduce the size of the clitoris but do not exceed the limit, for that is better for her health and is preferred by husbands". The hadith indicates that circumcision is better for a woman's health and it enhances her conjugal relation with her husband. It’s noteworthy that the Prophet's saying "do not exceed the limit" means do not totally remove the clitoris.
Islamic Ruling on Female Circumcision - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
Abu Sahlieh further cited Muhammad as saying, "Circumcision is a sunna (tradition) for the men and makruma (honorable deed) for the women."[39]"
It also says that according to the Shafi'i school it's wajib. In the others it seems to be kind of up in the air, and actually only in Shia Islam as far as I can tell, is it explicitly forbidden.
Female genital cutting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There'd have to be a lot of source checking on that. But it seems to me that there are plenty of people who believe it's a divinely sanctioned process, and that's probably not going to change for a long long time.
But anyway, as I was reading through some of these sites, a few points came up that made me wonder - why are we supposed to cut parts of ourselves off anyway? Like why did God give us armpit hair and foreskins if we are just supposed to cut it/them off?
this is what one lady said:
The Egyptian Dr Nawal El-Saadawi writes:
"If religion comes from God, how can it order man to cut off an organ created by Him as long as that organ is not diseased or deformed? God does not create the organs of the body haphazardly without a plan. It is not possible that He should have created the clitoris in woman’s body only in order that it be cut off at an early stage in life."
As a woman and a victim of circumcision herself, she was referring to the female genitals, but the point is equally applicable to the male foreskin – the part of the penis removed by circumcision."
I think she raises a good question.