2017 06 The Light June 2017

June 2017 The
Light 8
Female
Circumcision
Is it prescribed by
Islam?
By Shahid Aziz
Introduction
Female circumcision is known in the West
as FGM, which stands for Female Genital Mutilation.
It is an ancient practice where parts of a
girl’s genitalia are removed to eliminate sexual
desire and pleasure in a woman. Although, people
usually just talk about FGM, there are four
categories.
Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris
and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).
Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris
and the labia minora, with or without excision
of the labia majora (excision).
Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice
with creation of a covering seal by cutting and
positioning the labia minora and/or the labia
majora, with or without excision of the clitoris
(infibulation).
Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the
female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for
example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping
and cauterization.
It originated in pre-Islamic Africa and was
referenced by the Greek geographer Strabo during
a visit to Egypt around 25 BCE.
UNICEF estimates that 200 million
women are violated by FGM and that
every ten seconds a woman or girl is
subjected to it. It is a common practice
in some countries in Africa and the
Middle East. Inhabitants of those
countries practice FGM regardless of
their faith. For example, Ethiopia is a
predominantly Christian country and
yet FGM is a common practice. Somalia
is a predominantly Muslim country
and FGM is practiced there. In Nigeria,
Muslims and Christians are almost equal in
numbers and both practice FGM. Those who
practice it and those who oppose it both say that
it is prescribed by Islam. This paper is based on
two Friday sermons delivered at the UK headquarters
of the Lahore-Ahmadiyya Movement,
which showed that female circumcision or FGM
is against Islamic teaching.
We find that not only is female circumcision
not practiced in most of Muslim majority countries
such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh etc. In
fact, it is not even known in those countries and
when mentioned, people express astonishment.
In these countries, it is only the small community
of Bohras who practices FGM. In Saudi Arabia
itself, it is only on the Southern tip around
Yemen where FGM is practised by Saudis. Others
who practice FGM in Saudi Arabia are immigrants
from countries such as Egypt.
The Hanafi and Malaki schools of jurisprudence
regard female circumcision as permitted
and the Shaafi and Hanbali schools regard it as
obligatory. Saudis follow the Hanbali school of
jurisprudence, yet we find that it is only a small
minority that indulges in this practice. 6 However,
the fatwahs of these schools are human interpretations
of what they believe to be the
Commands of the Holy Quran and the Prophet
Muhammad (s). Therefore, these opinions are
not binding upon Muslims. Here, we are not
concerned with their interpretation. We are going
to look at the Holy Quran, the Sunnah and
Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s), to
determine whether, just like male circumcision,
female circumcision is also a part of Islam.
6 http://www.arabnews.com/node/263988
I Shall Love All Mankind.