It seems no matter what the issue is concerning Muslim women...clerics. imams. mullahs whatever feel all they have to do is shout "Sharia" and its all supposed to be swallowed without so much as a whimper of protest. I thought there was good news coming from Egypt a few months back when the courts tried to make forced cirumcision of girls a criminal act...but the 'Holy Guardians of the all Things Sharia" have jumped up right on cue and started the usual rant about it all being Sharia Law and thus cant be tampered with. When commenting about the reason for the outcry.....

"Opponents say the new restrictions are an attempt by the government to impose a Western agenda on an Islamic society. Some clerics, in opposing the bill, state that Islamic Sharia law condones female circumcision and imposes no minimum age of marriage. "Religion does not prohibit or criminalize female circumcision," prominent Islamic scholar Mustafa al-Shaka said to the local press this week"

Also this little gem was thrown in for good measure....

"Islamic scholars have been divided over the religious validity of female circumcision. One camp holds that Islam opposes it, while the other argues that this procedure, in which parts of the female genitals are removed, is necessary to tame a woman's sexual desires and ensure decency. "

As if cutting off a mans penis would remove his sexual desires...and mention this fact to a man and they would be shocked at such a suggestion...a mans penis is sacred...a womans vagina is just a empty hole itching to be filled...!

Sometimes I sit here trying to think of something intellectual to say about things like this...and Im truly at a loss...this is my religion...the one I chose...and everyday Im faced with this constant proof that the Islam practiced in the world today...is most definitely not the one that is written on the pages of my Quran. How to change that seems almost impossible...people tend to listen and retain the inhumane rather than the humane facts when it comes to Islam.



btw this article was on the Los Angeles Times website for March 30, 2008....sorry I dont know how to put a link....also sorry for the title...blame it on my mood...very black.

[QUOTE=sazaj36;411837]It seems no matter what the issue is concerning Muslim women...clerics. imams. mullahs whatever feel all they have to do is shout "Sharia" and its all supposed to be swallowed without so much as a whimper of protest. I thought there was good news coming from Egypt a few months back when the courts tried to make forced cirumcision of girls a criminal act...but the 'Holy Guardians of the all Things Sharia" have jumped up right on cue and started the usual rant about it all being Sharia Law and thus cant be tampered with. When commenting about the reason for the outcry.....[/QUOTE]

I am wondering what the reality is in Egypt.  I had heard a statistic of 90% of women having been cut.  This supposedly included Christian women.   And then I heard it was not officially legal anymore but was still being practiced.  I would be interesed in seeing the article. 

I was discussing FGM with a friend at work.  He mentioned some organization where a woman got involved with some underdeveloped African community where young girls were routinely cut.  She learned that the men had never seen the procedure being done.  Somehow she obtained permission to film the procedure and show it to the men.  They were supposedly so appalled that they had the practice stopped.  I wish I could remember the organization involved - he said there was no prostelytizing.   I also wish I had a link to a story!  I hope this is true, because it really gives me hope that there are ways to think outside the box to stop oppression in all its forms.  It will take brave tolerant people willing to work from within.

Also, I have finally gotten a copy of Sexual Ethics in Islam that was recommended here by some of you.  I am looking forward to reading it.

SDA

It is my understanding that the reasoning that Muslims use for advocating female circumsions goes something like this. 

Women are enjoined to guard their modesty. Female circumsion assists women in guarding their modesty because it reduces or elimnates sexual pleasure, and thereby makes it easier and less likely that a woman will engage in sexual activities that are haram. 

It is my understanding that Muslim men do get circumised.  Although I do not know if this is a  requirment that comes from the Quran.  Does anyone know if circumision is explicting addressed in the Quran?
And at what age does a Muslim male usually undergo this ritual?

"C.F. McDonald wrote in a 1958 paper titled "Circumcision of the Female"[41] "If the male needs circumcision for cleanliness and hygiene, why not the female? I have operated on perhaps 40 patients who needed this attention."

It could be argued on the premise of "equality" between the sexes that if a male muslim gets circumised, then so should a female. 

Female circumsion is NOT an exclusively Muslim ritual.  Although from what I understand it is more common in Islam then it is in Christianity. .  This  ritual predates Islam. 

For further details see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_gen … g.


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[QUOTE=newmuslimlady;412847]Yes, Muslim men are required to be circumcised as Islam follows God's laws previously sent down before the Prophet(pbuh).    Since God told Abraham to have his sons Ishmael and Issac to be circumcised at that time, so Islam follows the same law.   We have the same dietary laws(almost) as the Jews too, eating Kosher meat or as we Muslims call it Halal meat.   Actually the one difference is that us Muslims are not suppose to drink alcohol.[/QUOTE]

Not that this thread has anything at all to do with halal, but, you are off the mark with that statement. Halal and kosher are not the same and you should not say it is. See ifanca.org and get the whole story.

Regarding FGM, it is a draconian, paternalistic practice. The world is filled with men victimizing women, and women who have been kept uneducated and unable to stand for themselves. If it's not this practice it's something else horrible.

I know lots of Egyptian women and have never heard of it being an issue in the culture, is it  practiced more among the undereducated groups? Sub Saharan Africa is where I thought it was prevalent among all religious groups.

Sad and horrible.

In this instance I would have to say that women are the perpetrators of this particular crime...since the men have taken the step to out law it...but women are the ones dragging their daughters to be tortured in such  a way. The women need to be the focus when it comes to educating the public about the harm of FGM.

Im curious actually...where does it say that men should be circumcised...is it Quran(which i dont recall reading) or hadith this time? i seriously dont undestand why men need to be cut....if the human body is perfect then why the need to remove "imperfect" bits?