Islam Bans Female Genital Mutilation
I yesterday read a press release by the German organisation “Target Human Rights” about a conference they had organized at the Al Azhar University in Cairo about the delicate topic of female genital mutilation (FGM). This is a crime against women practised in many African countries, regardless of religion and nationality.
For two days internationally renowned scholars and doctors discussed the topic and came to the result on November 23rd: “Female genital mutilation is a punishable crime and offends against the highest values of Islam”. Before that scholars had discussed the different theological dimensions and agreed that genital mutilation has no roots in the Islam. Then doctors had presented insights into the horrors of the mutilation practice.
At the end of the conference the Great Mufti of Al Azhar, the highest authority for legal decisions, gave a decision which equals a Fatwa, a binding legal expertise. It says that the lawmakers are asked to declare this cruel deplorable custom as a crime, which has nothing to do with Islam.
This decision is a theological sensation, for every day about 8000 girls especially in the countries of the Sahel influenced by the Islam. Hopefully this decision will help strengthening the fight for eradicating this monstrous habit.
