Is female genital mutilation sanctioned in Islam ?

[PsychoDad]

No.

Here are some links to refute charges that the basis that this horid practice is somehow rooted in the teachings of Islam.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200511220644.html

Islam United to Stop Female Genital Mutilation

Ministers, politicians and religious leaders from almost 50 Muslim states were gathered for two days in the Moroccan capital at the first Islamic childhood conference.

The resulting "Rabat Declaration" puts special emphasis on female genital mutilation and other harmful practices discriminating girls, underlining it is against Islam.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), which is also called female circumcision, is most widespread in sub-Saharan Muslim cultures, but Muslim scholars for decades have emphasised that there is no Islamic basis for the very harmful practice, which causes many deaths among young girls each year.

The growing number of anti-FGM activists today found solid support among the most important decision-makers in the united Islamic world, united in Rabat. The first Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood - organised by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) - today issued a strong-worded declaration condemning FGM.

Muslims condemn genital mutilation

Delegates at an international conference on women and Islam have heard a strong condemnation of female genital mutilation - the practice known as female circumcision.

The controversial topic was not part of the official agenda, but came up in discussions on domestic violence.

The organisers say the practice is not recommended in the Koran, and has too often been mistaken by people in the West as an Islamic custom

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_29886.html

Sudan: Religious leader speaks out against female genital mutilation/cutting

In Sudan, a number of religious leaders are questioning deeply-held convictions on FGM/C in their communities and urging other leaders to support an end to the practice.

Sheikh Ali Hashim al Siraj, Director of the Population Enlightenment Programme in the country’s Ministry of Guidance and Endowments, discusses here his reasons for opposing FGM/C. He begins by describing what he witnessed in the summer of 1985 while he was teaching in the Northern Rural Council of Omdurman, a major Sudanese city. (Published 15 November 2005.)

“The story of Amna was an impetus for me to dig deep in the ‘figh’ and into the sayings of the Prophet so as to come out with a ruling on this practice. I searched for a long time in the Islamic texts and I have come to this conclusion: This practice has nothing to do with the Islamic religion.

http://www.mwlusa.org/publications/positionpapers/fgm.html

Female Genital Mutilation

The circumcision of girls, in any form, predated Islam by many centuries. It was practiced in some parts of Arabia at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and was evidently a custom of the time that may have been a practice of some but not all of the local tribes. As a pre-established tradition, therefore, female circumcision was not introduced by the Prophet to the early Muslim community. Several sayings (hadith) of the Prophet indicate that it may have been the norm for women to be circumcised (see al-Muwatta of Imam Malik) but the extent of circumcision, excision or mutilation is not specified. In addition, the existence of female circumcision in the community does not necessarily mean that it was to be recommended or made obligatory. Indeed, it is possible to argue that any form of female genital cutting actually violates very basic precepts in Islam.

The Qur'an, as a text providing mainly general guidelines (with some injunctions or laws spelled out specifically) does not address the issue of circumcision of either males or females. The Qur'an does however refer to the sexual relationship in marriage as one of mutual satisfaction that is considered a mercy from Allah (swt):

Islam is a religion that guarantees the integrity of the human being- both in body and in spirit. Female genital cutting violates that integrity, insulting Allah the Creator Whose creation needs no improvement

http://www.scn.org/cmp/modules/adv-fgm.htm

The practice of FGM (apparently for thousands of years) long predates the beginning of Islam (ie seventh century), although it appears to be associated statistically with Islamic communities today (more in Africa than in Asia)....

Several speakers try to suggest that the practice is sanctioned by Islam, and it is widely believed among illiterate communities to be a valid Islamic practice. It is not, and this is where you may find it valuable to cultivate Islamic clerics as your allies.

Ironically, Islam prohibits the mutilation of any part of the body.

Then why do some Muslims practice it?

Those who advocate for FGM from an Islamic perspective commonly quote the following hadith to argue that it is required as part of the Sunnah or Tradition of the Prophet:

Um Atiyyat al-Ansariyyah said: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (pbuh) said to her: Do not cut too severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.

This is known to be a "weak" hadith in that it does not meet the strict criteria to be considered unquestionable (classified as mursal, i.e. missing a link in the chain of transmitters in that none was among the original Companions of the Prophet.) In addtion, it is found in only one of the six undisputed, authentic hadith collections, that is in the Sunan of Abu Dawud (Chapter 1888). According to Sayyid Sabiq, renowned scholar and author of Fiqh-us-Sunnah, all hadiths concerning female circumcision are non-authentic.

A single weak Hadeeth. Out of thousands of Hadeeth only one that mentions the practice, and one considered week even by it's transcriber, of an act which had been a pre-Islamic custom.

Even if the single hadeeth quoted above carries any weight (even if it was said by the Prophet (pbuh), it is still in no way a validation or recomendation by the Prophet as to the necsssity or value of the practice. And, in Islam, a practice that is harmful to a person, although not expressly forbidden by the Quran, is still normally considered forbidden.

Let us all denounce this horrid and barbaric practice that scars so many of our sisters, and educate others, fellow Muslims and non-muslims, that there is nothing Islamic in this. If anything it is an echo of the darkness of the pre-Islamic past and a practice of the ignorant.

Salaam.

[ianna_kur]

1. Thank you for posting this information!

It is heart-breaking to know that not only is this horrible act still practiced, but that some who are ignorant continue to claim that it is connected to Islam. Thank you again for posting such important information.

Salaam

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Ya Haqq!

(Oh Truth!) Thank you for posting this, especially about the hadith and how weak it is. From what I have read and observed of Islam, it is a faith that is empowering and liberating for women-heaven knows that I have the honor of knowing many strong women teachers from the Sufi orders I'm acquainted with here in the US. If one reads even a translation of the Qur'an, one understands that God isn't interested in hurting any of His creation.

[madeline_con]

3. You should put this in the research forum, also. eom