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Iraqi Kurdish cleric says female
circumcision recommended by Islam
9.12.2010 |
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December 9, 2010
SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The Imam of Hajji Osman
Alaf Mosque in Iraqi Kurdistan’s second largest
city, Sulaimaniyah, has told his followers that
anyone who believes female circumcision is not a
recommendation from the prophet Mohammed is
“ignorant.”
During his Friday sermon on December 3rd, Imam Mala
Yassin Hakim Piskandi said female circumcision was a
“Sunnah," a term used to refer to the practices
carried out or recommended by Mohammed, the prophet
of Islam.
He said, the Sunni Shafeyi, a school of
jurisprudence which most Kurds follow, took a
tougher stance regarding female circumcision,
considering it an “obligation," but that the other
three Sunni schools of jurisprudence regarded it
merely as a Sunnah, meaning it was recommended, but
not compulsory.
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Iraqi Kurdish cleric ways female circumcision
recommended by Islam. Illustration photo. |
The Islamic practice of
female circumcision, known among rights groups as
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), has a deep history
dating back to the prophet Abraham. Prophet Mohammed
followed in Abraham’s footsteps by remaining silent
about the prevalence of the practice in the city of
Medina,www.ekurd.netwhere
he established the first Islamic system of law, said
Piskandi.
“When men and women have intercourse, their sexual
organs should be circumcised and clean,” he quoted
Prophet Mohammed as saying.
He added that practicing a Sunnah act is “good,” but
that not practicing it is “not sinful.” But in some
cultures, including among some Kurds, uncircumcised
women are regarded as unclean and are not allowed to
cook.
Piskandi’s remarks come at a time when a recent
gathering of Islamic scholars in Egypt has ruled
that female circumcision is not necessary, because
it endangers women’s health.
Also, Ali Qaradakhi, a Kurd who is secretary general
of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS),
recently told a local newspaper that female
circumcision is not an obligation in Islam.
“Female circumcision is an old issue that keeps
resurfacing,” said Qaradakhi. “Islamic scholars have
several opinions on it. To me the most appropriate
opinion is that female circumcision is not necessary
in Islam.”
Female circumcision has been practiced in Iraqi
Kurdistan for years, mostly in rural areas.
According to statistics published by Kurdistan’s
Ministry of Health last week, 41 percent of Kurdish
women had been circumcised. The data points to a
decline in the number in recent years.
Imam Piskandil, who holds a master’s degree in
Islamic jurisprudence, said Islam does not condone
the killing of women, adding that men “should not be
blamed so much for women who burn themselves to
death.”
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