Posted on 03/18/2005 7:44:19 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
An Islamic scholar said at an African Regional Conference, entitled “Islam and the Family Well-Being”, that Islam doesn’t support the practice of female circumcision and genital mutilation.
"All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs...it is not an obligation in Islam," said Dr. Ahmed Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia, Al Azhar University, Cairo.
Dr. Talib was speaking on the topic of "Female Genital Cutting and Harmful Practices Against Mother and Child" at the Islamic conference, which started on Monday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
About 125 delegates, including Imams, Muslim scholars, representatives of Muslim youth and women groups, are attending the five-day conference.
Dr. Talib also said that it was remarkable that Saudi Arabia, a strong Islamic country, had no single case of female circumcision. He also demanded the attendees to denounce the practice and help in solving the problem.
Sheikh Tahir Usman Bauchi, a Nigerian delegate, who spoke on the duties and the responsibilities of Muslim women, said that Islam granted women many rights, including the right to choose their future husband.
She also said that Islam teaches that the girl-child should not be discriminated against.
Maghreb? This is common practice........in the Muslim world.
But they're still for gang rape punishments. Hey, it's in the Koran.
It just happens spontaneously. /sarcasm
Hey, at least Africa is starting to change and that's a good thing. Most of the change (from what I've read) is comming from African women who are refusing to let their daughters be "circumsized". Go girls!
The fact is that nowhere in the Quran female circumcision is ordered. It's one of those interpretations that enabled some holier-than-thou clerics to reinforce their position of authority (if that's what you can call tyranny, at all). Surprisingly, fem. circ. is illegal in Eqypt (yes, it is), but you don't really think that a law from a government puts an islamised rut aside, do you? Yes, a rut, I can't call this kind of torturous mutilation a tradition for any reason.
Actually Maghreb means west in Arabic and is the official denomination of Morocco.
And although pharonic circumcision is a horrible thing, it is only a symptom of how Islam in general treats females.
I always am intrigued by what the west likes to see published in terms of what Islamic 'scholars' say...
It is like we are always looking for an excuse to think that when Islam has the upper hand, they will be nice to us! Get real, read "The Arab Mind" by Raphael Patai, or "Islam & Terrorism" by Dr. Mark Gabriel - it is obvious that the only way to be at peace with core, fundamental Islam is to either submit, convert, or die... (the only other alternative is politically incorrect - fight it with every weapon you can.)
Ahhh,....no,.....they put out a fatwah on the writer and have him murdered.
Thanks. You are correct. . .guess I was typing too fast and not thinking. But I understand it also referres to, however incorrectly, the northwest protion but not the franco-phone portion. You know, Niger and places like that.
Will check out the books. Sound interesting.
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