[sine_nomine]

I teach Islam and other world religions. FGM is not in the Koran or the other associated writings. People should remember that Mohammed only reformed Bedouin religion. He did not invent Ramadan, Mecca, or even Allah. He made his tribal god, Allah, the one god.

In one town in this state there is a Moslem community. FGM has been practiced on the women, according to my source, a nurse at the hospital. She was completely repulsed by it.

In general Blacks take offense at Islam being subjected to criticism. One Black woman defended FGM in class.

From all that I have heard and read, FGM (at various levels) is widely practiced in Islam. The reasoning is probably to keep women from having urges. Some removed the clitoris. Others remove all external genitalia. Any crude instrument is fine. Women perform the mutilation; however, refusing is a rejection of fatherly authority.

[tomahawk]

Thanks for the information.

[tomahawk]

Do you know whether the imams and associated ilk have condemned FGM?

[armymarinemom]

This procedure can cause tears when the woman delivers a child. I have only seen one case and the repair after delivery took hours. It's barbaric and I wish that more womens groups would put forth effort to have it stopped.

[TDunn]

FGM is not in the Koran or the other associated writings.

There are references to female genital cutting in the Hadith.

[Restorer]

FGM is not a specifically Muslim practice. It is an ancient practice common to much of the Middle East and Africa, where it is practiced by some Muslims, some Christian groups and some pagans. A significant majority of Muslims do not practice it, although those who do would probably say they do so because God wants them to. It can range from quite mild, roughly analogous to male circumcision to extreme, involving the complete removal of all external female genitalia. The methods used are crude and often horrifying to describe.

He made his tribal god, Allah, the one god.

Allah is the Arabic word for God, just as God is in English. It is used by Arab Christians to describe their God. It is cognate to the ancient Hebrew elohim.

There are many excellent reasons to criticize Islam. Their use of the term Allah (the term for "god" in their language) is not one of them.

Neither God nor Allah are names. They are titles, common nouns.

None of the above means that you must believe that they are actually worshipping the same person you are. It is a purely linguistic point.

[reformed_dem]

One Black woman defended FGM in class.

What was her argument for it?

[Max7]

Yikes. Blech. Ugh. Turning WAAAAAY green. OUUUUUUUCH. Awful. What a horrible practice. Count me OUT. Those poor women.