And now for some good news for a change:
The Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, the oldest and most highly respected institution in Sunni Islam; and the Grand Mufti of Egypt have released an official fatwa declaring the practice of female circumcision (also called female genital mutilation or female genital cutting) un-Islamic. The decision was made at a conference hosted in Egypt and attended by Muslim clergy from around the world.
The custom of female circumcision is concentrated in the Nile Valley and practiced by Muslim, Christian and animist groups. However, incidences of female circumcision have been documented as far afield as Tanzania and India.
The ruling follows repeated efforts by the Egyptian government to ban female circumcision during the 20th century. Those opposed to the multiple bans claimed that prohibiting female circumcision limited religious freedom.
This is the highest eschelon of Islamic authority the issue has ever reached; Tantawi and Gomaa are two of the most influential clerics in modern Sunni Islam. This is also the most strongly-worded fatwa that has ever been released against female circumcision by a mainstream Sunni organization; previous fatwas have deemed the practice “not obligatory” and “not recommended”.
Glad to hear it.
