When Islam said 'NO' to FGM
In the 7th century AD among other aspects of his mission, the prophet of Islam came as a champion of women's Rights.
During his time and that of the first few generations of his followers, women went from being object of inheritance to becoming inheritors; from being buried alive at birth to choosing to say 'No' to a marriage proposal and to disposing freely of their wealth; from not having a voice to becoming teachers, advocates and strategic counselors.
Quite a revolution! One that many, essentially misogynous men, could not and would not accept. Therefore since the death of the Prophet of Islam, corrupters of Islam have been at work to alienate women again and subjugate them to their former lower condition. FGM -female genital mutilation- features amongst the biased beliefs and practices that reemerged after the advent of Islam & of female Rights.
This atrocious practice had indeed been in place hundreds of years BC, making the earlier written reports about it date back to 800 years before Islam!
There is to this effect a 163 years BC Greek papyrus documenting the practice of female genital excision in Menphis during the Greco-Roman Egyptian era. It is also well known that the Hedonist and Epicurean school of thoughts of Ancient Greece considered sexual pleasure to be taken with young men and women were reduced to the function of their womb, i.e. reproduction. More recently in the West in the 19th and early 20th century, female excision was used in the treatment of mental illnesses.
It is therefore hardly surprising to see how enduring such ideas can be. There are indeed many forged or weakly reported sayings attributed to the Prophet of Islam and to his disciples which have been inserted in the corpus of studies Muslim scholars and Imams use for reference in their work.
Over the years and the centuries these forged sayings have become part and parcel of the standard education of many religious leaders in those parts of the world where FGM is prevalent. It is sadly on the basis of these weak and forged sayings, that whole Muslim societies as well as some Coptic Christian & other non Muslim communities have evolved; and that today some clerics in Egypt and neighboring countries defend FGM.
Having said that, 'Thank God! (alhamdulilleh!)' it remains that the majority of Muslims worldwide consider FGM to be utterly un-Islamic. There is even talk of banning it in Sudan. Thank God there are Muslims worldwide including British Muslim religious leaders who unequivocally reject FGM. There also others who actively advocate against it. Bless them all!
In the 7th century AD among other aspects of his mission, the prophet of Islam came as a champion of women's Rights.
During his time and that of the first few generations of his followers, women went from being object of inheritance to becoming inheritors; from being buried alive at birth to choosing to say 'No' to a marriage proposal and to disposing freely of their wealth; from not having a voice to becoming teachers, advocates and strategic counselors.
Quite a revolution! One that many, essentially misogynous men, could not and would not accept. Therefore since the death of the Prophet of Islam, corrupters of Islam have been at work to alienate women again and subjugate them to their former lower condition. FGM -female genital mutilation- features amongst the biased beliefs and practices that reemerged after the advent of Islam & of female Rights.
This atrocious practice had indeed been in place hundreds of years BC, making the earlier written reports about it date back to 800 years before Islam!
There is to this effect a 163 years BC Greek papyrus documenting the practice of female genital excision in Menphis during the Greco-Roman Egyptian era. It is also well known that the Hedonist and Epicurean school of thoughts of Ancient Greece considered sexual pleasure to be taken with young men and women were reduced to the function of their womb, i.e. reproduction. More recently in the West in the 19th and early 20th century, female excision was used in the treatment of mental illnesses.
It is therefore hardly surprising to see how enduring such ideas can be. There are indeed many forged or weakly reported sayings attributed to the Prophet of Islam and to his disciples which have been inserted in the corpus of studies Muslim scholars and Imams use for reference in their work.
Over the years and the centuries these forged sayings have become part and parcel of the standard education of many religious leaders in those parts of the world where FGM is prevalent. It is sadly on the basis of these weak and forged sayings, that whole Muslim societies as well as some Coptic Christian & other non Muslim communities have evolved; and that today some clerics in Egypt and neighboring countries defend FGM.
Having said that, 'Thank God! (alhamdulilleh!)' it remains that the majority of Muslims worldwide consider FGM to be utterly un-Islamic. There is even talk of banning it in Sudan. Thank God there are Muslims worldwide including British Muslim religious leaders who unequivocally reject FGM. There also others who actively advocate against it. Bless them all!
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