U.S. Muslim circumcised his daughter. Age, 2

[EdNigma]

Please tell me about the religion of peace, tolerance, and how they honour women again. I love fairytales.

Monday, activists from all over the world will be focused on a Gwinnett County courtroom as Khalid Adem, accused of cruelty to a child and aggravated battery for allegedly circumcising his daughter, goes on trial.
Adem, 30, was charged with aggravated battery and cruelty to children more than three years ago and, if convicted, could face 40 years in prison. He was born in Ethiopia, where circumcision is a common procedure for young girls.
Adem's trial may be a landmark case for health and human rights activists fighting against the African custom they call genital mutilation. But for those close to the victim, this trial is about vindication and healing for a little girl who was forced to endure unbearable pain.
"When I saw that child I saw myself. I could see the pain in her eyes," said Soraya Mire, a filmmaker and activist who was circumcised when she was 13 in Somalia. Mire is known for her 1994 documentary "Fire Eyes" in which she chronicled her struggles after having the procedure.
Mire, who now lives in Los Angeles, was asked by Gwinnett authorities to counsel the victim in 2003 when it was discovered that she had been circumcised.
"She hugged me, and I just burst into tears," Mire said. "Since that day, I've been obsessed with finding out who did this to that child."
Police say Adem circumcised his daughter with scissors in his Duluth apartment, while someone else held the girl's legs.
Authorities said the circumcision occurred sometime in 2001 but the mother didn't discover it until two years later. The mother told police she learned about it while arguing with Adem about female circumcision. The mother told police that she told Adem she didn't want that to happen to their daughter, but Adem implied the circumcision had already occurred.
The mother went to a doctor who confirmed that the girl had been circumcised. The girl then told Gwinnett authorities that her father had done it. He was arrested in March 2003.

Adem's arrest also had an impact on Georgia law. In 2003, there was no state law in Georgia that addressed female circumcision. That's why Adem was charged with aggravated battery and cruelty to children.

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just because it's not against the law, does not mean it's right. IMHO if people just used their heads, all lawyers would be out of a job.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by EdNigma

Please tell me about the religion of peace, tolerance, and how they honour women again. I love fairytales.


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just because it's not against the law, does not mean it's right. IMHO if people just used their heads, all lawyers would be out of a job.

If I recall correctly, there is a federal law against this barbaric female genital mutilation which is designed to keep women down and an attempt to deny them sexual satisfaction.

Representative Pat Shroeder of Colorado campaigned for a law outlawing this barbaric act and I think it passed and this is against Federal law.

This poor child - she was assaulted, abused and her civil rights were violated. I hope this monster gets hard time and the message is sent.

Thank God the mother was a real mother and went to bat for her child.

What about the person who held this baby's legs open so she could be mutilated?

[Snowden]

Ed, I really don't think circumcizing girls is because of the father being Muslim. It's a custom in many African and Mid East countries. A sick one, for reasons I can't understand, but it is not mentioned in the Qur'an at all - it just is a custom Islam supports where it's already practiced.

It may be required in some areas because of Islamic concerns, but it's not something Islam insists on. Islam is evil, but this is not one of its foibles.

I did a google on this and came up with:

Although there is no reference to circumcision at all in the Qur'an, there is a well-established tradition of male circumcision in Islam as a "sunnah" act (i.e., one following the practice of the Prophet and his companions). There is no mandate at all for female circumcision, however. Although female circumcision is not mandated, one tradition of disputed authenticity permits (but does not encourage) the removal of a minuscule segment of skin from the female prepuce, provided no harm is done. Permitting such a ritual constitutes an act of tolerance by Islamic law for pre-Islamic practices, and may be overruled by the Islamic prohibition against harmful acts. Consider, for example, that Islamic law protects a woman's right to sexual enjoyment, as demonstrated by the fact that a woman has the right to divorce on the grounds that her husband does not provide sexual satisfaction. It follows that Islamic law prohibits ****orodectomy (partial or complete) or infibulation, or any genital mutilation which impairs the woman's ability to enjoy sexual relations.

People often confuse traditions rooted in local culture with religious requirements. Ethiopians in the United States stand between the Ethiopian culture of their heritage and the American culture of their environment. They cannot and should not be expected to abandon their religion. I do think, however, that the young amongst them, at least, will be willing to abandon old-world cultural practices at odds with their adopted culture when such practices are unsupported by religion.

ISLAM AND FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

[Woodmonkey]

You're right in that it is not an "Islamic" practice, Marianne. It's a cultural barbarism that goes across religions and is found in many different countries.

[EdNigma]

Well, without one, my wife would not have pleasure, and her pleasure is my goal.

[Snowden]

The point is that it is not a practice called for in Islam.

Islam is wicked enough to women - it allows this mutilation where it's already practiced in cultures that convert to Islam, but does not promote or demand it.