All across the Muslim world, women are having their female parts cut off, depriving them permanently of any sexual pleasure they will ever feel. Let's do something to end this, some sort of world-wide global initiative.
The interpretation of that book differs between places cultures and groups. FGM is an African Islamic thing and not specific to Islam in general. The data supports this.
Our biology and hormones arguably had a lot to do with the shaping of our cultures and our religion. We may be humans but we are animals as well. I think we are starting to become more 'cognative' and evolve in a way that allows us to be different that just what biology limits us to. I think the impression of protraying men as evil is unrealistic. The fault lays in the biology of aggressive men as well as submissive women.
It shows what nations rigidly support FGM and if you view were they are located you would see that the majority are African. My argument was that this is a cultural issue. You made the argument that it is religion based.
OP Why call for an end only of female genital mutilation - why not male genital mutilation too? All the talking heads make 'the right noises' but don't seem to understand it's the ultimate violation of the most vulnerable among us. I'd go further and call it the ultimate crime against humanity.
So much for it "mainly only being in just Africa"... Horrendous: http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/...ation-it-is-happening-very-much-in-sri-lanka/ SRI LANKA-CULTURE: Mothers Watch as Daughters are Circumcised Renuka Senanayake COLOMBO, Aug 19 1996 (IPS) - Few people outside Sri Lanka know that infant girls in the small Muslim community undergo what is known as female circumcision or, more truthfully, female genital mutilation (FGM). For those of you who don't know, Sri Lanka is the island just South of India. Forty days after birth, tiny thighs are firmly held apart by mothers and grandmothers as the traditional ‘osthi mami’ removes the clitoris. The child shrieks in agony, while the ‘osthi mami’ sprinkles ash on the wound to stop the bleeding. The baby is then bathed and rocked to sleep. FGM culture is widespread in this tiny Indian Ocean island. But the practice is kept a jealously guarded secret by women, who think an infant who does not undergo the surgical operation will be considered unfit for any respectable man to marry. For Sithy Umma, a teacher with five daughters in the Sri Lankan capital, female circumcision is part of traditional culture. She acknowledges that it is not her religion, Islam, that demands it, but believes that it “promotes cleanliness”.Dr Marina Riffai points out that orthodox women believe they will be wracked by sexual desire if the clitoris is not scraped off. They are not willing to admit that the crude operation leads to infection, abscesses, infertility and painful sex. According to the doctor, the practice is widely prevalent in Sri Lanka, though the rise of Islamic fundamentalism on the island. A study by a non-governmental organization reveals that nearly 90 percent of Sri Lankan Muslims and Borahs, a sect of Muslims, support FGM. It claims women who have been circumcised are treated with more respect within the community. Also it is a livelihood for the ‘osthi mamis’, which is a traditional occupation. They are found in the suburbs of the capital city in Maskade, Dematagoda, Maradana and Hultsdorf. And are given a gift of 500 rupees (roughly 12 dollars) and a metre of white cloth in which the bloodied ash is collected. FGM is not publicised, and both the ‘osthi mami’ in Maskade and Dematagoda refused to talk about their profession, except to say that the ritual was on the decline because there was a loss of respect for traditions among the younger generation. Take Farhana, a 28-year-old student at Colombo University. She said she had been circumcised as a baby, “but I will not circumcise a daughter of mine.” Zameena, a young mother of a five-year-old girl did not want her daughter circumcised either. She refused outright when her mother-in-law said she must continue with a practice that is part of traditional culture. But the older woman went ahead anyway. “I was furious when I returned home to find my daughter, then 3 months old, howling in pain,” she recalls. “I am helpless when members of my family still believe that it is part of our religion.” Sociologists trace the grisly practice to the arrival of Arab traders on the island some 200 years ago. The traders brought as their wives women from Malaysia, who practiced FGM in their country. The Muslim community is itself divided between those who think it is an essential part of their culture and others who say it has no religious sanction. With little domestic pressure against the practice, FGM culture in Sri Lanka is individualistic. Says Rehana who rejects outside criticism of FGM, “it is a part of our faith”. Her 20- year-old sister-in-law, who was born a Christian, was circumcised when she [was] married [to a muslim husband]. (women in these small communities often don't have a lot of choice in the matter) http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/08/sri-lanka-culture-mothers-watch-as-daughters-are-circumcised/ In Southeast Asia (the muslim countries of Indonesia and Malaysia) they practice a milder form of female circumcision. Just "a tiny little cut"—or at least that's how they describe it. It's not as horrendous as the types of procedures done in other parts of the muslim world. Just imagine a toenail clipper clipping off a small slice of flesh from your genitals... http://www.theislamicmonthly.com/a-tiny-cut-female-circumcision-in-south-east-asia/ This account is written by a girl who grew up in America. When she was 3 years old her mother took her on a little "vacation": http://www.firstpost.com/living/som...g-with-female-genital-mutilation-2049655.html