Circumcision!
I have been inspired to write about this topic by the circumcision of my poor nephew! The experience was very traumatic for me! Well… Jad was born twenty days ago, he is a perfect boy and he is very cute as well. Behind the back of every proud parent, I always say that when their children are born, they look like mice! They honestly do, they are wrinkled and flat and yellow and ugly and their hair is spiky and thin but jad looks like an angel! Of course the other kid that looked like an angel is Nizar… who happens to be my other nephew!
After the child was circumcized, he was supposed to get salt bath to make sure the skin will heal without any infections, my mother forced me to go with her to visit my sister and help her in bathing the baby… i just could not stand the agony the poor kid was going through after the shock of the birth which was not even ten days before… I am sure he was thinking, but i was happy inside why are they doing this to me?! first they get me from my dark, small safe world to this cold, big lit thing, but not only that, they deform me, and i am in so much pain! so i just sat in the balcony on the other sode of the house with my sister, who was as traumatized, leaving the procedure of bathing the child in a salty water to his grandmother and his father!!
Anyway, I have always been fascinated by the idea of circumcision… mainly because it is something that is practiced by Muslim and Jews around the world and by almost everyone in the Jordan regardless of their faith. It is for sure one of the topics I don’t know what to think about. Circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but Muslims everywhere regard it as essential, and the Hadith record it as a practice enjoined by all past prophets. Significantly, it is also known by a euphemism: tahara, meaning “purification.
My conflict comes from believing in the power of the creation of God and the perfection of human beings. The Qur’an clearly states that God created human being in the best form… so why Muslims deform something that is supposedly created perfect? Is it really because of following Sunnah? If so, then why do all Muslims choose to follow this specific habit from Sunnah whether they are extremist, liberal or secular? And not the other aspects of Sunnah?! And sometimes not even religion itself? I mean many Muslims drink for example or don’t pray or don’t fast… but they are all circumcised! or at least I think they are!!
I obviously don’t have answers… but I would like to discover a bit of the history of circumcision.
According to Dr. John Smith, circumcision, or removal of the foreskin, is an operation of great antiquity. As a magical or initiation rite it was introduced independently by aboriginal tribes in Australia, Africa and the Americas. Circumcision was practised by the Egyptians of 3,000 B.C., at first as a privilege of the nobility, but it later became the custom for all males. The origins of the practice are lost in antiquity. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual sacrifice or offering, a sign of submission to a deity, a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or slavery, or an attempt to alter esthetics or sexuality. It was later on adopted by Jews and by Muslims after them Another question here, how come Christians are not required to get circumcised? When Christianity also started in the same area? And why do Christians in Jordan at least follow this tradition? Does that mean it is more of traditions than religion?
The most interesting theory I found is proposed by Dr.Bashir Quereshi:
“…in Ancient Egypt, there was a pharanic belief that gods were bisexual. A man or women must be unisexual so as to belong to their respective gender group and not to mimic the gods. Pharaohs believed that the feminine soul of the man was located in their prepice (the tip of the foreskin) and the masculine soul of the woman was situated in the clitoris. Therefore male and female circumcision was performed to please the gods so as to obtain favors.”.. A Cool theory. No?!
I never thought about this topic! it is kinda cool that you brought it up. keep the good work
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An interesting post Madas! I did not realize that circumcision was a universal practice among Muslims. In the U.S., it is pretty much a universal practice, mostly for medical/health reasons, however, some parents choose to opt out of circumcision for their male children.
Some of my relatives are Jewish, and so the practice is more formal in their families. For religious Jews, the event of a circumcision is called a Briss. There is a specially trained person called a Moiel who actually earns a living by traveling around and performing ritual circumcisions according to old Jewish custom. I have never attended a Briss, but one of my cousins had one for her son a few years ago.
It is true that many cultures have independently adopted the practice of circumcision. However, they don’t all do it the same way. For example, the aborigines of Australia perform a much more extensive mutilation of their young adolescent males. In their religious beliefs, the kangaroo is greatly revered. In order to capture some of the magic of the kangaroo, a boys penis is extensively altered to resemble a kangaroo’s penis. I don’t know the details, and frankly, just thinking about it is quite uncomfortable! However, I do know that the wounds take a long time to heal and that some of the boys die of infection! Hopefully, this practice in Australia is being changed to a simple removal of the foreskin! I am all for allowing a culture to maintain its traditions, as long as those traditions don’t result in the death of children, or tremendous pain and suffering, either.
I would like to say something about female circumcision. As I understand the practice that is still being done in some African countries, it involves physically cutting off the clitoris. This can leave the woman with a greatly reduced capacity to experience sexual pleasure. It may even eliminate the capacity for pleasure. I personally think this is a terrible and barbaric practice. I have heard of some African women who have fled their countries to avoid this mutilation. I can’t blame them! I hope that this practice will be completely done away with. Women around the world should be treated with far greater respect!
Well, you really got me going once again!
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This is for David, it is interesting that Jews have a special peron that does this procedure, I suppose Muslims do as well. However in Jordan this is usually done by a professional doctor.
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David,
As always your comments are very insightful! I am sorry for not replying in couple of days, but i have this training that is keeping me really busy. Yes the circumcision is something that is very widely spread here. However not female circumcision thank God. The feamle circumcision is a habit in the African part of the Arab world, however there are several Hadiths that indicates that this habit is not welcomed.
I am glad I get you to be interested in my posts, it is always a pleasure to have another perspective about how people around the world think and feel
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I think you are right, i Jordan the doctor does it,m but around the Islamic world, this is not necessirily the case.
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Actually One of my students asked me in Germany if Christians here get circumcised and i realized that it is something that we all know about but non of us knows about it anything
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Hello Rami, thanks for your interest in my comment.
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Hi Madas, don’t worry about taking a few days to return my comment. I really appreciate the fact that you enjoy conversation through your comments page! I have always enjoyed learning about the perspectives of other people from different countries and cultures, too.
Good luck with your training!
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And here I’d been thinking circumcision really came down to a day or so of pain you don’t remember vs. a lifetime of cleaning sand out of your foreskin.
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Well… I would not know nor understand the type of agony you are talking about
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