Your understanding is wrong. Involuntary female circumscision is *illegal* in Egypt, as it is in almost every country in the world. It is one of those things, however, which is either not enforced in some parts of some countries, or it is tolerated in a 'don't ask, don't tell' kind of way. In both cases, involutary female circumscision is practiced in areas where a set of fundamentalist Islamic laws, called Sharia, hold sway. Often Sharia is applied ex-officio. That is without the explicit (though sometimes tacit) approval of the governement. As an aside, involuntary male circumscision is legal almost everywhere, including here in the U.S. Of course there are BIG differences in the manner and reason for both.
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Name : Noone Inparticular, Gender : M, Religion : Apathetic Agnostic (don't know, don't care), Age : 44, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, It's prevalent in some African nations, not just predominantly Muslim ones. Some recent immigrants from those countries to the United States may wish to practice it, but I don't know how many carry it out. It's not a procedure that's bound just to Islam nor is it mandated by law: it's cultural, so members of a pro-circumcision community may place pressure on someone who's resistant to it being performed on her. Some people believe that it promotes cleanliness and chastity, but I'm against it on the grounds that it's unnecessary and very painful.
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Name : Betty, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Asian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Medford, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, Just an FYI: There is actually a federal law against it in the US.
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Name : Ashlar, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 28, City : san francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I understand that female 'circumcision' - more accurately called 'clitoridectomy' and even 'infibulation' depending on the degree of the mutilation - is illegal in the US and most of Europe, however it is practiced 'under the table'. See: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3806689 for a recent article about its occurrance in Europe. Apparently the New York Times did an expose a couple of years ago about Somali refugees continuing this practice in the USA 'sub-rosa' but I could not find a link to this article. I think some deeper digging would turn it up.
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Name : Angela B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 37, City : Bothell, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : homemaker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Mandatory? - your understanding is incorrect Although still carried out by some it is neither a religious requirement (female circumcision was known within Judaism, Christianity and Islam. ..but none of the three religions specifically ordained or prohibited it) nor is it a routinely practiced custom any more in most places. (far from being mandatory it is illegal in Egypt and many other countries)
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Name : sicandar, City : Halifax, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Not only is it being done, it is not illegal in 34 states to do so: http://www.4woman.gov/faq/fgc.htm
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Name : Beth23179, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Las Vegas, State : NV Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, Hi Jerry; Actually the practice of female circumcision is not mandatory in Egypt nor in the Middle East. The people who practice circumcision are those who live in the villages and have little or no education. Many have taken steps to reform and educate the people who have been doing this and there has been great movement towards banning the practice. Here is a website that gives some statistics regarding this practice. http://www.crlp.org/pub_fac_fgmicpd.html
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Name : Lamia, City : Nashua, State : NH Country : United States, Female circumcision is one of the many cultural traditions that has been such a part of an islamic culture that it is beleived to be islamic. From the reading and research I have done on the subject there is no justification or recommendation for female circumcision in the Qur'an (the holy book) or hadith (accounts of what Muhammad (pbuh) said or did). Although I can't say this with certainity, I believe that female circumcision is not a specified legal practice in any country--especially any country that needs any type of approval from any western country. The practice is concentrated in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Name : Ashley23505, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 20, City : Des Moines, State : IA Country : United States, Occupation : student, I think what you're talking about is female MUTILATION, in which they cut of the baby's clitoris. I've heard recently that the number of these mutilations is declining in Egypt, where it was primarily performed.
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Name : Aaron, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, Female and male circumcision is mandatory under Islamic law, and every practising Muslim undergoes it before reaching puberty.I live in a non-Muslim nd girls here do undergo circumcision,regardless of residence. I imagine it would be the same for Muslims in the US
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Name : Raiyan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 21, City : Singapore, State : NA Country : Singapore, Occupation : Undergraduate, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It is a common misconception that this is a 'Muslim' practice, while the truth is that it's origins are social/cultural rather than religious. Female circumcision originated in Africa, and is carried out there in countries of various religions, including those that are predominantly Christian (Kenya and Ethiopia, for example). While it has spread to other countries in or near Africa that are Muslim (Egypt, as you correctly pointed out), they are not the source, nor is it part of their religious practices. In many devoutly Muslim Middle-Eastern countries (Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, etc.) this problem is as unknown as it is in the Western world.
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Name : Nathan20116, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 24, City : Gaylord, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Educator/Non-Profit, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It is nowhere stated in koran that women have to be circumsized. It is just a very unfortunate and sad traditon practiced in a couple coutries, mainly in Egypt. It is inhumane and meant to degrade women, and keep them from enjoying their sexual activities. Which is the main reason for which they get circumsized, and it is encouraged by men, from fear of adultery.
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Name : Fouad-Jaoudi, City : NYC, State : NY Country : United States, FGM (female genital mutilation) is common in Egypt and the Sudan and many African countries, yet it is not mandatory anywhere in the middle east. Actually there is a law in the Egyptian parliament to ban it. FGM has no strong base in Islam (as opposed to male circumcision) and is actually banned and not practiced at all in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. As far as I know most US Muslims don't practice it either. FGM has roots in ancient Egyptian culture, and is also widely practiced in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Name : Karim, Gender : M, Age : 23, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 
IParticipant
female circumcision is not an Islamic practice but rather a social and cultural one practiced in parts of Africa. It is not mandatory in the Islamic religion. It just carried over from the tribes that existed in Africa. It is not condoned by Islam.
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Name : I, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Female circumcision is not an Islamic practice, it is totally culturally based. Only Muslim males are required to be circumcised, as is in the Jewish faith.
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Name : Sharmina Z., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Southeast Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 32, City : Richardson, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : medical student/homemaker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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