Although I have lived and traveled in the Republic of Turkey (99% Muslim) for more than 15 years , am married to a Muslim, and have a teenage daughter who has attended local public schools from elementary school age on, I have never heard of such a thing being done in this country. It is NOT peculiar to Islam nor is it mandated in the Koran. Female circumcision is a cultural practice which is attributed to Islam in order to provide religious justification for its continuation. It short, it's a myth and one which I believe is peculiar to the African continent.
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Name : Glenn, Gender : M, Religion : Christian, Age : 48, City : Turkey, State : NA Country : Turkey, Occupation : retired, Social class : Middle class, 1. Female genital mutilation is not really islamic though many practicioners are Muslim. It is tribal, both African and middle-eastern, and relates to the concept of women as posessions that must be guarded and prevented from straying. 2. It is illegal in the United States and most European countries but is still performed, mostly by lay practicioners, frequently under horrendous circumstances.
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Name : John29173, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Not much, Age : 50, City : Durham, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Gynecologist, There have been articles in women's magazines, one by a very prominent model who was 'circumcised' in her country of origin, in which the barbaric nature of the act and results has been described. There are also several websites that describe the various aspects of female circumcision. Let's say first that the purpose of female circumcision is not esthetics as is in males. It is done to remove all sensitivity to sexual pleasure. The idea being that women exist for the pleasure of the male, child bearing and have no need for sexual fulfillment. This also is intended to prevent women from adultery. In some cases the vagina is sewn closed so that a prospective suitor is assured a virgin, and after intercourse the vagina is sewn closed again to assure fidelity. Female circumcision is most common in Africa and South America. Although illegal in many places including the United States it can be assumed that peoples for whom this is a social custom continue to have their female children 'circumcised.' It is obvious that female circumcision is based in certain religion based cultures. In African countries with large Christian populations, female mutilation is illegal. The United States has made entreaties to other countries to make female mutilation illegal as a human rights issue. But among those who believe that female circumcision is based in their religious culture, it is completely justified and reject all criticism of the act.
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Name : Richard, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 57, City : Long Beach, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Retired, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Female circumcision is a barbaric custom. It ruins the female sex desire (which is why they do it) and also makes it painful for her to have sex, more painful to have children, etc., plus it increases risks of infection and death during childbirth, etc. I had read about cases in London where parents of immigrants wanted it done to their daughters and the London doctors were refusing to do it, the daughters were trying to run away, etc. The Koran never mentions this practice, just as the Koran never mentions veiling women. Like the Bible, as far as I know, the only thing the Koran tells its followers is that they should be modest.
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Name : S-OHara, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 37, City : Wichita Falls, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 'Female circumcision', more properly female genital mutilation, is about repression of women, not the religion of Islam. It'd be untrue to say these specifically correlate: many Islam-practicing countries treat women comparatively well, and many non-Islamic countries are misogynist. It's not mandatory in any country. However, some misogynistic cultures in Africa virtually force the mutilation: should a bride say no, she is mutilated in a more violent manner. It's illegal and not practiced elsewhere, save for the odd case of immigrants here and there.
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Name : lh, Gender : M, Age : 21, City : Espoo, State : NA Country : Finland, Female circumcision and Islam have nothing to do with each other but because of their close proximity a lot of people tend to think they are connected. Female circumcision is a cultural practice usually in Africa and the Mideast. It is about removing the sexual pleasure of females (the clitoris) and somehow to 'prevent' the girl from growing a penis (myth used to scare girls into this practice). It also has to do with the notion of cleanliness, purity and providing pleasure for their future husband. A girl/woman who is not circumcised is considered unclean. The practice was common in areas such as India/Pakistan down through the mid-east and into Africa. Its mostly practice in Africa in which non-Muslim Africans and Christian-Africans still practice this procedure more out of cultural habit than out of religious reasons. You have to understand that Islam has moved into Africa over stages since 640 A.D. Islam is still working its way south into Africa as animist Africans continue to circumcise their females. In a few generations it will seem as if there is a correlation between female circumcision and Islam when there isn't. It's a cultural practice that is dying off as Islam deepens into Africa...the practice will end. Yet there are a few holdouts. No different than those few crazy Mormons who still hold onto the practice of bigamy. There is nothing in the Qu'ran that states a woman (or girl) must undergo this procedure. It is not called 'Muslim' female circumcision, just female circumcision.
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Name : Patricia19880, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : African Methodist Episcopalian, Age : 38, City : Waukegan, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Female genital mutilation is a cultural and NOT a religious phenomenon. Islam does not endorse genital mutilation of women, however, men should be circumcised. The practice is unfortunately common in many African countries (not so often the Middle East) that happen to be mostly Muslim.
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Name : R.J., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 28, City : Saginaw, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I don't thonk that Female Genital Mutialtion is mandatory in the sense of being required by law, anywhere, but there is a strong cultural pressure. Many emigrants from countries where FGM is common continue to follow the practice where they live. In the UK, FGM is illegal and considered as assault/child abuse, but there is evidence of people taking their daughters 'home' for this practice to be carried out. I would guess the same is true in most European countries and in the US. I am not a Muslim but to the best of my knoweldge this is not something mandated or sanctioned by Islam, although it is the cultural norm among many populations that are predominantly Muslim.
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Name : Margo, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Manchester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : lawyer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Female Genital Mutilation is mainly practiced by African and African-Muslim tribes and by a very few misguided 'religious' tribes in the Middle East - but this is not reflective of all Middle Eastern cultures by any stretch. Overall, it is an extremely uncommon practice in the Middle East and is generally condemned and even outlawed in many countries. Africa tends to be a whole other story, but FGM was practiced there long before Islam - so it is still not Islam's 'fault.' I have not had FGM performed on me or any of my female ancestors and we orignated from Yemen and Saudi Arabia and are faithful Muslims.
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Name : K.L., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Arab, Religion : Muslim, Age : 26, City : Cleveland, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : Stay at home mom, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is not a requirement of Islam; some practitioners do, you are correct, follow it, but some do not. FGM is practiced in countries around the world, including the US. Actualy until the mid '70s it was covered by some insurance companies. FGM is mostly a cultural practice, not a religious one, in many African nations it is practiced equally by Christians, Muslims and Animists.
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Name : Lyz, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 20, City : n/a, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, Hi, I am from the Maldives, which is the only other 100% Muslim country in the world other than Saudi Arabia. And no, female circumcision is not practiced in the Maldives. In the very olden days it used to be, but only to the extent of drawing out blood by pricking a sterile needle in the clitoris. I have a lot of friends who are from Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And none of them have been circumcised. I think It is more cultural than religious, because I know it is practiced in parts of Africa to horrifying levels. In Islam, is it not required for females to be circumcised at all.
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Name : Sanau, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Maldivian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 27, City : Male', State : NA Country : Maldives, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I'm an OB-GYN so I've seen a fair bit of this. Female genital mutilation is illegal here in the US. It is done here but not too commonly, and in secret. Most people have it done to their daughters before moving to the US or on trips home. There are growing political movements to ban female genital mutilation in various countries, but it's still very common throughout Muslim North Africa. It's not part of Islam at all, it's not in the Koran, and it's not done in Middle Eastern countries. Female genital mutilation is pretty much limited to North Africa and it's an old custom that predates Islam.
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Name : Deborah, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Fairfield, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : MD, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Yes, unfortunately Female Genital Mutilation does occur in the United States. I'm fairly certain that if it can happen here, it can happen in other non-Muslim countries.
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Name : Niki, Gender : F, Religion : Buddhist, City : Theresa, State : WI Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 
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