Parents Vs. the State: Muslims and Jews Outraged by Circumcision Ruling

[sysop]

Leaders of Germany's Jewish and Muslim communities have criticized a court ruling they fear could make circumcision a punishable offense in the country. Only 10 percent of German boys are circumcised, but the issue of whether parents should be able to decide if their children undergo the procedure remains divisive.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...841276,00.html

[ka5s]

Interestingly enough, it appears the State has no objection to German doctors performing circumcisions on Africans in the fight against HIV there. Might the Court be acting not in defense of children, but rather on behalf of those resentful of Moslem immigrants, Jews being incidentally affected as well?

[geborgen]

This ruling is only an early entrant in the nascent movement to more fully recognize inherent human rights in children as well as adults. Many of those outraged by the decision were raised in cultures in which children are considered community property and are wholly under the control of their parents and clergy until they leave home. Even their bodies are not their own. The implications of such an attitude vis-à-vis a secular constitution are significant; it's as great as the clash of one sovereign nation with another. But to maintain order, Germany has to prevail.

This one glaring exception to surgery guidelines and prerequisites has simply been begging to be addressed. And so it will be, beginning with northern European nations. The aim is not to suppress religion, but to ensure the freedom of those it encompasses. They are citizens of the state first, members of their community second. It is actually this point that the religious leaders are resisting and denying with all force.

More rulings like this are needed before a strong case is brought to the Federal Constitutional Court.

[KhanZubair]

Amusing to view some arguments. It is the "Sunnah" an act of Prophet to be followed by his followers. This is how it is considered in Islam. Looks like interference in centuries long observed Sunnah by Muslims. Intermittently some issues keep on emerging in Germany with special reference to Islam. Looks like some one does it intentionally to keep the religion matter live in media.

[Ingrid Blank]

"It remains undisputed that circumcision leads to better hygiene and can also be helpful in preventing some forms of cancer."

The reporter of this article should have consulted medical experts first before making such ill-informed and misleading claims, which have long since been debunked by experts in this field and even the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association conceded that circumcision is neither medically necessary nor beneficial and 1) circumcision is not essential to a child's well-being, 2) it is an elective procedure, 3) medical professionals should not coerce parents into choosing circumcision, and 4) parents should make a fully informed decision that is in the best interest of the child. And since the myth that circumcision prevents cancer was thoroughly debunked, they came up with another fraudulent claim, i.e. that it prevents HIV infection, based on studies that prove exactly the OPPOSITE !! (I have seen the study results and it boggles the mind that credence is given to pure junk science).