This shouldn’t surprise anyone, because FGM is Islamic.
“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3, translated by Mark Durie, The Third Choice, p. 64
Why is it obligatory? Because Muhammad is held to have said so: “Abu al- Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75
“Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251
“Do not cut severely,” but not “Do not cut.”
That’s why it is so common around the world, and why it is certain to become increasingly common in the United States, particularly with help from the ACLU, which doubtless wants to avoid appearing to be “Islamophobic.”
“The defense has argued that the Attars did not engage in any criminal act and that the procedure at issue is a protected religious rite-of-passage that involves no cutting, but rather a scraping of genital membrane.”
The defense is trying to make this into a religious freedom issue, saying that this “scraping of genital membrane,” which is hardly what FGM really is, is Islamic practice and thus must be allowed. If they continue with this line of defense, this could become a test case for whether the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom allows Muslims to break other American laws. If this defense succeeds, the floodgates of jihad will open, and nothing will be able to be done about it.
“Feds drop bombshell: Up to 100 girls may have had their genitals cut in Michigan,” by Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, June 7, 2017:
A federal prosecutor dropped a bombshell in court Wednesday, telling a federal judge that the government estimates that as many as 100 girls may have had their genitals cut at the hands of a local doctor and her cohorts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward disclosed the information while trying to convince a judge to keep a doctor and his wife locked up in the historic case. It involves allegations that two Minnesota girls had their genitals cut at a Livonia clinic in February as part of a religious rite of passage and were told to keep what happened a secret.
“Due to the secretive nature of this procedure, we are unlikely to ever know how many children were cut by Dr. (Jumana) Nagarwala,” Woodward said, referring to the lead defendant in the case, later adding, “The Minnesota victims were not the first victims.”
Against Woodward’s wishes, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman granted bond to two other defendants in the case: Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, 53, of Farmington Hills, who is accused of letting Nagarwala use his clinic to perform genital cutting procedures on minor girls; and his wife, Farida Attar, 50, who is accused of holding the girls’ hands during the procedure to keep them from squirming and to calm them.
The government believes the three defendants, all members of a local Indian-Muslim sect, subjected numerous girls to genital cutting procedures over a 12-year period. To date, the government says it has identified eight victims — including the two Minnesota girls — though Woodward said the government estimates there could be as many as 100 victims. She said that’s a conservative estimate, and that it’s based on Dr. Attar’s alleged admission to authorities that he let Nagarwala use his clinic up to six times a year to treat children for genital rashes.
Attar’s lawyer, Mary Chartier, scoffed at the claim.
“I think the government has overstated so many aspects of this case and this is one more example of overreaching,” Chartier said after the hearing, during which she and another lawyer convinced the judge to set the Attars free.
The defense has argued that the Attars did not engage in any criminal act and that the procedure at issue is a protected religious rite-of-passage that involves no cutting, but rather a scraping of genital membrane. They also argued the Attars are not a danger to the society and have no reason or desire to flee, convincing U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman to release them on bond….