In Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, male circumcision is considered an essential religious practice.
Male circumcision is a recommended practice in Muslim tradition. It is important to ensure that this procedure is performed as safely as possible in these communities.
Circumcision is routinely performed in Muslim and Jewish cultures; however Muslims perform circumcision at age 6, whereas Jews perform it immediately after birth.
Certain Hindu gurus consider it to be directly against nature and God's design. Sikh infants are not circumcised. Sikhism does not require circumcision of either males or females, and criticizes the practice.
Circumcisions are usually carried out in a clinic or hospital. The circumciser is not required to be a Muslim but he must be medically trained. In some Islamic countries circumcision is performed after Muslim boys have recited the whole of the Qur'an from start to finish.
Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik consider circumcision to be recommended but not obligatory. This means that if done, its doer is rewarded by God, and if not done, there is no punishment or reward. The scholars agree that circumcision entails the removal of all or the majority of the foreskin that covers the glans only.
Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R. , China, and Japan. People employing circumcision do so either for "health" reasons or as a religious ritual practiced by Muslims, Jews, most black Africans, non-white Australians, and others.
Islam is the largest religious group to practice male circumcision. As an Abrahamic faith, Islamic people practice circumcision as a confirmation of their relationship with God, and the practice is also known as 'tahera', meaning purification.
While it has overwhelming prevalence in the Muslim world and in Israel due to the religious beliefs of most Muslims and Jews; however, some non-Muslim groups living within Muslim-majority countries, such as Armenians and Assyrians, do not practice it.
Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council has increasingly emphasized that God's covenant with the Jewish people remains valid. It has never been revoked. This covenant includes infant male circumcision.
Male circumcision is a recommended practice in Muslim tradition. It is important to ensure that this procedure is performed as safely as possible in these communities.
In China, the nation with the largest population in the world, circumcision is generally treated as a selective medical intervention to treat some diseases; only 2.66% of males have been circumcised, and EIMC is not a traditional practice, except among Muslims, who account for < 3% of the population [14].
Muslims & Christians & Jews in the Levant are all circumcised.
Back in the 1950s, roughly 80 per cent of Australian men and boys were circumcised. That rate has steadily decreased and now, around 20 per cent of Australian newborns are circumcised. This is largely due to developments in modern medicine.
"Certainly in Australia we believe the benefits of circumcision don't outweigh the risks." He said the kinds of illnesses circumcision may help prevent are not common in Australia and are mostly a product of social factors, not foreskin length.
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
European countries consider newborn circumcision an unnecessary surgical procedure which increases the costs of operating nationalised health systems, whereas in the US, circumcision is generally considered a simple, rapid operation with medical benefits which accrue throughout life.
But in the Malagasy culture, it does not end at circumcision. Traditionally, the paternal grandfather eats the foreskin after its been cut off and the old man may not have to eat it alone; he can give it away to anyone else in the room as long as they hold an honoured position at the event.
The possible medical benefits of circumcision include: A lower risk of HIV. A slightly lower risk of other sexually transmitted diseases. A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infections and penile cancer.
Christianity and circumcision
In the Old Testament circumcision is clearly defined as a covenant between God and all Jewish males. Circumcision is not laid down as a requirement in the New Testament. Instead, Christians are urged to be "circumcised of the heart" by trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.
Circumcision as an introduction to Islam
A large proportion of Muslims believe that removing the foreskin not only helps maintain urine in any part of the body, but also prevents excrements from accumulating in the penis, which can eventually result in a variety of ailments, including penis cancer.
The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
As in all other European countries, male circumcision is uncommon in Italy, a country with a strong Catholic heritage that values and promotes the integrity of the human body.
Sunnī Islam
According to Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī jurists both male and female circumcision are legally obligatory for Muslims, although Ḥanafī jurists also consider circumcision to be recommendable exclusively for Muslim males on the seventh day after birth.