A Practice With Religious Roots
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)—the partial or complete removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons—affects over 200 million women and girls worldwide according to the World Health Organization. It causes severe pain, infection, complications in childbirth, psychological trauma, and sometimes death. It serves no medical purpose and exists solely to control female sexuality.
While defenders of Islam claim FGM is "cultural, not religious," the evidence tells a different story. FGM has explicit support in Islamic texts, is mandated as obligatory by one of the four main Sunni schools of jurisprudence, and is practiced predominantly in Muslim-majority regions. The attempt to separate FGM from Islam ignores documented historical and theological connections.
The Hadith Evidence
The most explicit Islamic text supporting FGM comes from Sunan Abu Dawud, one of the six major hadith collections:
"A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet said to her: 'Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.'" — Sunan Abu Dawud 5251
This hadith is classified as da'if (weak) by some scholars but is still cited extensively in Islamic jurisprudence to justify FGM. Notice: Muhammad doesn't forbid the practice. He merely advises not cutting "severely." The implication is clear—some cutting is acceptable, even preferable.
The phrase "more desirable for a husband" reveals the purpose: controlling female sexuality to please husbands. FGM reduces sexual pleasure, making women less likely to seek sexual satisfaction outside marriage. This "benefit" to husbands is why the practice persists.
Another hadith, though disputed in authenticity, is widely cited in Islamic legal discussions:
"Circumcision is a sunnah for men and an honorable thing for women." — Musnad Ahmad
If FGM is "honorable" (makrumah), how can Muslims claim Islam opposes it?
Islamic Jurisprudence: The Shafi'i School
The most authoritative evidence of Islam's connection to FGM comes from Islamic law itself. The Shafi'i school—one of the four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence—makes FGM obligatory (wajib) for women:
From Reliance of the Traveller (Umdat al-Salik), the classic Shafi'i legal manual endorsed by Al-Azhar University:
"Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert)." — Reliance of the Traveller, e4.3
This is explicit: circumcision (khitan) is obligatory for women in Shafi'i fiqh. The parenthetical note claims it's only removing the "prepuce" (clitoral hood), not the clitoris itself, but this is a distinction without a difference—any cutting of female genitalia is FGM by WHO definition, and in practice, much more severe cutting occurs under Islamic justification.
The Shafi'i school is practiced by approximately 15% of Muslims worldwide—over 250 million people. It's the dominant school in Indonesia (world's largest Muslim population), parts of East Africa (where FGM rates are highest), and significant populations in Egypt, Yemen, and Southeast Asia. Where Shafi'i jurisprudence dominates, FGM persists.
The Other Schools' Positions
The Shafi'i school is most explicit, but other schools also provide religious sanction for FGM:
Maliki school: Considers female circumcision recommended (mustahabb) or noble (makrumah), not obligatory. Still religiously endorsed, just not mandatory.
Hanafi school: The most lenient, considering it merely preferred (sunna) but not obligatory. However, "preferred" still means religiously sanctioned.
Hanbali school: Considers it obligatory according to some scholars, recommended according to others.
Across all four schools, FGM is at minimum religiously approved, and in two schools it's either obligatory or recommended as sunnah. This is not "cultural practice contrary to Islam"—this is Islamic law.
Geographic Correlation: FGM and Islam
The geographic distribution of FGM reveals its connection to Islam:
Highest FGM prevalence (WHO data):
- Somalia: 98% (Muslim)
- Guinea: 97% (Muslim majority)
- Djibouti: 93% (Muslim)
- Egypt: 87% (Muslim majority)
- Mali: 89% (Muslim majority)
- Sierra Leone: 90% (significant Muslim population)
- Sudan: 87% (Muslim majority)
- Eritrea: 83% (half Muslim)
- Gambia: 75% (Muslim majority)
- Indonesia: 49% (Muslim majority, Shafi'i school dominant)
The pattern is undeniable: FGM prevalence correlates strongly with Islam, particularly in regions where Shafi'i jurisprudence is influential.
Counterexample often cited: "But Sub-Saharan Africa has FGM in non-Muslim communities too!"
Response: Yes, some non-Muslim African communities practice FGM, but:
- These regions have centuries of Islamic influence even if currently Christian or animist
- FGM in these areas often predates Islam but was reinforced and spread by Islamic conquest
- The regions with highest prevalence are overwhelmingly Muslim
- Most importantly: non-Muslim communities don't have religious texts commanding or recommending FGM; Muslims do
Modern Islamic Scholarly Debate
Contemporary Islamic scholars are divided on FGM, creating confusion:
Traditional/Conservative scholars: Continue to endorse FGM based on classical jurisprudence. Example: Egyptian Mufti Ali Gomaa (2007) stated FGM is "part of the Sunna" and legally permissible.
Modernist/Reform scholars: Argue FGM isn't truly Islamic, claiming the hadith are weak and the practice is cultural. Example: Yusuf al-Qaradawi has opposed FGM (though he's conservative on most other women's issues).
The problem: The modernist position requires rejecting or reinterpreting 1400 years of Islamic jurisprudence. If Shafi'i fiqh has been wrong for centuries in making FGM obligatory, what else in Islamic law might be wrong? This opens a Pandora's box for traditional Islam.
Reform-minded Muslims are doing good work opposing FGM, but they're fighting against explicit Islamic legal precedent, not cultural aberration.
The Control of Female Sexuality
Why does FGM persist? Because it serves a purpose deeply embedded in Islamic theology about women:
1. Women as temptation: Islamic theology teaches women are fitna (temptation/chaos) whose sexuality must be controlled:
"I have not left any fitnah (temptation) more harmful to men than women." — Sahih Bukhari 5096
2. Female sexuality as dangerous: A woman's sexual desire is seen as threatening to social order and male honor. FGM "solves" this by reducing female sexual pleasure.
3. Ensuring virginity/fidelity: By reducing sexual sensation, FGM makes women less interested in sex outside marriage, "protecting" family honor.
4. Making women "marriageable": In communities where FGM is practiced, uncut girls are considered unclean, unmarriageable. The religious justification makes this enforceable.
These aren't cultural accidents—they're applications of Islamic anthropology about women being deficient, dangerous, and in need of control.
Health Consequences
WHO documents FGM's devastating health impacts:
Immediate: Severe pain, excessive bleeding, infection, shock, HIV transmission from unsterilized instruments, sometimes death.
Long-term: Chronic infections, urinary problems, menstrual complications, sexual dysfunction, psychological trauma (PTSD, depression, anxiety), complications in childbirth (increased risk of infant and maternal death).
These consequences affect 200+ million women globally. Many suffer silently because religious authorities told them this is "Islamic" and therefore good.
The "Not Islamic" Defense Fails
Muslims who claim FGM isn't Islamic must explain:
1. Why does Shafi'i fiqh make it obligatory? Is one of the four major schools of Islamic law simply wrong? If so, what else did they get wrong?
2. Why did Muhammad advise on proper technique rather than forbid it? If Islam truly opposes FGM, the Prophet would have banned the practice outright, not given instructions on how to do it "correctly."
3. Why does FGM correlate so strongly with Muslim populations? If it's merely cultural, why don't we see comparable rates in non-Muslim regions with similar cultures?
4. Why do Islamic authorities continue to endorse it? Al-Azhar University, the oldest and most prestigious Islamic institution, has endorsed Reliance of the Traveller, which explicitly makes FGM obligatory.
The answers to these questions point to one conclusion: FGM has clear Islamic sanction, and attempts to separate it from Islam ignore textual and historical evidence.
Biblical Contrast
The Bible contains no command, recommendation, or example of FGM. Male circumcision in the Old Testament was a covenant sign specific to Israel, and the New Testament declares even that unnecessary for Christians (Acts 15, Galatians 5:6).
There is zero biblical basis for FGM. When Christians opposed FGM historically (and continue to today), they appealed to biblical principles of human dignity and the body as God's temple. When Muslims defend FGM, they cite Islamic jurisprudence and hadith. The difference is significant.
Questions to Consider
- If FGM is "cultural, not Islamic," why does Shafi'i fiqh make it obligatory for women?
- Why did Muhammad advise on FGM technique rather than forbid the practice if Islam opposes it?
- If 1400 years of Islamic jurisprudence endorsed FGM, were all those scholars wrong?
- Why does FGM prevalence correlate so strongly with Muslim populations if Islam doesn't sanction it?
- Can Muslims claim Islam honors women while religious authorities endorse genital mutilation?
- Would you want your daughter subjected to FGM because a 7th-century man said it's "more desirable for a husband"?
Conclusion
FGM's connection to Islam is undeniable. It's supported by hadith (even if disputed), mandated as obligatory in Shafi'i jurisprudence, recommended in other schools, practiced predominantly in Muslim regions, and continues to be endorsed by traditional Islamic authorities.
Progressive Muslims working to end FGM deserve support, but they face theological obstacles: they must reject or reinterpret explicit Islamic legal rulings that have stood for 1400 years. This isn't culture contradicting Islam—this is Islam as classically understood.
The 200+ million women who have suffered FGM deserve honesty about its religious justifications. Only by acknowledging Islam's role can meaningful reform occur. The "it's cultural" defense protects Islam's reputation while leaving the theological foundations intact—foundations that will continue producing victims until honestly confronted.
Related articles: Women in Islam, Honor Violence