How circumcision ban led to calls of anti-Semitism
ICELAND is set to become the first European country to outlaw male circumcision. A bill currently before the Icelandic parliament proposes a penalty of up to six years in prison for anyone carrying out a circumcision for any reason other than for medical reasons.
The bill proposing the ban on circumcision in children has caused consternation among the Muslim and Jewish communities around Europe. They are deeply concerned that if the bill is passed in Iceland, other countries might follow suit. They see it as a threat to their freedom.
Muslim and Jewish leaders were quick to attack the proposal, as was the Catholic Church with Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Catholic Church in the European Union, saying the bill was a “dangerous attack” on religious freedom. “The criminalisation of circumcision is a very grave measure that raises deep concern.”
The controversial bill was put forth by Progressive Party MP Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir with the support of eight other MPs.
“In recent years,” the bill states, “the view has become widespread, and is quite prevalent in Europe, that circumcision carried out for any purpose other than health reasons is a violation of the human rights of boys due to irreversible interventions to their bodies in which they have not had a say.”
The bill also raises concerns that circumcisions are carried out “in homes that are not sterile, and not by doctors, but by religious leaders. There is a high risk of infections under such conditions that may lead to death”. The divisive bill draws parallels between the circumcision of young boys and female genital mutilation (FGM), which has been illegal in Iceland since 2005. Here in Ireland, the Criminal Justice Act 2012 made it a criminal offence for someone resident in Ireland to perform FGM.
The bill reasons that if Iceland has laws banning circumcision for girls, then shouldn’t it do the same for boys too? It acknowledges that while parents have the right to give religious guidance to their children, “such a right can never exceed the rights of the child”.
Gunnarsdóttir believes that if boys wish to be circumcised for religious or cultural reason, they can do so when they reach the age of consent and are able to clearly understand all that is involved in the process.
Around one-in-three men globally is thought to be circumcised. The vast majority are circumcised for religious or cultural reasons. The rates vary widely by country, from only 1pc in Japan, to 2pc in Spain and Sweden, to 58pc in the United States, to more than 80pc in Muslim countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that globally, the vast majority of men who are circumcised are Muslims. They estimate of the 33pc of adult males worldwide who are circumcised, almost 70pc of those are Muslim.
The circumcision of newborns has long been the subject of controversy, but it remains a grey area.
No major medical organisation recommends either the universal circumcision of all males or banning the procedure.
Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, called for respect for the values of openness and tolerance. He says there is no evidence that circumcision is harmful to babies.
“We can only assume that this attempt to ban a core practice of Jewish communities comes from
ignorance about the practice and its effect on Jewish children, rather than to send a message that Jews are no longer welcome in Iceland,” he said.
But Gunnarsdóttir is adamant that it’s not about freedom of belief, it’s about children’s rights. Everyone has the right to believe in what they want, she says, but the rights of children come above that right.
Of the criticism she has received for not consulting religious groups before the legislation was proposed, Gunnarsdóttir says: “I didn’t think it was necessary to consult. I don’t see it as a religious matter.”
She considers the bill to be a healthy and democratic way to come to a conclusion on the matter.
But neither Islamic nor Jewish groups see it that way. In fact, Jewish groups see it as an attack on Judaism. “Iceland would be the only country to ban one of the most central, if not the most central, rite in the Jewish tradition in modern times,” the European Jewish Congress said.
The Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland said the legislation was against religious freedom. Imam Ahmad Seddeeq said the bill did not help efforts towards cultural harmony and integration. “It’s a bill that tries to criminalise something which has been practised for a long time by some religious groups.”
Standing with her Jewish and Muslim counterparts, the bishop of the National Church of Iceland, Agnes M. Sigurardóttir believes that a ban could “criminalise” Judaism and Islam in Iceland and make “individuals who adhere to them be banned here in the country or unwelcome”, she said.
So far, the bill has cross party backing and early indications are that it will be passed. Whether other countries follow Iceland’s lead will be another story.