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Egyptian activists to sue Islamic cleric for call to female genital mutilation

Egyptian human rights activists are suing the head of the leading Islamic Institute as part of a campaign against female genital mutilation.

Members of the non-governmental Egyptian Human Rights Organisation (EOHR) claim that the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Institute should pay compensation for moral damage caused by his ruling in October 1994 that ‘circumcision is a duty for men and women, and if the citizens of a country refrain from practising it, the Imam should challenge them as if they were ignoring the call to prayer.’

The EOHR say the compensation should go towards funding their campaign against female genital mutilation which aims to show ‘the harms of the operation to both individuals and society and to clarify that this pagan custom has no connection with Islam’.

The EOHR quote clerics, including the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who say that nothing in Islam which supports female circumcision and that Mohammed’s daughters were not circumcised.

Moreover, the EOHR says that Islam does not allow any practice which brings harm to society and that therefore the Grand Imam’s genuine commitment to Islam is called into doubt by his ruling (fatwa).

The EOHR, which is known for its campaigns both against armed Islamist groups and violations by the government, also says that calls for retaliation against those who oppose female circumcision are an incitement against the government which is against this ‘deplorable social custom’.

In an atmosphere where armed Islamist groups have been involved in violent attacks, the EOHR says that calls for retaliation are ‘a provocation to fight and kill opponents of this custom’.

Female genital mutilation has been in the headlines in Egypt due to local NGOs’ work against it and international attention. During the Cairo Conference on Population and Development last September, CNN showed news footage of a young girl undergoing circumcision. The item caused outcry in Egypt and an Egyptian working with CNN on the piece was briefly detained and accused of damaging Egypt’s reputation.

The outcry came mainly because the item was seen as part of American interference in internal Egyptian matters and part of the current Western onslaught on Islam.

By taking initiatives like the lawsuit, Egyptian NGOs are hoping to stop the struggle against female circumcision being swallowed up in East/West politics and being seen solely as yet another attempt by the West to dictate Egyptian policy and social practice through cultural imperialism.