Suffolk Inter-Faith Resource forums are usually very polite affairs, without any confrontation, but there was one occasion a couple of years ago when a couple of people, including me, got rather angry. A Muslim man raised the subject of male circumcision. The question was out of order, since we were there to discuss Hazel Blears’ document Face to Face and Side by Side with representatives of local government. The man wanted to know why Muslims can’t have circumcisions on the NHS. Doctors won’t do the operation on the NHS unless it’s for medical reasons, rather than religious ones. The man argued that Muslims who can’t afford private surgery sometimes have the procedure done by unqualified individuals who botch it, leaving the NHS to clean up the mess. He didn’t get any support. You could argue that they should be prosecuted for harming a child. The Qur’an doesn’t mention circumcision. 

Many people don’t realise that Muslims circumcise; the procedure is usually associated with Judaism, which is the subject of a post on P Z Myers’ blog – Ritualised child abuse: circumcision. I can’t bring myself to watch the video – I think you’ll need a strong stomach for that. Why would anyone subject their child to this?