{"id":46450,"date":"2012-06-27T00:53:55","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T00:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=46450"},"modified":"2012-06-27T01:03:43","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T01:03:43","slug":"german-court-rules-circumcision-is-bodily-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/german-court-rules-circumcision-is-bodily-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"German Court Rules Circumcision Is ‘Bodily Harm’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BBC Europe –<\/p>\n

A court in Germany has ruled that circumcising young boys for religious reasons amounts to bodily harm.\u00a0In a decision that has caused outrage among Jewish and Muslim groups, the court said that a child’s right to physical integrity trumps religious and parental rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The case involved a doctor who carried out a circumcision on a four year-old that led to medical complications.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Male circumcision is part of both Jewish and Muslim religious rituals<\/p><\/div>\n

Thousands of Muslim and Jewish boys are circumcised in Germany every year.<\/p>\n

Although male circumcision – unlike female circumcision – is not illegal in Germany, the court’s judgement said the “fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents”.<\/p>\n

Circumcision, it decided, contravenes “interests of the child to decide later in life on his religious beliefs”.<\/p>\n

‘Protect religious freedom’<\/strong><\/p>\n

The doctor involved in the case was acquitted and the ruling is not binding, but correspondents say it sets a precedent that would be taken into account by other German courts.<\/p>\n

The president of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, called it “an unprecedented and dramatic intervention in the right of religious communities to self-determination”.<\/p>\n

He urged the country’s parliament to clarify the legal situation “to protect religious freedom against attacks”.<\/p>\n

Male circumcision is part of the ancient religious rituals of both the Jewish and Muslim faiths, as well as the traditions of some tribal groups.<\/p>\n

In some countries, such as the United States, it is also not uncommon for parents to request that young boys are circumcised for health reasons.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Stephen Evans in Germany says it is unclear what the next legal step with be, but this issue is a moral and political minefield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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