KUALA LUMPUR, August 16 – When the Malaysian Fatwa Committee of the National Council on Islamic Religious Affairs (JAKIM) issued a fatwa in April 2009 proclaiming that female circumcision is obligatory (wajib), it had a big influence on the practice in Malaysia, according to a Country Profile on female genital cutting in Malaysia.
While the fatwa is non-binding, it was a game changer that led many Malay Muslims in the country to believe that female genital cutting (FGC) is a compulsory religious obligation (wajib), and not merely a recommended Islamic practice (sunat).
In Malaysia, the Fatwa Committee issues non-binding opinions or interpretations on issues relating to Islamic law referred to the committee, and only a fatwa issued by the different states’ fatwa committees and published in the official gazette will be binding upon Muslims in their respective states.
Despite not being a legal requirement, the fatwa resulted in the widespread perception among Malay Muslims that the practice of FGC was obligatory and prompted parents to pursue medicalised FGC.
The Country Profile, which is published by the Orchid Project, an international NGO working to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), and the Asia Network to end FGM/C, notes that in general, even non-gazetted fatwas have a strong influence on personal decision-making.
It maintains that the 2009 fatwa is thought to have been issued as a reaction to the WHO’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach toward FGC. The aim was to make a strong argument for an Islamic perspective, which clearly condemns mutilating practices, but fulfils practices deemed to honour women and rejects harm in accordance with Islamic jurisprudence.
The fatwa committee in 2009 justified its ruling on FGC by arguing that “When there is benefit for a man, there is also a benefit for a woman”, which is in keeping with the Shafi’i school of Islamic law.
However, many religious scholars have maintained that FGC is not a requirement in the Quran. Those who support the practice build their reasoning on the hadiths, which are statements or actions of the Prophet and his companions.
According to the Country Profile, University of London’s Prof William Gervase Clarence-Smith claims that all the hadiths dealing with FGC either lend themselves to different interpretations or are of uncertain authenticity.
Furthermore, any tradition can be overruled by deploying the fundamental injunction in the Quran to command and forbid evil.
Despite the silence of the Quran over the practice, Clarence Smith maintains that there seems to be a consensus among Islamic scholars that FGC is not specifically forbidden in the holy texts.
Frequently Cited Hadiths On Female Circumcision
According to the Country Profile, three studies mention the most frequently cited hadiths and their weaknesses, as outlined below:
- The Honourable Deed Hadith (Makrumah), collected by Ibn Hanbal: “Circumcision is sunnah for men and honour for women”.
Considered a weak argument in relation to FGC, since neither the Prophets Abraham nor Muhammad required cutting for their daughters, this hadith was nonetheless cited by the MOH in 2007 when issuing guidelines for male medical procedures.
It was the first time in Malaysia that health care guidelines for men included a religious justification for women, a step toward what was viewed as increasing conservatism and a gradual integration of “cultural/religious viewpoints into government directives and policies”.
- The Hadith on Ghusl, narrated by Muslim (349): ‘Aa’ishah said, “When a man sits between the four parts (arms and legs of his wife) and the two-circumcised parts meet, then ghusl [an Islamic ritual bath] is obligatory”.
This hadith is deemed non-prescriptive and a debate around linguistics and translation continues.
- The Hadith about five acts of Fitrah, narrated by Al Bukhari (5889) and Muslim (257): from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet said: “The fitrah is five things — circumcision, shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hairs, and trimming the moustache”.
This hadith is deemed not to be directed at women.
- The Hadith on the traditional midwife practising female circumcision, Abu Da’ud (5271) narrated from Umm ‘Atiyyah al-Ansaariyyah: “There was a woman in Medinah whose work was to circumcise women and the Prophet said to her: ‘If you circumcise a woman, do not go to the extreme in cutting; that is better for the woman and more liked by the husband’.”’
The “hadith on female circumcision”, as it is sometimes called, is the most cited over centuries, although it only appears in the canonical collection of Abu Da’ud, who classified it as ‘unreliable’ in terms of its transmission.
Debate And Dispute Over Hadiths Unresolved
However, some researchers have maintained that the debate and dispute over the hadith remains unresolved. In a study on Authenticating the Hadith of Women’s Circumcision: A Reassessment, the researchers concluded that the hadiths on female circumcision is authentic and part of Islamic Sharia.
According to the Country Profile, for these scholars, the hadiths can be used as an argument for the practice of FGC because the ‘chain’ of hadiths mentions of FGC are able to support each other. As a result, they raised the status of the hadiths from da’if (‘weak’) to hasan (‘good’).
In comparison, a 2019 study, which reassessed all hadiths and took into account another study from 2017 that reported FGC harms reached a contrasting conclusion, as it found no clear contradiction between Islamic law and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to ban FGC.
The 2019 study’s conclusion is predicated on the lack of ‘valid’ evidence of a command by the Prophet regarding FGC.
It is also based on an acceptance that scholars do not issue fatwas merely on religious texts, but also by consulting with available medical experts.
Use Of ‘Foreign Fatwas’ To Condemn FGC
As it is an extremely sensitive issue, when FGC in Malaysia was propelled into the international spotlight, it ignited intense debate in the country with some arguing that it served a foreign, or more specifically a Western agenda, to dictate and impose on local cultural practices.
The Country Profile cites a study that mentions local NGO Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) use of “foreign fatwas’ to condemn FGC”.
In a 2019 press statement, SIS referred to the Al-Azhar guidance:
Dar al-Ifta al Misriyyah, which is among the pillars of the religious foundations in Egypt (and includes Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Al-Azhar University, Ministry of Religious Endowments, and Dar al-Ifta al-Misryyah), had declared all forms of FGM, including female circumcision, to be religiously forbidden from May last year.
The organisation said that banning FGM should be the religious duty of all Muslim countries, due to its harmful effects on the body.
Al-Azhar is considered the authoritative reference for Sunni religious authorities throughout the world, including Malaysia, notes SIS in the press release.
In response to the censure and perceived condemnation of lslam and Malayness, academics in the country began reassessing the hadiths’ authenticity from a Malay point of view, according to the Country Profile.
Disagreement On Whether FGC Is A Compulsory Or Encouraged Practice
In Malaysia, religious leaders do not always agree on whether FGC is a compulsory practice in Islam or only an encouraged one.
The Country Profile cites one study for example, which reports that 57.5 per cent of religious teachers feel FGC is sunat (encouraged), while 42.5 per cent disagree.
The lack of consensus among Muslim jurists on the issue of FGC not only stems from the differences in religious interpretations, but may also be explained by a lack of knowledge of female anatomy and development, and the WHO’s classifications.
WHO defines Female Genital Cutting as the “partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons”.
However, most of the state fatwa committees support the 2009 national ruling, according to the Country Profile.
The fatwa committee of Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur has stated that FGC is compulsory.
The Johor Fatwa Committee declared in 2012 that the procedure is permissible, provided it is carried out by a trained and/or certified medical practitioner.
Sabah and Negeri Sembilan fatwa committees adopted the 2009 federal interpretation for their states.
The Country Profile notes, however, that none of these religious opinions at state level have been published in the official gazette, leaving them as official declarations, but not legally binding.
Kelantan has since issued an opinion declaring FGC mandatory, but the fact that religious opinions on FGC have not been gazetted at state level have led to the opinion that “fatwas have become something of an academic matter rather than a legal practical issue”.
The Importance Of Women’s Consent And Bodily Autonomy
The sole dissenter is Perlis, which after considering evidence discussed by religious scholars and medical experts, issued an opinion in 2017 that conflicted with the 2009 fatwa (see box below):
As far as women are concerned, the state of Perlis decreed that FGC was non-compulsory, and stressed the importance of women’s consent and bodily autonomy.
The Perlis fatwa does not require all women to undergo FGC, but stipulates conditions of ‘need’ and ‘expertise’, without detailing what those might be.
A woman who feels the need to be cut should consult and obtain an expert’s approval, in which case the practice is viewed as ‘honourable’. If there is no need, FGC should not be performed.
Regarding children, FGC, according to the Perlis mufti, “has no basis in Sharia and may cause harm amongst infants if done improperly”.
According to the Country Profile, the mufti of Perlis, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, invited Dr Harlina Siraj, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, in 2016 to give her input on FGC, while his office was in the midst of preparing a fatwa on the practice.
Dr Harlina gave the all-male assembly of Islamic scholars a crash course on the differences between male and female bodies, the development of sex during pregnancy, the development of male and female reproductive organs, congenital physical and genetic conditions (including sexual ambiguity), and the traditional and religious practices of male and female circumcision in different parts of the world.
In 2018, Mohd Asri said, “In Malaysia, a lot of people do not know the teachings in detail. They do it because they are afraid they will be wrong if they don’t do it.
“There is no authority which checks with every woman if she has been circumcised or not.
“During Prophet Nabi’s time, a lot of women entered Islam. He did not ask them to be circumcised.”
