Can you elaborate upon the Islamic viewpoint on female circumcision and FGM? How should Muslims react to the issue from a Child safeguarding perspective?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
In a nutshell, large number of Muslims in United Kingdom follow the Hanafi School of (Islamic) jurisprudence. Female circumcision is neither Sunnah nor has any religious significance and it is also illegal. Therefore it is impermissible in Britain. Since this is a child safeguarding issue , in a School/Maktab setting teaching and administrative staff need to be alert to the possibility of a girl being at risk of FGM and report it promptly and appropriately as per their child safeguarding policies.
We say that the issue cannot be inferred because circumcision for boys is explicitly mentioned and accepted by Scholars while the circumcision of girls is not explicit and scholars have disagreed upon the matter. Mufti Abdullah Patel (HA) concludes that the practise of female circumcision cannot be given religious significance and since it is illegal in Britain, it will not be permissible to carry out female circumcision.
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