German court defines circumcision of children as bodily injury

The regional court in western Germany, has ruled that the practice of circumcising young boys before they could decide for themselves amounted to serious bodily injury, which has angered Muslim and Jewish groups in the country.

The regional court officially bans religious circumcision on young boys and ruled that the ‘ fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents ‘, a tribunal that is expected to set a legal precedent.

The court’s judgement in Cologne, Germany said : ‘ The religious freedom of the parents and their right to educate their child would not be unacceptably compromised, if they were obliged to wait until the child could himself decide to be circumcised. ‘

‘ Religious circumcision of kids is a crime ‘ : German court bans religious circumcision, Jews and Muslims disagreed

Male circumcision is part of both Jewish and Muslim religious rituals. Thousands of Muslim and Jewish young boys are circumcised in Germany every year. Unlike female circumcision, there is no law prohibiting circumcision of boys, and the ruling is not firm for other courts.

Dieter Graumann, the leader of the Central Committee of Jews in Germany says the ruling was an unparalleled and dramatic intervention in the right of religious communities to self-determination. He added also that the judgement in Cologne was an scandalous and insensible exploit, because circumcision of newborn boys is a fixed part of the Jewish religion and has been practiced worldwide for centuries on all over the world

The practice of controversy circumcising children is bodily harm

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the special agency of the United Nations has appraised that almost 1 in 3 males under 15 has been circumcised. In the United States, the operation is often performed for hygiene reasons on newborn boys. But in Germany thousands of young boys are circumcised for religious reasons every year, especially in the country’s large Jewish and Muslim communities.

The court clearly definitived that circumcision was not illegal if carried out for medical reasons.