Iceland is poised to become the first European country to outlaw male circumcision amid signs that the ritual common to both Judaism and Islam may be a new battleground over religious freedom.
A bill currently before the Icelandic parliament proposes a penalty of up to six years in prison for anyone carrying out a circumcision other than for medical reasons. Critics say the move, which has sparked alarm among religious leaders across Europe, would make life for Jews and Muslims in Iceland unsustainable.
One in three men globally is thought to be circumcised, the vast majority for religious or cultural reasons. Many Jews and Muslims fear the issue of circumcision could become a proxy for antisemitism and Islamophobia, pointing to similar tensions over religious dress and the ritual slaughter of animals for meat.
Muslim and Jewish leaders attacked the proposal, while Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Catholic Church in the European Union, said the bill was a “dangerous attack” on religious freedom. “The criminalisation of circumcision is a very grave measure that raises deep concern.”
The Icelandic bill says the circumcision of young boys violates their rights and is incompatible with the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. It draws a parallel with female genital mutilation, already outlawed in most European countries.
And here I thought the Icelandic government only pandered to feminists. I am pleasantly surprised. I hope they do pass it and extend the right of bodily sovereignty to young boys who for no legitimate non-medical reasons have their genitalia mutilated against their will. Hopefully this sparks a wave of finally positive change for the rights of men and boys not only across Europe, but across the world.
Edit: Apparently we have to discuss whether or not this ban is a good idea even if the benefits of this should be self evident. So, NSG, is this ban good for boys? Does it unnecessarily discriminate against Jews and Muslims in Iceland?
