Autochecked users, em-bypass-1, em-bypass-2
645
edits
WikiIslam:Sandbox: Difference between revisions
→Islamic Doctrine & the Social Origins of FGM
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
Likewise, even if FGM were nowhere mentioned in the Sunnah, there is reason to think that Muslims would nevertheless be practicing FGM at a higher rate than non-Muslims, since Islam tends to reproduce the conditions that make FGM useful or necessary. | Likewise, even if FGM were nowhere mentioned in the Sunnah, there is reason to think that Muslims would nevertheless be practicing FGM at a higher rate than non-Muslims, since Islam tends to reproduce the conditions that make FGM useful or necessary. | ||
The political scientist Gerry Mackie, in his paper ''‘Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account'''<ref>http://webarchiv.ethz.ch/soms/teaching/OppFall09/MackieFootbinding.pdf</ref> identifies polygyny as creating conditions in which | The political scientist Gerry Mackie, in his paper ''‘Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account'''<ref>http://webarchiv.ethz.ch/soms/teaching/OppFall09/MackieFootbinding.pdf</ref> identifies polygyny as creating conditions in which Chastity and Fidelity Assurance Practices solve real problems faced by girls, the parents of girls, and other members of the community. Chastity and Fidelity Assurance practices are technologies, institutions and behaviours that act to preserve the sexual purity (whether actual or reputational) of girls and women. Examples of Chastity Assurance practices are footbinding, veiling, gender segregation, arranged marriages, child marriage, chaperoning, 'honour' culture, brideprice ([[Mahr (Marital Price)|mahr]]) and FGM. | ||
Gerry Mackie | Gerry Mackie makes no reference to the decrees of powerful men or prophets in his analysis of how polygyny gives rise to Chastity and Fidelity Assurance practices; likewise his explanation of how such practices become 'locked-in' - persisting long after the originating conditions have lapsed. Mackie's work demonstrates that FGM is not caused not only by Muhammad's decrees, but also by social factors - laws, traditions, institutions, systems, beliefs - that make FGM in some way 'useful' or 'necessary'. | ||
In brief: there are two | |||
*it is a practice that solves certain problems caused by polygyny; | *it is a practice that solves certain problems caused by polygyny; | ||
| Line 22: | Line 20: | ||
Who practices FGM? | Who practices FGM? | ||
==Pre-Islamic & non-Islamic FGM== | ==Pre-Islamic & non-Islamic FGM== | ||
We will also consider that that FGM predates the origins of Islam. This suggests that FGM has its origin in social factors as much as in the decrees of Mohammed. | |||
<br />But any explanation for the existence of FGM has to account for the existence of four groups: | <br />But any explanation for the existence of FGM has to account for the existence of four groups: | ||