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Probably the most cited instance of this argument is a fatwa issued by Dr Ahmed Talib, the former Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious university for Sunni Islamic learning.{{Quote|[https://www.academia.edu/6142789/Egypts_Villages_Fight_Female_Genital_Mutilation_WFS_NEWS Dr Ahmed Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University]|“All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs… '''it is not an obligation in Islam'''.”}}In this fatwa Dr Talib so emphatically condemns FGM that the implication of his final phrase could pass unnoticed. | Probably the most cited instance of this argument is a fatwa issued by Dr Ahmed Talib, the former Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious university for Sunni Islamic learning.{{Quote|[https://www.academia.edu/6142789/Egypts_Villages_Fight_Female_Genital_Mutilation_WFS_NEWS Dr Ahmed Talib, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at Al-Azhar University]|“All practices of female circumcision and mutilation are crimes and have no relationship with Islam. Whether it involves the removal of the skin or the cutting of the flesh of the female genital organs… '''it is not an obligation in Islam'''.”}}In this fatwa Dr Talib so emphatically condemns FGM that the implication of his final phrase could pass unnoticed. | ||
Critics of this position .... If one assumes Dr Talib to have weighed his words and meant what his words mean, then FGM’s legitimacy stops short of ‘obligatory’. ''<nowiki/>'Not an obligation'<nowiki/>'' includes everything from '<nowiki/>''forbidden''<nowiki/>' to '<nowiki/>''highly recommended'<nowiki/>'', and the fact something is '<nowiki/>''not obligatory''’ in no way implies that it is forbidden or even undesirable. Examples of acts that are '''not obligatory''<nowiki/>' include owning a dog, giving to charity, child sexual abuse and murder. For Dr Talib to conclude that ''‘FGM is not obligatory under Islam’'' suggests that he was unable to state that ''‘FGM is forbidden under Islam’''. | Critics of this position .... If one assumes Dr Talib to have weighed his words and meant what his words mean, then FGM’s legitimacy stops short of ‘obligatory’. ''<nowiki/>'Not an obligation'<nowiki/>'' includes everything from '<nowiki/>''forbidden''<nowiki/>' to '<nowiki/>''highly recommended'<nowiki/>'', and the fact something is '<nowiki/>''not obligatory''’ in no way implies that it is forbidden or even undesirable. Examples of acts that are '''not obligatory''<nowiki/>' include owning a dog, giving to charity, child sexual abuse and murder. For Dr Talib to conclude that ''‘FGM is not obligatory under Islam’'' suggests that he was unable to state that ''‘FGM is forbidden under Islam’''. | ||
But 'not obligatory', 'allowed' or 'tolerated' are no more acceptable legal or ethical positions for a practice such as FGM than they would be for murder, child sexual abuse or rape. | |||
It should also be noted that the Shafi'i school of Islam and some Hanbali scholars have ruled FGM obligatory. | It should also be noted that the Shafi'i school of Islam and some Hanbali scholars have ruled FGM obligatory. |