FGM refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs, for non-medical reasons. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies it into four types and recognizes it internationally as a violation of human rights and a serious threat to women’s health and well-being.

 

Importantly, FGM is not a requirement in Islam. The practice predates Islam and is found among various religious and tribal communities, including some Christians and animists in parts of Africa. There is no command in the Qur’an to perform FGM. On the contrary, Islam upholds the principles of compassion, preservation of life and dignity, and explicitly prohibits causing harm (ḍarar).

 

A well-established principle in Islamic jurisprudence states:

— [Ibn Mājah, Aḥmad, al-Muwaṭṭaʾ – Hasan]

 

This foundational rule means that any practice which causes harm without a clear, necessary benefit is prohibited. Therefore, harmful cultural practices like FGM cannot be justified within Islam.

 

Contemporary Islamic scholars and institutions, including Al-Azhar University (Egypt), the Muslim World League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and scholars in Mauritania, have all declared FGM to be non-Islamic and harmful. Muslim-majority countries have largely condemned FGM as a harmful cultural practice, not an Islamic obligation.

As a Muslim woman, gynecologist, and scholar, I stand in full agreement with these scholars and Islamic institutions in affirming that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful cultural practice, not an Islamic practice.