Dr Alhagi
Your point is so accurate and now I have seen it in the true picture.
In Nigeria (I know this for a fact) most of the local Christian Clergy not only support female circumcision
/fgm but also practice it. That brings the cultural part of it very strongly. but the religious part is just
an excuse by some male religious clergy be it Christian or muslim to control their congregations and get more
money for their pockets .
I think it is a human rights issue and that will be the only way to conquer this tradition. Thanks Dr Abdulie
Saine but please mention religious clergy instead of Imams to give a fair look.

Best regards
Habib Diab Ghanim

"Dr Alhaji S. Jeng" wrote:

> Hablie,
>
> Your discourse on the issue of FGM given at Munnesota 3 days ago was most impressive. I
> must admit that the psycho-physico effects of the practice were always my main concern.
> And I am sure it's the same for a great number of people. To treat the subject from a
> human rights point of view is indeed extremely important in the fight towards abolishing
> this degrading practice.
>
> I was happy that you pointed out that the issue is not a religious issue, as it seems to
> be seen as by the Norwegians. You see, Noway is a christian country. Christianity is the
> official religion, and the Ministry of Church and Education  is a ministry that has a
> central position in the Norwegian government. Discrimination based on religion is
> therefore not uncommon.The potent presence of Islam in their midst has always been seen
> as a threat to them They , therefore, would go to any lengths to discredit Islam. Making
> FGM a religious issue is one way of showing their anti-Islamic values.
>
> Thanks again for the well-focussed angle in which the issue has been treated by you. We
> have learnt a lot from it.
>
> Alhaji
>
> Abdoulaye Saine wrote:
>
> > G-L Community:
> >
> > I have followed the debate over female circumcision/female genital
> > mutilation with great interest and wanted to inject another dimension
> > that is seldom or not explicitly made, i.e., "FMG/FC as a Human Rights
> > Issue."
> >
> > Consequently, I would like to share with you the remarks I made at
> > Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota, on Saturday, October 14, when men in
> > this state honored Gambian Women, Gambian Women in Chicago and Women
> > married to Gambian Men in the Twin-Cities. It was a very sumptuous and
> > celebratory gala that deserves emulation.
> >
> > To the folks in the Twin-Cities, Minnesota, thank you for your
> > hospitality and for the fifth banquet honoring Gambian Women.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Abdoulaye
> >
> >   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >                                            Name: The Role of Women in Development.doc
> >    The Role of Women in Development.doc    Type: Winword File (application/msword)
> >                                        Encoding: base64
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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