Circumcisions in Germany

[birdie1971]

It is now illegal in Germany to perform circumcisions for purely religious reasons. This has caused the normally fractious relationship between the Jewish and Islamic religions to be temporarily put on hold and a tenuous coalition formed on this issue.

http://uk.reuters.com...idUKBRE86B0XA20120712


Apart from the simple and obvious fact that it is profoundly wrong to slice a piece of flesh from a baby because of tradition and/or religious dogma, is this temporary coalition between these two faiths a nauseating example of religious hypocrisy?

[jomifl]

hc4361
//The many Jews that can trace their ancestry (and there are many) consider themselves to be a unique race.//
The saying 'it is a wise man who knows his own father' has some relevance here. I read/heard somewhere that if you go back more than about ten generations all family trees are nonsense.
What jews consider themsleves to be and what they are, do not necessarily coincide. They also consider themselves to be god's chosen people though there are many reasons why this belief could be disputed, not least of all being the non existence of god.
That aside, knowing your ancestry does not make you a separate race unless incest is an integral part of your religion and even that would be arguable.

[beso]

Jews do suffer higher rates of particular genetic diseases because they are so inbred.

[naomi24]

//I've never understood the reasoning behind the religious practise of circumcision.//

As someone else said, circumcision for Jews was commanded by God as a symbol of their covenant with him. No such commandment, or covenant, exists within the Koran. In fact the Koran specifically forbids the alteration of God's creation in any way. However, Mohammed recommends it, so in this instance, his word overrules God's. Another example of Islam's emulation of Judaism.

(Apologies if I appear to ignore anyone. I'm not at home and my internet connection here is spasmodic, slow, and often non-existent).