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Friday 18 April 2014

Circumcision

Circumcision (the cutting off the foreskin on the penis of a boy or man) is the world's oldest planned surgical procedure. It is thought to be over 15,000 years old, pre-dating recorded history.

The earliest historical record of circumcision comes from Egypt, in the form of an image of the circumcision of an adult carved into the tomb of Ankh-Mahor at Saqqara, dating to about 2350 BC.

Genesis chapter 17 describes the circumcision of Abraham and his relatives and slaves, making him the first named individual to undergo the procedure.

In the Jewish faith, circumcision is an important tradition because it represents the newly born baby being included in the covenant (or agreement) which God made with the prophet Abraham. Religious law orders that male infants be circumcised on the eighth day after their birth. ( Genesis 17:12, Leviticus 12:3)

Vitamin k is only fully developed by the eighth day, so that is the ideal time to circumcise a child to stop him bleeding to death. This is why God commanded Moses and the nation of Israel to circumcise male children on the eighth day.

According to the Qur'an, Allah ordered Muhammad to follow the religion of Ibrahim (the Hebrew Abraham). Today many Islamic scholars say that circumcision is an important ritual and a symbolic step of purification along the lines of Abrahamic tradition.

Christopher Columbus found circumcision in practice by the native Americans. It was also practiced by the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans.

A trip to the barbers in Yemen can provide more than a haircut. Circumcisions to order can also be supplied on the premises.

About one-third of males worldwide currently are circumcised.

A study of more than 3,000 South African men found that male circumcision dramatically reduces the risk of contracting AIDS.  Half the men were randomly assigned to be left uncircumcised while the other half were circumcised. By the end of the study researchers found that for every ten uncircumcised men who contracted HIV through sex with HIV-infected women, only three of the circumcised men became infected.

Source Wikipedia

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