NPR: Controversy Erupts In Russia Over Report On Female Genital Mutilation
“It started with a report and erupted into a controversy involving a mufti, a Russian Orthodox priest, and a rabbi. The subject: female genital mutilation. On Aug. 15, the Russian Justice Initiative issued a report called ‘Production of Genital Mutilation of Girls in the Republic of Dagestan.’ … Asked to comment, Mufti Ismail Berdiev — a Muslim religious leader from the area — told a Moscow radio station, ‘Moscow says,’ that female circumcision is a ‘healthy custom’ practiced in one of the republics of Russia’s North Caucasus region. Berdiev even said that all women should be circumcised ‘to end depravity on Earth and reduce sexuality’…” (Flintoff, 8/23).