December 19, 2006

"Circumsize me!"


According to a statement by UNAIDS, WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, male circumcision can decrease the risk of being infected with HIV.

Campaigns taking into account religious and cultural sensitivites will be launched around the world as a consequence. Men will be standing in line ready to go under the knife. The question is; will news like this help decrease the spread of AIDS or will men assume that they are now next to immune and indulge even more than before?

Although the report presented by the previous mentioned organizations has taken into account the risks of spreading such information and thus has emphasized the need to stress that circumcision by no means is a protection from HIV/AIDS but merely a complementary source of protection, one still cannot help but worry about the effects of word of mouth.

I can imagine a conversation between two Muslim men in a poorer area of Casablanca:

-I heard that men who are circumsized don't get AIDS.
-Come on Amin, who said that?
-What? Are you saying I'm lying? A nurse told Boubakir and he told me.
-Wallahi? You see! The wisdom of Islam. God has protected us from AIDS*...

Update: Interactive AIDS map.
*Since circumsicion is obligatory for all boys in Islam. Converted adult Muslims do not have to do it.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess it will lead to people assuming that they are now next to immune from Aids.

Circumcision or no circumcision, the fact remains that the only fool proof method to avoid Aids is to stick to your spouse. When immoral activities increases in any society, our Creator afflicts on them incurable diseases lest they repent. May Allah guide all of us to His right path.

* said...

Why stop there. I mean at the foreskin.
To get rid of the problem, one must kill it at the root.
HAHAHHAHAHHAH!!! OUCH!

M K Abbas said...

I guess educating people about HIV/AIDS is the first step to avoid such misconceptions. Considering how the uninsightful common muslim men generally are, I wouldnt be surprised if a conversation like the one you mentioned has already happened in some part of the "Ummah"

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

DG while that is the most perfectly ideal solution, it will not be possible to implement in todays world thus the need to advocate use of condoms or prolonging the sexual debute of young teenagers needs to also be part of the discussion on preventing the outbreak of HIV.

Kaya tum bilkul pagal ho lol

Cocaine, welcome :)
Yeah I know what you mean, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Anonymous said...

I am sorry, but I disagree with you here. A zina is a zina, whether you use condoms or not. Islam was not a religion & a lifestyle for our forefathers only, it is a religion & lifestyle for us the present generation and it will be the same for the future generations too.


For each (person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah. Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves. But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning back of it, and they will find besides Him no protector. (Quran 13:11)


Instead of distributing free condoms, our parents & teachers need to double their efforts. Yes we blame the media all the time, but are we ourselves doing enough to stop this infiltration of media into our homes & into our societies?

We should educate our people to respect the daughters & sisters of other people in the same way as we expect from them towards our sisters & daughters. We need to find cure for the the disease but instead we are wasting our energies trying to cure the symptoms. May Allah guide us to His right path.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

DG, of course what you are saying must be done as well but it is not enough and it will take way too long time to help prevent the very at this moment and second ongoing spread of HIV and AIDS affecting people who did not ask for it. Wives of unfaithful husbands. Children born to a father or mother who had unprotected sex be it in marriage or without.
HIV and AIDS spread have many many reasons. In iraq right now a terrible situation has occurred. AIDS has increased like never before.

War, prostitution because of poverty that was caused because of war etc etc. There is no one solution saying "Islam, let us all stay married" It is just not that simple DG.
We must face reality.

Let us look at the catholic world. A very good comparison to muslim thought. The catholic church have given the same arguments that we muslims present all the time "if we ditribute condoms,we legitimize havig sex before marriage. "We should teach marriage values, abstinence etc".

Yes ok , I agree that must be done too...but look at Africa? Look at the world under such an ideology. It just doesn't work. And we must realise that it is not enough to teach values. Its not enough. We need to both enlighten, educate, teach values and morals and...hand out condoms.

The world has never been a place, not even during the Propet's time, where ppl did not have pre-marital sex or even comitted zina.

And now, it is even more like that than ever. We are for one, a larger population and through globalization loosing perspective of our fundamental values.

To hand out condoms in a community where people are dying of AIDS everyday leaving beind them HIV infected children..is hardly condoning zina.

"There should be no harm or reciprocating harm" as the Prophet Muhammad pbuh said. A lesser "evil" must be prioritized over maintinaing ideologies just for teh sake of it risking the lives of millions.

Don't you think that if the Prophet pbuh would be alive and witness what is happening today, he would be the realist and humanist he has always been and encourage us to do whatever it takes, to stop this ongoing epidemia and save teh lives of humanity, handing out condoms or whatever else necessery to make it stop.

Anonymous said...

No comments :-)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

DG lesh no comments? :)

Your approach does not result in saving lives nor does it stop the spreadof AIDs on a short term basis. We know this because the same approach was used by the catholics in Africa and it has backfired big time.

I urge you to come up with a better solution to stop the spread of AIDS on a short term basis if the one I presented is not according to your liking. I am very curious to hear and read about it if there is in fact something I am missing here? :)

Anonymous said...

Still no comments. You read my post about the lady beating the poor guy with her sandal, right? Thats why I think that its always safer not to argue with ladies :-D

khanana said...

I think I would strongly agree with DG’s first comment here… I am also with the opinion that best way to avoid Aids is to stick to your spouse only. Promoting safesex, use and education of protections should be renamed and called as ‘safe zina’ this might help everyone understanding what these campaigns are meant for. Instead of these campaigns what if we could educate more about religion and how to control over shaitan, what is the real life and how to work for that? what mistakes could take us to hell and what may help us there in our eternal lives?

I wonder what makes it difficult to understand that haram or an evil is always bad in all conditions and there’s nothing to negotiate or accept less or more… anything forbidden shouldn’t be allowed in any other way…

Thoughts in search of relaxations are always there, I personally call such modernized/westernized thoughts about religion in Urdu as ‘Marzi ka Deen’ (Religion by choice). History witnessed and we all have seen the results of extensions (relaxations) in other religions, I have not studied a single example of extensions which was not applied with the same excuse as I read here i.e. for the ‘betterment of society/ humanity’ or ‘to avoid bigger evil’.

People usually misguide by giving examples of some events and exceptions in Islam which were actually given for the cure and not just to accept little evil/bad than bigger one. Alcohol’s example is very common used in quoting relaxations as its also strongly forbidden/ haram and its usage is allowed as/in medicines for the cure which is very true but they forget that its allowed for ‘cure only’ an not to let anyone ‘enjoy’ anything bad in any way. A very good example in the context of this post could be of ‘riba’ (interest) which is so much deeply rooted in our lives that nowadays many muslims don’t see it as a ‘sin’ and always try to find excuses to cover weak Emans.

I must say that Islam is an ultimate and the most comprehensive religion; things were foreseen till the end of this world. We were allowed and forbidden many things which were not even in existence at the time of its inception. We were allowed alternatives and deviations in many sensitive issues that could later create confusions and by that time nobody could foresee reasons behind them.

Somewhere I read a dispute occurred right after the departure of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), it was something like a large group of people started denying and asking leverages in Zakat . It was brought infront of first Caliph Abu Bakar and he was also told that stressing over Zakat collections might lose support form these groups and will result in damages to Muslim’s nascent community. He could compromise and allow them relaxations to avoid fights and disturbance and somebody could also advice the same ‘to avoid bigger evil lets compromise on smaller one and let them learn afterwards’ or ‘if Muhammad would have been here he might have dealt it with the situation’. Great Caliph took strong decision and dint compromise even on the single inch of the rope in this regard, ater it was proven to be a great decision and to safeguard basic principles of Islam.

I wonder how come a Muslim can think of compromising on ‘Zina’ in anyway and would intentionally or unintentionally try to be the part of such evil thoughts.

I would want to know the source from where you have quoted this thing:
//
"There should be no harm or reciprocating harm" as the Prophet Muhammad pbuh said. A lesser "evil" must be prioritized over maintaining ideologies just for teh sake of it risking the lives of millions.
//
Pls do post the source of this quote, if possible please also try to find and share with us the context and background details of it as well.

I’m sorry but I would suggest that you might need to rethink over these thoughts while making judgments yourselves, please consult Ulmahs/ Sheikhs before making such judgements.

//
Don't you think that if the Prophet pbuh would be alive and witness what is happening today, he would be the realist and humanist he has always been and encourage us to do whatever it takes, to stop this ongoing epidemia and save teh lives of humanity, handing out condoms or whatever else necessery to make it stop.
//

I agree with the concepts of making judgments for the issues that were not clear or not mentioned in detail. However, such judgments are not something that an ordinary Muslim can do (especially where serious punishments are explicitly defined even in Quran). Such sensitive issues require complete dialogue and a thought process between the noble and highly educated and experienced scholars/ Sheikhs/ Ulmahs ONLY (and not by the people who insult and call them illiterate mullahs and etc.)

Anyhow in the end I just recall one phrase that I heard long time back in my bachpan and would like to mention here as this blog belongs to a young Muslim Lady
‘Alal haya wlal Eman’

I could never expect such title or public discussion from you dear… though I have never been welcomed here but for the first time I felt embarrassed upon visiting here …

May Allah keep us on the right path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who astray

khush raho SS

Anonymous said...

subhanaAllah i can't believe muslims are advocating giving out condoms and "safer" solutions, the only safe solution is about following qu'ran and sunnah IF we disobey Allah then we will be afflicted by such calamities as aids, sorry but i am a revert from the west and here they 've been following health plans and and they've been campaigning about aids and the ways to prevent it since the 1980's actively, what did it do?NOTHING aids is on the rise everywhere in the west they give out free condoms in many countries and what???aids and other std's such as syphillis gonorrea and what have you are on the rise....so sorry but IT doesn't work and the only way to prevent such calamities is to not have sex outside marriage and to be faithfull like Allah wants us to be, if not well we have only ourselves to blame sorry to say it is very sad and i don't wish on anyone to get it (i have friends who died of it, it hurts) but the truth is the truth DON'T commit zinna!!!!