Religion and Politics

Angela Merkel Intervenes over Court Ban on Circumcision of Young Boys

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, assured Germany’s Jewish and Muslim communities that, despite a recent court order banning the practice,”[c]ircumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible in this country without punishment.” Seibert stated that Merkel’s office is working to resolve the legal ramifications of the recent decision by a court in Cologne, which declared that circumcision inflicts bodily harm on young boys. In the meantime, Seibert sought to assure the public that, “For everyone in the government it is absolutely clear that we want to have Jewish and Muslim religious life in Germany.”

Read at Reuters

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