Female circumcision opposed

The sheikh of Al Azhar, Sunni Islam's higher authority, said he supports the Egyptian health ministry's ban on female circumcision despite a court decision to allow the practice.

"I support the health ministry's decision to ban circumcision because it is a medical and not a religious matter," Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi said in an interview published in the weekly Al Musawer on July 24.

"I still believe that concerning circumcision there are specialized doctors who should do the cutting. If they say excision is unnecessary, we should listen to them," he added.