Circumcision is viewed differently by many comunities.While some perform circumcision as a religious rite, some perform it for medical reasons while others see it as inhumane.
The word circumcision gets its origin from two Latin words, circum which means "around" and caedere meaning "to cut".
This word Circumcision is by definition a process by which either some or the entire foreskin of the penis is removed by cutting.
This process is commonly carried out on males but in some parts of the world, circumcision is carried out on females too whereby the process is performed on the female genitalia.
Circumcision is usually performed for religious, cultural, and medical reasons.
Elective adult circumcision may also be chosen as a form of body modification, or for aesthetic reasons.
The oldest documentary evidence for circumcision comes from the time of Abraham by which all male offspring must be circumcised.
This technique was also widely practiced by Semitic peoples, the old Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, although it was not considered mandatory and certain people rejected it.
Circumcision as a religious act is performed for their members on mandatory bases by Judaism and Islam even today, although Judaism is attaching a greater importance to this act.
Jewish male children are circumcised eight days after their birth, unless health reasons force a delay.
Islam clerics are less formal about the exact time of circumcision, although some communities still observe the eighth day practice of Judaism.
One difference between the two religions is that Jewish male children are circumcised by a religious figure called "Mohel", while some Muslim communities, perform this act in hospitals.
At the Council of Florence in 1442, the Roman Catholic Church did not attach any religious importance to this practice and rejected it.
On the other hand however, the Coptic Christians and the Ethiopian Orthodox churches still observe as mandatory.
Circumcision is also common in a number of African and Australian Aboriginal religious traditions, where it is used as a passage rite for young males with the belief that is a penis enlargement process and a natural remedy for erectile dysfunction.
For some West African animist groups, such as the Dogon and Dowayo, circumcision represents a removal of "feminine" aspects of the male, while the Nilotic people hold periodical circumcision ceremonies that are used to group young males in age sets.
In the U.S., the Philippines and South Korea, circumcision is not carried out for religious reason but for hygienic and health reasons.
Presently, in some parts of the world, the practice of female circumcision is totally banned because it was regarded as inhumane act as women lose the ability to experience sexual arousal as a result of the removal of the most sensitve female stimulation organ - the clitoris.
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