10 years of Azhar-Fatwa

10 years of Azhar Fatwa

Rausdorf, 24.11.2016

Ten years ago, on November 24, 2006, TARGET e.V. achieved a groundbreaking sensation for the protection of girls from the custom of genital mutilation: In the most prominent authority of Sunni Muslims, the venerable Azhar in Cairo, we were able to convene an international conference of scholars to ban the thousands of years old tradition. The Grand Mufti of Egypt even took over the patronage of the conference. The world's highest ulemas (Islamic legal scholars) declared female genital mutilation (FGM) to be a "punishable crime that violates the highest values of Islam" - the most important prerequisite for ending the tradition. Because most of those affected are Muslims.

We have achieved a lot in these years to protect the girls in the long term. Be it the distribution of our Golden Book with the documentation of the Azhar Conference as a preaching aid for imams in Ethiopia, Mauritania, Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau - be it the obtaining of important legal opinions (fatwas) from other Islamic scholars, be it the tireless attempts to meet with the King of Saudi Arabia and the Mufti of Mecca, whose cooperation would significantly accelerate the end of FGM - or be it the training days of imams for imams, as happened in Guinea-Bissau. In our obstetrics clinic on the edge of the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia, the Golden Book is also available to all patients and staff in the waiting area.

We believe that together we can be very proud of what has been created and achieved. The voices of imams who, after years of advocating FGM, are now working with us to end this millennia-old custom show that our concept is working, with Islam as a partner. Imam Umaro Baldé from Gabu after the workshop in Guinea-Bissau: "I never spoke about this topic before. Now I understand it and can preach about it myself in the mosque."