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<\/a><\/p>\nA mohel arranges tools for a Jewish circumcision ceremony. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Crown Prosecution Service, the region\u2019s chief agency for criminal prosecutions, said that while male circumcision is not a crime, it may constitute child abuse \u201cif carried out incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances,\u201d according to a draft document seen by the Guardian.<\/p>\n
This document, which looked at circumcision as a potential \u201charmful practice\u201d alongside virginity testing, breast flattening and exorcisms, has driven heated debate among Jewish and Muslim leaders since it was revealed this week.<\/p>\n
The draft guidance follows a coroner\u2019s report from Dec. 28 about Mohamed Abdisamad, a 6-month-old boy who died in London from a streptococcus infection caused by his circumcision in 2023.<\/p>\n
The coroner warned of \u201ca risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken,\u201d noting that \u201cany individual may conduct a Non-Therapeutic Male Circumcision (NTMC) without any prior training.\u201d He said there was no system to ensure that people who conduct religious circumcisions have accreditation or meet requirements for infection control.<\/p>\n
In the past, another coroner raised similar concerns over the 2014 death of Oliver Asante-Yeboah, who developed sepsis after his circumcision by a rabbi. Male circumcision was a factor in 14 deaths in England and Wales since 2001, half of them men over 18 and half boys under 18, according to the Office for National Statistics.<\/p>\n
Unlicensed circumcisions are a subject of mounting scrutiny in Europe, raising alarm in some Jewish communities. In May, Belgian police raided three homes in Antwerp as part of an investigation into illegal ritual circumcisions. And in 2024, a rabbi from London was arrested and imprisoned in Ireland for allegedly performing a circumcision without required credentials.<\/p>\n
Some Jewish leaders swiftly condemned the Crown Prosecution Service document.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalling circumcision child abuse is fundamentally antisemitic,\u201d said Gary Mond, founder of the Jewish National Assembly, to the Jewish News Syndicate.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Arkush, co-chair of the Milah UK group that advocates for Jewish circumcision, told the Guardian that the document\u2019s language about circumcision was \u201cmisleading\u201d and he would be in touch with the prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe incidence of complications in circumcision performed in the Jewish community is vanishingly rare,\u201d he said. \u201cCircumcision is a core part of our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other Jewish voices have urged action to enforce medically safe circumcisions. Rabbi Jonathan Romain, who oversees Reform Judaism\u2019s religious court in Britain, said it was \u201ctime to clamp down on rogue practitioners\u201d and called for mandatory training, monitoring and annual reports on the practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven that it is a longstanding and important tradition among Jews, Muslims and various other cultures, the best way forward is to only permit circumcision if it is practised by someone specifically qualified for it and who belongs to a nationally accredited scheme,\u201d Romain said in a letter to the Guardian.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Council of Britain also told the Guardian that it supports strengthening safeguards.<\/p>\n
\u201cMale circumcision is a lawful practice in the UK with recognised medical, religious and cultural foundations, and it should not be characterised in itself as child abuse,\u201d said the group. \u201cHowever, where procedures are carried out irresponsibly, without proper safeguards, and cause harm, they may rightly fall within the scope of criminal law.\u201d<\/p>\n