[Destiny of prepuce between Quran and DRG]

Abstract

Ritual male circumcision is one of the oldest operations ever performed (Egyptian mommies of the III millennium b.C. have been found circumcised), which has been practiced for thousands of years by Moslems, Jews and various tribes in Africa, America, and Australia; today some 25% of the total world male population is circumcised. Steadily increasing number of Moslem immigrants raised also in our country this issue, up to now completely unknown to Italian culture. In the year 2000 in Italy 21.735 live births from immigrant parents, > 50% of Islamic faith, were recorded: it is therefore easily foreseeable that pediatricians and pediatric surgeons will be increasingly requested to perform this procedure, on the other hand still forbidden by Italian laws and N.H.S. regulations. This paper deals with some anthropological, religious, psychological and legal-economical aspects of ritual male circumcision, in order to offer data for a deeper insight of this complex issue.