Circumcision simply means cutting off the foreskin. The practice of circumcision is thought to be at least 15,000 years old. There are cave drawings of circumcised men dated to Paleolithic age.

Therefore, circumcision is the most practised ritual in the entire world since the dawn of time!

Circumcision was the first commandment given by God to Abraham, the first Jew, and is central to Judaism. Abraham was circumcised at the age of 99 years.
Jesus was circumcised at the age of 8 day as per Jewish tradition. Muslim ritual goes back to the time when Ismael, Abraham’s eldest son was circumcised at age of 13 years.

There are also those societies such as North American, South African, Canadians and Australians, etc. who have been practising circumcision mainly for hygienic and aesthetic reasons. Some believe that circumcision became a ritual act for white American men due to the diseases of foreskin in American servicemen during World War II. It is believed that native Americans were also praticing circumcision.

The debate...

Infant circumcision has been a subject of passionate debate for years. There are disagreements between those who consider circumcising a boy is an act of barbarism and violation of human rights and those, specially Muslims and Jews, for whom circumcision is one of the most important religious act associated to being given a son by the almighty.

Arguments AGAINST circumcision are:

1- A child is put through a procedure where part of his body is taken away without his consent

2- A potentially very painful operation is inflicted to a child without any medical reasons;

3- That foreskin is a very sensitive tissue and its absence deprives a circumcised man from having high level of sexual pleasures;

Arguments FOR circumcision (beside religious and cultural obligations) are:

1- According to surgeons to whom we put this question of pain, circumcision can be a painless procedure if it is conducted by an experienced doctor even without a general anaesthesia (not putting the child fully to sleep).

Some clinics claim that the local aneasthesia that they do is so effective that children who are sleeping before the procedure will remain asleep during the procedure.

2- circumcision reduces the risk of contracting AIDS and/or other sexually transmissible diseases, although not universally agreed upon.

It is a fact that in some African countries where AIDS has become pandemic, circumcision is compulsory for men of all ages.

3- Less urinary tract infections in young infants and toddlers (fact).

Some Paediatric Surgeons (surgeons specialised in operating children) recommend circumcising an infant or toddler who has had more than two episodes of urine infection or foreskin infections in a row.

4- A circumcised man is able to perform longer sexual intercourses (love-making) compared with an uncircumcised (fact).

In fact, according to a few Urologists (surgeons specialised in urinary system) the treatment for men suffering from "premature ejaculation" (male orgasm in less than one minute) is to circumcise them.

5- It is believed that many women prefer circumcised man (informally: cut man as opposed to uncut man) due to the cosmetic and hygienic aspect of a circumcised penis!(not verified!)

If you have to circumcise your son because of your cultural / religious reasons, you shouldn't feel guilty. It can be done without pain and the aftercare can be easy if you choose the right place to go. And, the sooner the better.

However, if you are thinking of circumcising your son for hygienic reasons only, don't do it. The medical benefits of circumcision in modern countries are debatable and not strong enough to justify a circumcision.