CLITORIS NOT A MUST

The BBC headline says: "Female circumcision 'not Islamic'" but Muslim clerics aren't so sure:

The head of the al-Azhar mosque, Sunni Islam's top authority, told a meeting in Cairo the practice, also known as female circumcision, was not a "must".

Another leading cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, said that Islam did not require the practice but some clerics felt it was allowed.

"Doctors confuse us, as some are with and some are against, the final say should be for them," Mr Qaradawi told AP.

Some parents who back the practice cite Muslim scholars and doctors who claim it is necessary or religiously desirable to remove the clitoris of young girls.

On what basis could a doctor recommend a clitoris be hacked off?

Update: In unrelated news the BBC waxes all lyrical about Palestinian human shields:

From militant leaders to schoolgirls, Palestinians can unite in confronting their enemy and the passive resistance of the human shields will be admired from around the world.

The boys on the roofs, armed only with Palestinian flags and facing down war planes, are a David and Goliath image for the modern age.

The BBC biased? Never.