Religious minorities fear circumcision debate amounts to assault by secular society [View all]

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By Associated Press
Updated: Sunday, July 22, 5:22 AM

BERLIN — Rabbi David Goldberg had performed about 25 ritual circumcisions this year before a regional court ruled in June that the practice amounted to causing criminal bodily harm.

Despite the decision, he expects to perform the same number in second half of the year.

“I haven’t changed anything,” said Goldberg, one of Germany’s few mohels — a person trained in the Jewish ritual of circumcision.

Though the Cologne court’s decision has raised fears among Muslims and Jews that circumcising their children could get them into legal trouble, it has had little practical effect in reducing religious circumcisions — especially since the government has weighed in with assurances to both communities that their practices will be respected.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/religious-minorities-fear-circumcision-debate-amounts-to-assault-by-secular-society/2012/07/22/gJQA7fDc1W_story.html