This book presents the religious, medical, social and legal debate among Jews, Christians and Muslims around male and female circumcision. If female circumcision today is the subject of a national and international campaign to ban it, male circumcision is accepted and few would dare criticize it. It is estimated wrongly less serious than female circumcision, or with health benefits. The author criticizes this myth maintained by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. He demonstrates that the distinction between male and female circumcision is illusory, both being an unjustifiable flagrant violation of bodily integrity. This distinction is the main reason for the failure of the campaign against female circumcision. We cannot guarantee the right to physical integrity of the girl if we deny this right to his brother. The Author Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh. Christian of Palestinian origin. Swiss citizen. Doctor in law. Habilitated to direct researches. Professor of universities (CNU-France). Responsible for Arab and Islamic Law at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (1980-2009). Visiting professor in different French, Italian and Swiss universities. Director of the Centre of Arab and Islamic Law. Author of many books, including a French, English and Italian translation of the Koran.

Islamist movements in the Arab and Muslim countries are demanding for the total implementation of Islamic law as a component of their faith. Muslim minorities in the West also have increasing demands aiming at adapting the laws of the host countries to their religious demands. However, this leads to many problems, particularly due to Muslim norms which are contrary to human rights. In order to understand these claims and the problems they bring about, one must comprehend the Principles (al-usul). Without such knowledge, any dialogue between the Muslims and the non-Muslims would end up in an impasse and in incomprehension. This work is principally based on the courses taught in different faculties of law and Islamic law in Arab countries. We complemented them with the writings of Muslims outside the institutional framework. The work concludes with an analytical juridical table of the Koran. The author Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh. Christian of Palestinian origin. Swiss citizen. Doctor in law. Habilitated to direct researches. Professor of universities (CNU-France). In charge of Arab and Islamic Law at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (1980-2009). Visiting professor in different French, Italian and Swiss universities. Director of the Centre of Arab and Islamic Law. Author of many books, including translations of the Koran into French, English and Italian.

This work is dedicated to problems brought about by the presence of Muslims in Switzerland. Even though the precise data for these problems differs slightly from one country to another, these problems are practically identical in Western countries where between fifteen and twenty million Muslims live. After a description of the Muslim view of minorities, this work presents Muslims' demands to find out to which level these demands can be taken in account: recognition, freedom of religion and worship, school, family law, food prohibitions and cemeteries. If the Muslim community continues at its present growth rate without adopting a more tolerant system of values, this community will represent a serious risk to the future of the democratic and legal system of Western countries, and will be able to endanger their territorial unity, as in former Yugoslavia. This work is written on a critical topic in this period of extreme global ten-sions. It is exceedingly beneficial for the Muslim community as well as the West. Both groups must learn to co-exist if we are to survive. To analyse problems is the first step in their solution. The Author Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh. Christian of Palestinian origin. Swiss citizen. Doctor in law. Habilitated to direct researches. Professor of universities (CNU-France). Responsible for Arab and Islamic Law at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (1980-2009). Visiting professor in different French, Italian and Swiss universities. Director of the Centre of Arab and Islamic Law. Author of many books, including a French, English and Italian translation of the Koran.