Male circumcision is the removal of the foreskin from the penis.
It is widely practised in Judaism, Islam and in some Christian
churches in Africa. It is estimated that 30% of males are
circumcised globally, usually during adolescence or during
infancy. The practice was adopted in Western civilization around
the beginning of the 20th century as a form of preventive
medicine against syphilis, phimosis, paraphimosis and balanitis.
Reports estimate the prevalence of circumcision among US born
males was 91% for males born in the 1970s but the numbers have
since been going down. In 1949, the United Kingdom’s National
Health Service removed infant circumcision from its list of
covered services and the proportion of newborns circumcised in
England and Wales has fallen to less than one percent. In
Judaism a Mohel conducts the traditional circumcision ceremony
called Brit Milah – “covenant of circumcision”. It is performed
on the eighth day after birth. According to the Torah (Genesis,
chapter 17 verses 9-14), God com