On Thursday in Berlin, the President of the Humanist Association of Germany, Frieder Otto Wolf, reaffirmed the clear rejection of humanists against the dismantling of the secular constitutional state in the Federal Republic of Germany. “The key points and regulatory texts presented by the Federal Ministry of Justice on Tuesday do not meet the demand for the careful and open-ended discourse process that would be appropriate for this controversy and the fundamental questions about children’s rights,” said Wolf. On Tuesday, the Federal Ministry of Justice sent a key issues paper and a draft of regulatory texts to the organizations involved in Germany. Circumcision is to be carried out in accordance with the rules of medical practice and may also be performed by a person with comparable qualifications who has been designated for this purpose by a religious community. In the latter case, it is planned to make the circumcision of boys up to the age of six months exempt from punishment if their parents so wish. After the age of six months, circumcision should only be carried out by doctors. The Federal Ministry of Justice will hold a hearing on the key points on Friday. “Even if the planned law could bring about some progress in detail, the regulation now foreseeable as a whole means a step backwards in the relationship between the ideologically neutral state and the communities belonging to it,” Wolf continued on the key points paper. He therefore called on humanist and secular-minded people to campaign against the legislative process triggered by the controversy surrounding the circumcision of boys. “In my view, this hasty regulation is neither suitable for defusing the social debate surrounding the circumcision of boys nor for achieving an adequate balance between the rights of children and parents.” Wolf also pleaded for the debate to continue to strengthen careful and factual information. “The dispute offers no room for the kind of polemics that have been seen in recent months.” He also reiterated that the controversy must not become a springboard for new anti-Semitism or racism in Germany. “We must continue to take the corresponding concerns in the Jewish and Muslim communities seriously. We must work towards an objective and honest discussion.” At the same time, Wolf firmly rejected the accusations made on various occasions by followers of the religion and in the media, which sought to accuse critics of the circumcision of boys of generalized anti-Semitic attitudes or fundamentally intolerant attitudes towards Judaism and the Islamic religion. “Our members are very aware of the importance of our country’s history. The tradition of our association also suffered massive disruptions during the Nazi dictatorship, from which organized practical humanism has still not recovered. It is therefore historically unenlightened if, in this dispute, the history of this country is played off against the desire for an open and fundamental discourse on the rights of children or the relationship between tradition and the rule of law.”
Further information
1. press release of the Federal Association of June 28, 2012: HVD welcomes new debate on fundamental issues 2. press release of the Federal Association of July 18, 2012: “Creating opportunities for honest discussion” 3. message of the Federal Association on the Bundestag petition: HVD supports moratorium in the discussion on circumcision
