Article: Egypt's leading human rights group sues sheik for allowing female circumcision.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

CAIRO _ Egypt's leading human rights group has sued one of the world's most influential Muslim scholars after he ruled that Islamic law calls for the widespread practice of circumcising girls.

The grand sheik of Al Azhar University, the premier institution for the world's Sunni Muslims, announced last fall that the practice of removing part or all of a girl's clitoris in order to reduce her sexual appetite is a duty recommended even by the Prophet Muhammad himself. Sheik Gad Al Haq Ali Gad Al Haq called female circumcision ``a noble practice which does honor to women.''

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights has demanded the grand sheik pay about $150,000 ...

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