The 2009 Malaysian Female Circumcision Fatwa: State ownership of Islam and the current impasse

• Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in Malaysia has never been officially compulsory or legislated until the 2009 Fatwa.
• The 2009 Fatwa functioned to reclaim Islam and Islamic doctrine for current ruling political organisations.
• It should be situated within a move to assert Malay dominance (Ketuanan Melayu) when this is both promoted and questioned.
• Opposition to the Fatwa within Malaysia was a manifestation of internal frustrations with the current regime.

SynopsisIn 2009, the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs (JAKIM) in Malaysia introduced a surprising and controversial Fatwa declaring female circumcision to be obligatory (wajib) for all Muslim women. This article addresses the issuing of this Fatwa in Malaysia and the circumstances that led to such a move. It provides an overview of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) as it exists in Malaysia and Southeast Asia and indicates how officially positioning FGC as a compulsory religious practice ultimately functioned to reclaim Islam and Islamic doctrine for current ruling Malaysian political organisations at a time of potential political change. It further argues that opposition to the Fatwa within Malaysia was actually a manifestation of internal frustrations with the current regime and an attempt by liberal forces to use globally dominant and reductive constructions of FGC as a means to reject and 'other' such developments.