Turk planning mass circumcisions in Afghanistan

July 16, 2003

http://headlines.sify.com/2404news5.html?headline=Turk~planning~mass~circumcisions~in~Afghanistan

Ankara: A Turkish lawmaker plans to organize the circumcision of 2,000 boys in war-torn Afghanistan as a way of boosting ties between the two Muslim countries.

Mahmut Kocak, a member of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), told AFP on Wednesday that he would travel to Afghanistan on July 26 together with a medical team to circumcise poor boys whose families cannot afford the surgery, a religious requirement in Islam.

"Our aim is to promote Turkey in a country which has been our friend for a long time and to strengthen bilateral relations," Kocak said.

"Circumcision is a common point we have both from religious and social aspect," he added.

The legislator said he got the idea from mass circumcision ceremonies in Turkey, which are often organized in the form of festivals for poor boys by municipalities or philanthropists, after learning that circumcision remained a problem for the impoverished masses of Afghanistan.

Before being elected to parliament in November, Kocak, who is a doctor by profession, had taken part in the organization of such ceremonies.

He said the operations in Afghanistan would be held in a similar festive atmosphere, adding that a folk music group would accompany the doctors.

The team will also give the Afghan boys small presents such as caps and long white shirts, which boys wear for some time after the surgery.

Kocak said the first ceremony would be held in an orphanage in Kabul, after which the team would travel on to Mazar-i Sharif, Shibirgan and Samangan.

The cost of the tour is being met by philanthropists.