FALLS CHURCH, Va. – A Virginia mosque outside Washington is condemning its leading imam's seeming endorsement of female genital mutilation.
The Washington Post reports that the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center's Board of Directors said Monday that it rejects Imam Shaker Elsayed's description of the practice as a way to avoid "hyper-sexuality" and "the honorable thing to do if needed."
In a clip of a lecture circulated last week by a right-wing watchdog group, Elsayed warns against more serious procedures, but suggests seeking a Muslim gynecologist's advice to see whether minimal action is necessary.
The board's statement says genital mutilation is "prohibited in Islam as well as the laws of the land" and includes a retraction from Elsayed.
The Falls Church mosque's second imam, Johari Abdul-Malik, and 20 others called on the board Monday to terminate Elsayed's contract.
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