A Phenomenological Investigation into Male Circumcision in Iran
Kameel Ahmady and colleagues
Published: Avaye Buf, Denmark 2023
and Scholar Press 2024
Also published in Farsi and Kurdish By Avaye Buf And Daneshfer press
Blade of Tradition in the Name of Religion, coordinated and supervised by Kameel Ahmady, examines male circumcision in Iran through participants’ experiences and its cultural, religious and social settings.
The book questions the normalisation of interventions in children’s bodies and examines consent, adult authority, social pressure and economic interests. Its ethical arguments concern bodily autonomy and the ability to make informed decisions.
The completed Farsi introduction describes qualitative field research and purposive interviews with circumcised Iranian participants living inside and outside Iran, alongside specialists and other informed contributors.
It gives an overall research period of Solar Hijri years 1398–1401, with some fieldwork in 1399–1400. These source-calendar dates are retained without treating the book’s 2023 publication year as the interview date.
The book addresses the research problem; concepts and procedures; historical and geographical contexts; religion; scientific and disciplinary approaches; factors sustaining the practice; lived experiences; and conclusions and recommendations.
Its coverage includes medical, anthropological, psychological, social and legal perspectives. Those different kinds of argument need to be assessed using evidence appropriate to each question.
Participants’ accounts help explore meanings, experiences and social pressures. They do not establish that everyone undergoing circumcision has an identical outcome.
Any charts of participants’ religion, ages or views describe the study sample unless a different basis is explicitly established. They should not be presented as national prevalence or population-wide opinion.
The author examines how expectations of religious or community membership, gender roles and adult authority can influence decisions. Economic interests and access to information also form part of the critique.
The book’s ethical and legal arguments are the author’s position; they do not establish a single legal rule for every country or a medical outcome for every individual. Read specific claims with their supporting sources. NHS information provides a separate clinical reference.
The described qualitative, purposive study should not be treated as nationally representative.
Assess the evidence for each specific claim and distinguish individual narratives, ethical arguments and clinical findings.
Use the access links above, checking the language, format and imprint of the file you choose. The title and page numbers in your citation should match that edition.
Read the Farsi book introduction for the corresponding presentation and available material.
Farsi (فارسی)
Kurdish (کُردی)
