© Ramil Sitidikov/Sputnik
"I was asked by the media if I was aware of the practice of female circumcision. I said I was, though it is not a part of Sharia [Islamic law],"Ismail Berdiev, the head of the North Caucasus Muslim Coordination Center, told RT in a phone interview.
"Then as a joke I added that if there was more of it, there would be less perversion in the world. And the media just printed the words and ran with the story...next I hear of it, is 'cleric wants to sterilize all women'."
Comment: So, what he really meant was fewer clitorises would result in less perversion in the world? How is that a joke.
As well as heading an organization that represents millions of Russian Muslims in southern republics such as Chechnya and Dagestan, the mufti, a title given to Islamic scholars, also has a seat on the Presidential Council for Coordination with Religious Organizations, meaning he has a say in developing Russia's religious policies.
While different quotes appeared from the mufti throughout Tuesday, in at least one, given to the respected state news agency Interfax, Berdiev allegedly claimed that, "all women must be circumcised to reduce perversions in the world, to tame sexual urges." He also said that the practice was absolutely "harmless" to health.
Comment: Barbaric! Female genital mutilation is 'harmless, helps tame desire', says senior Russian mufti