Resiliency (in the Face) of Europe: The 2012 Circumcision Ban in Germany

In 2012, after a Muslim boy underwent a ritual circumcision that required subsequent medical treatment, the Cologne district court passed a ban on all male circumcisions that were not medically necessary, sparking outrage and charges of discrimination from Germany’s Jewish and Muslim communities.  Although the ban was later overturned at the federal level, the prohibition on circumcision was not the first time in recent years that German courts have restricted the activities of religious minorities.  Notably, injunctions against activities such as ritual slaughter have frequently employed arguments traditionally espoused by the political left (e.g., animal welfare) to enact what can be perceived as discriminatory, exclusionary legislation and even enforced cultural assimilation.

 This paper will examine the 2012 circumcision ban and responses to it by German Jews and Muslims to explore how religious minorities in Germany have remained resilient and maintained their contested cultural practices in the face of Christianoform legislation and judicial rulings, decrees that have frequently been presented in the guise of secularism and modernity.