Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin of the male penis. Worldwide, circumcision is one of the oldest, most common elective operations. The procedure has ancient roots and spans many cultures. Six-thousand-year-old Egyptian mummies show evidence of circumcision. Today, more than one-third of males worldwide are circumcised. The practice is common in the United States, and as of 2024, over 90% of males in Israel and Muslim-majority countries are circumcised (“Circumcision by Country 2024.” World Population Review). The Muslim circumcision ritual is called khitan or khatna.

Islam and Judaism recommend circumcision, believing that circumcision signifies a covenant with God. In the biblical book of Genesis, God commands Abraham to circumcise his sons Ishmael and Isaac and undergo circumcision himself. In the Qur’an, Abraham is considered the father of prophets and an ancestor of Muhammad. Ibtisam’s father tells the children that Muslims and Jews practice circumcision to honor Abraham. The two faiths differ in their recommendations as to when a boy should be circumcised. Jewish people circumcise male infants seven days after the birth of the child, whereas the timing of the Muslim procedure varies. In Tasting the Sky, Basel and Muhammad are circumcised at eight and seven years old, respectively.