The government has recommended circumcision for people in Papua over the past two years as a new approach to curbing rapid increases in, cases of HIV/AIDS infection.
In other parts of Indonesia, circumcision is common and is a part of a culture that has been preserved within the community over many generations. In Papua, however, people do not always prioritize common practices in place of the lingering presence of older practices.
For Papuans, circumcision is often considered to be in opposition to baptism, because it tends to be related to Muslims.
“The tradition of the church in Papua does not recognize circumcision because it has been replaced by baptism, despite the fact that the Bible does not state that circumcision is replaced with baptism. But baptism is a fulfillment of circumcision. Jesus himself, as a Jew, was also circumcised,” Isak Samuel Kijne college theological lecturer Rev. Sostenes Sumihe said on Monday.
March 2010 Aliislam-eGazette was on the theme of Utilitarian value of Islamic Teachings and collects a lot of information including about circumcision:
http://knol.google.com/k/zia-shah/march-2010-al-islam-egazette/1qhnnhcumbuyp/174#
For information about circumcision and WHO please see the comment section.
It is also important to see what HIV has done to the Christian Africa versus the Muslim Africa. Read one of my articles on this theme:
http://knol.google.com/k/zia-shah/saving-yourself-from-hiv-infection/1qhnnhcumbuyp/93