Germany's parliament passed a law on Wednesday to allow religious circumcision, clarifying the legal situation after a court said the rite amounted to grievous bodily harm in a ruling that caused international uproar. Members of the Bundestag or lower house of parliament passed the cross-party motion by 434 votes to 100 with 46 abstentions.

The legislation states that male infants may be circumcised for religious reasons within six months of their birth by a "specially trained" practitioner, although this person does not have to be a doctor. Nevertheless, the rite must be carried out "in a professional medical manner", the law states and stipulates exemptions for infants who could be at risk from the practice such as haemophiliacs. The legislation sought to clear up confusion after a judgement published in June by the regional court in the western city of Cologne.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012