Angela Merkel intervenes over court ban on circumcision of young boys Angela Merkel's office will be involved in efforts to resolve the circumcision row, her spokesman said. Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images Angela Merkel's spokesman has promised Germany's Jewish and Muslim communities they will be free to carry out circumcision on young boys, despite a court ban that has raised concerns about religious freedom. The government said it would find a way around a ban imposed by a court in Cologne in June as a matter of urgency. "For everyone in the government it is absolutely clear that we want to have Jewish and Muslim religious life in Germany," said Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert. Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible in this country without punishment. Ruling in the case of a Muslim boy taken to a doctor with bleeding after circumcision, the Cologne regional court said the practice inflicted bodily harm and should not be carried out on young boys but could be practised on older males who gave consent. The ruling applies to the city and surrounding districts. Jewish religious practice requires boys to be circumcised from eight days old, and among Muslims the age of circumcision varies according to family, country and branch of Islam. "It is well known that in the Jewish religion early circumcision carries great meaning, so it is a matter of urgency that this right be restored," said Seibert. He said Merkel's office would be involved in efforts to resolve the problem. We know a quick decision is needed and that this cannot be put off. Freedom of religious practice is a very important legal right for us. European rabbis descended on Berlin this week to lobby against the ruling. They plan talks with German Muslim and Christian leaders in Stuttgart next week to see how they can fight the ban together. The head of the Conference of European Rabbis urged Jews in Germany to continue carrying out circumcision. Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Swiss-born chief rabbi of Moscow, said the ban was a fresh example of creeping prejudice in European law against non-Christians, after a Swiss ban on minarets, French and Belgian bans on Islamic veils in public and an attempted Dutch ban on halal meat. Circumcision represents the basis for belonging to the Jewish community. It has been practised for 4,000 years and cannot be changed," he said. The German Medical Association said it opposed the ban because it could drive circumcision underground with greater risk of infection through poor hygiene, but advised doctors not to carry out the operation until the legal situation was cleared up. Germany is home to about 120,000 Jews and 4 million Muslims.