Transcript:

Muslim and Jewish groups have come together and met members of the European Parliament in the Bundestag to express their strong opposition to the ruling.

A joint statement said, 'we consider this to be an affront to our basic religious and human rights'; adding, ' circumcision is an ancient ritual that is fundamental to our individual faiths and we protest in the strongest possible terms against this court ruling.'

Meanwhile, Germany's doctors have been told not to carry out circumcisions except where medically necessary, for fear of prosecution.

The country's government is clearly uneasy about the ruling, particularly after accusations that it was inappropriate for the country of the Holocaust to outlaw a fundamental ritual of Judaism. The foreign minister said that circumcision was, 'an expression of religious pluralism.' Jewish and Muslim groups are now working together to get the court decision overturned.

Vocabulary:

Bundestag n. 西德连邦议会

strong opposition 强烈反对

an affront 一种冒犯

circumcision n. 割礼，[外科] 包皮环割术

ritual n. 仪式

uneasy adj. 不舒服的

the Holocaust 犹太人大屠杀

outlaw vt. 宣布…为不合法

pluralism n. 多元主义，多元论

overturned adj. 倾覆的，倒转的