The practice of circumcising Jewish boys during brit milah ceremonies has been allowed to continue in Denmark according to new guidelines issued yesterday by the national board of health.

Beforehand it was not expected that the agency would recommend a ban on male circumcision on religious grounds.

The guidelines stipulate that male circumcision is a surgical procedure and restricted to medical practitioners

Faith or mutilation?
The guidelines require a doctor to be present at a brit milah when a rabbi circumcises a boy.

 It is estimated that every year up to 2,000 boys are circumcised for religious reasons by Jewish and Muslim families in Denmark.

While doctors usually handle the circumcision of Muslims, Jewish boys are often circumcised by a rabbi, typically when the boy is 8 days old.

READ MORE: Circumcision: the long and the short of it

There is ongoing debate among doctors and others about circumcision, with some taking the view that it is mutilation.