That's the modern justification. Surgery "in the middle of a desert in the insanitary conditions and no water" for "hygiene" is a very counter-intuitive practice, don't you think?
Wow, I never thought about this. It would be interesting to do a study to see what lead to more disease, child circumcision during that time, or hygiene complications later in life, not to mention and STDs that might be spread more easily. Fascinating new way to look at it.
