A German court's ban on circumcising baby boys has provoked a rare show of unity between Jews, Muslims and Christians who see it as a threat to religious freedom.

Doctors have also warned it could increase health risks by forcing the practice underground.

European rabbis meeting in Berlin yesterday promised to defy the ruling by a court in the city of Cologne last month. They plan further talks with Muslim and Christian leaders in Stuttgart next week to see how they can fight the ban together.

'We urge the Jewish community in Germany and circumcisers to continue to perform circumcisions and not to wait for a change in the law,' said the chief rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt.