Speakers at a conference on Islamic bioethics at the Education City yesterday called for better interaction between experts in the Islamic world and the West to address issues in bioethics.
The meeting drew attention to the divergent and often conflicting views among Islamic scholars on controversial issues in bioethics and called for more extensive studies and research, involving religious scholars and medical experts.
The two-day conference titled “Islamic bioethics - the interplay of Islam and the West,” is organised by the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, as part of its Islamic Medical and Scientific Ethics Research Project. The project includes preparation of a database and an encyclopaedia of Islamic bioethics.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the conference, Dr. Tariq Ramadan, prominent European Islamic thinker and scholar called for a holistic approach toward Islamic bioethics, taking advantage of the experience of people outside the Islamic faith.
He said “context” is very important in interpreting the “text” and Muslim scholars should benefit from the knowledge and experience of others while studying the context. Communication between different faiths can contribute a lot in broadening the scope of bioethics, since they have shared values and principles.
There are more commonalities than differences in the principles of bioethics in Islam and the West but the main issue is prioritising, if there is a conflict between the approved principles.
Ramadan stressed on “autonomy” as a basis of Islamic bioethics saying, in Islam, the individual is ultimately responsible for his/her actions.
“If there is a conflict between Islamic principles and the culture (of a traditional Muslim society) Islamic principles should come first,” said Ramadan, noting that cultural issues and the collective psychology of the people have created obstacles in many countries while addressing issues in bioethics such as abortion and treatment of Aids patients.
Dr Jasser Auda, another speaker said in the Islamic purpose-based approach (Maqasida) priorities are based on where things fall – necessity, need or luxury.
“If there is a conflict between protection of human life and human conscience, Islam gives priority to human life. Similarly, protection of the rights of children and family comes before protection of the dignity of the individual and protection of wealth,” said Auda.
Dr Ayman Shabana raised the issue of “paternity” in Islamic bioethics referring to opinion of different Islamic scholars on the issue. In Islam, sexual relations are legalised through marriage and whether the relationship is legal or not is central in the discussion about paternity. This is different from the modern approach purely based on biological paternity.
Speaking on the Muslim attitude toward Aids, Dr. Mohammed Ghaly said, initially, many Muslim scholars were unwilling to address the issue considering the disease as a divine punishment for the permissive lifestyle of the West.
However, close interaction with the medical community and the spread of the disease even in Muslim societies brought them to the realisation that Aids can be spread through various means and even the innocent could be affected. This has led to an increased discussion among Islamic scholars on the issue, that was once considered a taboo, he noted.
