Eighth to the Sixteenth Century - Rashid Islamic Center

Islam and Modern Science: Contemporary Issues • 221example of a child born to a surrogate mother. These complexitiesdemand much more attention to detail, a greater understandingof the scientific procedures, and a far greater comprehension of thelegal, ethical, and moral issues involved. Is a person who has beenpronounced “brain-dead” but who is kept alive through a “life-supportsystem” still a living human being from the standpoint of IslamicLaw? Can an organ be harvested from his body for transplantation?Sometimes, it becomes impossible to apply a general principle to aspecific situation to derive straightforward answers. At other times,no clear-cut answer can be found merely on the basis of externalcircumstances because, depending on the intention of the person, thesame act may produce two opposite results.To deal with these complex situations, certain consultativebodies have been formed. These include the Academy of IslamicJurisprudence (AJC) established by the Organization of IslamicConference (OIC), the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, theResearch Council on Contemporary Issues established in Pakistan bycertain Muslim scholars, and various committees and bodies formedby certain Muslim governments under their Ministries of ReligiousAffairs. These organizations have engaged a number of prominentIslamic scholars and scientists in deliberations about various aspectsof new issues arising out of biomedical research. Their “cutting edge”efforts, however, remain peripheral to the larger concerns of thecontemporary Muslim world, where most of the issues arising out thisresearch are still like an alien sound coming from distant places.This irrelevance is notable and so is a peculiar pattern thatemerges from this irrelevance. This pattern produces “news”—ofteninternational news—which informs the world that such and suchMuslim country has now joined the ranks of nations where scientistsconduct research on some frontier of biogenetic or reproductivetechnologies, or stem cell research. In most cases, the small printof such news items is an implantation of a certain research beingconducted in the West, often with a complex agenda behind it. Atthe heart of such efforts are either zealous wealthy patrons who wishto see their country “join the ranks,” an international agency, or acorporation hoping to have access to a cheap and unhindered sourceof human organs, placentas, or blood. This pattern is especiallynoticeable in research that requires relatively smaller investment