Developments in the life sciences are progressing at
unprecedented rates. The pace at which these developments
are moving far surpasses that of the discussions and
decisions being made about the moral and ethical
implications they have on our lives.
Nevertheless, government officials around the world are
meeting, and various religious and human rights groups are
making their voices heard.
Where do Muslims stand in the midst of all this? What do
Muslims have to say about such issues as cloning, stem cell
research, surrogacy, abortion, euthanasia, organ
transplantation, gene banks, etc? Is it enough for
individual Muslim scholars to declare something to be halal
or haram? When will Muslims finally unite to decide on a
solid stance on these issues that continue to arise while
we continue to debate whether or not to grow our beards?
Dr. Ahmed Dirie, in this regard, has written an article on
IslamOnline.net titled, The Brave New Era of Biomedicine:Where Do Muslims Stand?
He recommends the establishment of an independent
Islamic bioethics panel to be composed of respected Islamic
Ulama, life science scientists, ethicists, educators,
policymakers, lawyers, and community leaders. The panel
members should also represent the diversity of Muslim
communities all over the world.
IslamOnline.net invites those of you interested or already
active in this field to use this area of our discussion
forum to discuss the further development of this idea.
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