World-wide protesters have for long opposed the concept of human cloning

HOLLYWOOD, December 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A controversial cult that says mankind was created by extra-terrestrials claimed Friday, December 28, it had produced the world's first cloned human.

The baby girl, nicknamed Eve, was born Thursday, December 27, and weighed 3.1 kilos (seven pounds), according to Brigitte Boisselier, head of the Clonaid company, which is funded by the Raelian movement that has the six-pointed star as its emblem.

But she gave no proof of the birth and international scientists expressed skepticism at the announcement, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The mother of the child is a 31-year-old American and the baby would return home in about three days, Boisselier told a news conference.

The baby was cloned from her mother and will be an identical copy of her, the French chemist claimed.

Boisselier alleged that another cloned baby would be born in Europe next week and three others by the end of January, two from Asia and one from North America.

In one Asian case and one North American case, the cells for cloning were taken from a child that later died, Boisselier said.

The child to be born in Europe would come from a lesbian couple, she added.

"There will be 20 more implantations done sometime during January," claimed Boisselier, adding that Clonaid will open new clinics in every continent.

She said a freelance science journalist, Michael Guillen, would carry out DNA tests to prove baby Eve had been cloned and results would be released in about nine days.

Guillen told AFP "I will be working with a group of world class experts who will be doing all the testing, not me, I will merely be an observer."

If confirmed, the birth could mark the start of a new era in human reproduction -- the first time a child has not been the product of a genetic mix of mother and father, but the identical copy of one of its parents.

Leading scientists demanded to see proof that baby Eve is a clone while government leaders expressed new concern about the lack of controls on human cloning.

Critical and skeptical world reactions

U.S. President George W. Bush said it reinforced the need for legislation to ban all human cloning.

"The president believes, like most Americans, that human cloning is deeply troubling and he strongly supports legislation banning all human cloning," said his spokesman Scott McClellan.

"Despite the widespread skepticism among scientists and medical professionals about today's announcement, it underscores the need for the new Congress to act on bipartisan legislation to ban all human cloning," he added.

Reacting to the news, French President Jacques Chirac said that cloning a human being would be both criminal and an affront to human dignity.

Chirac's office released a statement saying that: "Whatever the truth behind the announcement, the president of the republic takes this opportunity to reiterate his strong condemnation of all research into human reproductive cloning and to solemnly reaffirm that for France the practice is contrary to human dignity and criminal."

In New York, Fred Eckhard, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, said: "We heard about this claim, but in the absence of scientific data, we can't automatically accept it as a fact. No one should expect the secretary general to send flowers."

A spokesman for Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said: "Obviously the HFEA are concerned about this but we have to wait and find out if this is true first."

Britain and other countries already ban the implanting of cloned human embryos for reproductive purposes.

The spokesman also expressed concern as preliminary research into human cloning has not proved successful.

"All we have had is animal research and from that we have heard about premature ageing and growth abnormalities," he stressed.

"We do not believe it," said Eva-Marie Streier, spokeswoman of the German Research Society, the central public funding organization for academic research in Germany.

Italian embryologist Severino Antinori, who has said a woman carrying a cloned human embryo would give birth in early January, said: "An announcement of this type has no scientific corroboration and risks creating confusion."

The Raelians Cult

Clonaid, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, was founded in 1997 by the Raelians, who claim 55,000 followers worldwide.

The Raelians believe life on Earth was established by extra-terrestrials who arrived in flying saucers 25,000 years ago and cloned humans.

The movement's founder Rael, onetime French journalist Claude Vorilhon, describes himself as a prophet and claims cloning will enable humanity to attain eternal life.

Rael, who now lives in Quebec, claims to have seen long-haired, olive-skinned aliens land near a volcano in central France in December 1973 and has long preached about the aliens who created life on Earth.

In an interview with AFP just hours before the announcement, Rael alleged the cloned baby girl is "a major step for humanity, but it is the first step in the direction of the ultimate goal: the creation of life -- or, more specifically, a 100 percent synthetic being -- in a laboratory."

Islamic viewpoint on cloning, human creation, extra-terrestrials

Speaking on the issue of human cloning, IslamOnline’s fatwa desk said: "The Qur’an contains no proofs concerning the possibility of human beings creating another human being, but there are proofs with regard to the disability of all creatures to create anything.

"Cloning, however, is not creation of a human being, but it is the growing of a cell in such a way that makes it another creature.

"Thus, it is not creation out of nothing but growing of an already created cell, just as a seed that is planted by a farmer. This is because a cell contains all the components of the source from which it is taken.

"This is permissible as far as plants and animals are concerned. As for man, it is not permissible because, if permitted, there will appear typical created clones, among children, wives, etc., as well as hygienic and ethical evils."

Prominent Muslim scholar, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa on the subject saying: "Genetic engineering has only proven to be a nightmare since animal cloning was carried out and then applied on the famous sheep, Dolly.

"Animal cloning has become a nightmare scenario for many people all over the world, as they have premonitions of it being practiced on human beings."

While he reassured the importance of scientific progress and research in Islam, Al-Qaradawi said that this progress, like everything in life, must not collide with faith.

"It must move in parallel with the limitations set by religion, which must prevail over man’s course of life and customize it according to its principles."

Responding to a question on whether there were any life forms on any other planets, prominent Muslim scholar, and former head of al Azhar fatwa committee, sheikh Attiya Saqr said that the "search for life on other planets" which "has been active and dynamic over the past 40 years" is "left to science".

"To the same effect, Islam encourages humankind to explore the universe as this leads to deeper faith in Allah Almighty, Who created everything from nothing.

"The Glorious Qur'an sets up a constitution and encourages people to follow it, but it does not contain the details of sciences.

"Allah Almighty is the Truth and the Creator of the World in this unique system and His Words will never contradict His universal laws.

"Our earlier scholars of the Qur’an permitted the belief in the existence of life on other planets or anywhere other than the earth according to their judgment.

"We do not know all the secrets of the earth, so in retrospect we should not be overtly concerned with the secrets of other planets," he concluded.