|
The mightiness of Allah (SWT) was only estimated on the 12th of February 2001 when a major breakthrough in the mapping of the human genome revealed that human DNA consists of thirty to forty thousand genes. The source of these findings was two groups: the Maryland (U.S.) based Celera Genomics and a consortium of scientists from the U.S., Britain, Japan, France, Germany, and China.
The popular view was that this information would simply revolutionize the understanding and treatment of diseases. However, when the British-owned Welcome Trust and the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) failed to ban ownership of patenting rights (beaten to the post by Celera Genomics) in 1999, it opened the floodgates for renegade scientists to experiment on human cloning.
The Qur'an says in Sura'tul Imran, ayat 14, "The love of desires, of women and sons and hoarded treasures of gold and silver and well-bred horses and cattle and tilth is made to seem fair to men. This is the provision of the life of this world; and Allah is He with Whom is the good goal (of life)."
It appears, however, that the God-given gifts of this world are not good enough for some people.
The first 'reported' successful cloning of a human embryo was done by Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) in November 1998. It involved DNA that had been removed from the skin on a man's leg and then inserted into a cow's egg, the nucleus of which had previously been removed. The researchers allowed the cloned embryo to develop for 12 days before halting the experiment.
Why experiment to 'create' a life form if the experiment was not going to be carried through to completion?
The arguments for human cloning are:
- Reversal of the aging process
- Reversal of heart attacks by injecting healthy cells into the areas of a heart that has been damaged
- To create stems cells (seed cells used to produce organs or tissues for replacement or repair of damaged ones).
- Infertility
- Plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery
- Breast implants
- Replacement of defective genes
- Researching and treating genetic diseases
As Muslims, we intuitively know that trying to "copy" Allah is not a wise move. However, not all people are blessed to be on the right path. Sura'tul Hijr, ayats 39 and 40, state, "He (Iblis) said, 'My Lord! Because Thou hast made life evil to me, I will certainly cause them all to deviate: Except Thy servants from among them, the devoted ones."
Many research projects continue underground because their goals are considered "too deviant" even for mainstream society. The researchers have not yet learned from their 'successful' animal cloning - 'successful' with a 98% embryonic failure rate. Those that survive are deformed in one capacity or another - they have over-sized organs, heart trouble, or poor immune systems. The cells of the cloned-sheep, Dolly, are showing signs of accelerated aging.
Man still does not know about or understand all of the intricacies of nature and nurturing; yet, he wants to 'create' life. However, all of his reasons for wanting to do so have to do with following his desires.
And desire seems to grow stronger with age: 63-year old Randolfe Wicker (New York, U.S.) plans to have some of his skin cells stored for future cloning. As a homosexual, he has had no children. He says, "The special formula that is me will live on into another lifetime; it's a partial triumph over death. I would leave my imprint not in sand but in cement."
Not even twins are completely identical - false hopes and false dreams lead to many a downward path.
Aiming to fulfill many dreams are Panayiotis Zavos Randolfeity (Kentucky, U.S.) and Severino Antinori who, along with a team on an anonymous Mediterranean island, hope to produce the first cloned baby within the next two years. Zavos is a professor of reproductive physiology and Antinori has a successful reputation for making post-menopausal women pregnant. Zavos and his wife Pette Zarmakoupos-Zavos, a medical doctor and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, run the Kentucky Center for Reproductive Medicine, which they founded two years ago. They have never reported their fertility success rates to the U.S. federal clearinghouse.
The endless possibilities become ludicrous when the debate touches on people choosing to clone themselves and conceive their own clones. What would be the relationship between the clone and its parent? Who would have rights over whom, and what sense of morality would the cloned individual have - presuming the individual to be healthy in mind and body?
If completely healthy, would they be able to bring life into the world? If so, what would that life be like? And if the clone is unhealthy, what would be the individual's future and who would be responsible for them?
As Muslims, all of these questions are answered for us in the Qur'an, which states in Sura'tul Hajj, "O people! if you are in doubt about the raising, then surely We created you from dust, then from a small seed, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete, that We may make clear to you; and We cause what We please to stay in the wombs till an appointed time, then We bring you forth as babies, then that you may attain your maturity; and of you is he who is caused to die, and of you is he who is brought back to the worst part of life, so that after having knowledge he does not know anything; and you see the earth sterile land, but when We send down on it the water, it stirs and swells and brings forth of every kind a beautiful herbage."
Sources:
- Borger, J. U.S. Bid To Own Gene Rights in Daily Mail & Guardian.
- Laino, C. Human Genome Published: Ushers In A New Age In Medicine. The Associated Press & Reuters. MSNBC.
- Human Cloning Foundation. The First Cloned Human Embryo.
- Gibbs, N. Baby, Its You. And You. And You in Time Magazine, February 2001.
- Weiss, R. U.S. Fertility Expert Anonymous Effort To Clone A Human. MSNBC.
|
