Contemporary Bioethics: Islamic Perspective

Abstract

Contemporary Bioethics: Islamic Perspective, by Dr. Mohammed Ali Al-Bar and Dr. Hassan Chamsi-Pasha, is a timely contribution in the field of Islamic bioethics. The book is authored by two prominent practitioners of medicine in Saudi Arabia with an impressive knowledge of Islamic religious sciences and legal-ethical rulings on various topics of clinical significance. Rapid advancement in the innovation of medical technology has given rise to the critical need for expansion of the bioethical field to keep up with medical practice and research while relating the ethical decisions to their religious sources and reliable medical knowledge. Muslim bio- ethicists are struggling to keep pace with and produce answers to the questions posed by the medical establishment. The early phases of Islamic bioethics saw a number of medical professionals taking up to write on various issues in medical practice and research. Some of these early works were supplemented by Muslim legal scholars who teamed up with medical professionals to write responses to religious questions for clinical cases that required careful analysis of Islamic tra- dition and jurisprudence to provide dependable rulings. The present works are now being authored by some medical professionals who also have a good understanding of the religious sources that provide spiritual and moral guidance for complicated medical cases.