Book & Author
Mohammed Ghaly (Ed.): Islamic Ethics and the Genome Question
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
The new and emerging technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) are quietly and dramatically changing society — the way we interact with others, live, work, and educate our students at local, national, and international levels. Such changes are enabled by emerging technologies like Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Alternate Energy, Quantum Computing, Cyber Security, Robotics, Metaverse, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Organs on Demand, Electrical Vehicles, Space Technologies, Drones, Genetics and Genomics, and several others.
In the 1990s, the Human Genome Project was launched with an objective to sequence all three billion letters of a human genome. In 2003 the project was completed confirming that humans have 20,000 - 25,000 genes — accounting for ninety-two percent of the human genome. The remaining eight percent of the human genome was difficult to sequence because these regions contained highly repetitive DNA. However, recent use of new technologies like long-read DNA sequencing and powerful computational tools helped researchers to sequence the repeat-rich genome regions. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, on April 1, 2022, the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium published a collection of papers that reveals the first complete sequence of the human genome. The sequence — over three billion base pairs long across twenty-three chromosomes — is completely gapless. Such a Genome knowledgebase has profound implications on health and disease at local, national and international levels — across all cultures and religions.
The fusion of 4IR technologies is impacting all people of various cultures and religions across the globe at an unprecedented speed. In academia educators are pondering over the key question: How will all stakeholders deal with 4IR’s short-term and long-term benefits, limitations, uncertainties, and risks? Religious and nonreligious people are pondering over the appropriate ethical framework and mechanisms to deal with the challenges posed by the 4IR’s new and emerging technologies. The people — willingly or unwillingly — are being forced to adapt to technological advances. Even the Amish people — who for the past 300 years have abstained from using technology in their daily lives — are modifying their Ordnung (unwritten protocols that guide the daily lives of Amish) to let their people use technology for medical and business purposes to survive in a very competitive environment.
In Islamic tradition, the Ijtihad — the dynamic mechanism of Islamic jurisprudence — allows interpretation and solution of modern issues and challenges through the lens of primary sources — Qur’an and Sunnah! Unfortunately in many Muslim countries Muslims scholars are lagging in credentials to do Ijtihad and as a result end up doing just superficial work. To promote effective Ijtihad, the scholars must have a strong foundation in ahkam (rules) based on Qur’an and Sunah as well as of science and technology and mechanics of research.
Islamic Ethics and the Genome Question edited by Dr Mohammed Ghaly explores the field of genomics from an Islamic perspective. The book is the outcome of a pioneering seminar held in 2017 at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics, College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. The contributors to the 12-Chapter seminar proceedings representing different disciplines and specializations (mostly from social sciences) — approached the key ethical questions raised by the emerging field of genomics (Genome Question: GQ) from various angles and perspectives. The bottom line of their shared opinion is that the breadth and depth of both the GQ and the Islamic tradition necessitate going beyond just producing quick answers in response to immediate questions.
The editor of the book, Dr Mohammed Ghaly, is Professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE) at College of Islamic Sciences (CIS), Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar. Dr Ghaly is the author of “Islam and Disability: Perspectives in Theology and Jurisprudence” (2010) and editor of “Islamic Perspectives on the Principles of Biomedical Ethics” (2016). He also serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Islamic Ethics.
The book in addition to the preface, authors biographies, and introduction, consists of four parts with three chapters in each. Part-I (Collective Ijtihad and Genomics) is composed of chapters (1-3): 1. Sharia Scholars and Modern Biomedical Advancements: What Role for Religious Ethics in the Genomic Era? By Mohammed Ghaly, 2. Islamic Ethics and Genomics: Mapping the Collective Deliberations of Muslim Religious Scholars and Biomedical Scientists by Mohammed Ghaly, and 3. Transformation of the Concept of the Family in the Wake of Genomic Sequencing: An Islamic Perspective by Ayman Shabana .
PART-II (Genomics and Rethinking Human Nature) consists of chapters (4-6): 4. Conceptualizing the Human Being: Insights from the Genetics Discourse and Implications for Islamic Bioethics by Aasim Padela, 5. Islamic Perspectives on the Genome and the Human Person: Why the Soul Matters by Arzoo Ahmed and Mehrunisha Suleman, and 6. The Ethical Limits of Genetic Intervention: Genetics in Philosophical and Fiqhi Discourses by Mutaz al-Khatib.
Part-III (Widening the Scope of Ethical Deliberations) is composed of chapters (7-9): 7. In the Beginning Was the Genome: Genomics and the Bi-Textuality of Human Existence by Hub Zwart, 8. Creation, Kinds and Destiny: A Christian View of Genome Editing by Trevor Stammers, and 9. Living with the Genome, by Angus Clark and Flo Ticehurst, within the Muslim Context, by Ayman Shabana.
Part-IV presents contributions in Arabic (Chapter 10-12). The first chapter “Genome and Human Nature: Analytical Approach in the Light of Philosophy, Experimental Sciences and Islamic Ethics” (Al-Jinum wa al-tabi’a al-bashariyya: Muqaraba tahliliyya fi dlaw' al-falsafa wa al-'ilm al-tajribi wa al-akhlaq al-Islamiyya), by Saadia Bendenia, addresses the interaction of human nature and genome. The second chapter “The Genome Question between physical make-up and ethics: A Semantic and Epistemological Approach to Genomic Ethics from an Islamic Perspective” (Su’al al-jinum bayana al-khilqa wa al-akhlaq: Muqaraba dilaliyya ma`rifiyya fi akhlaqiyydt 'ilm al-jinum min manzar Islami) by Abbas Amir investigates the links between parallel concepts like genotype and phenotype, and between khilqa, an Arabic word which means physical make-up, and akhlaq or khuluq, which means ethics or morality. And the last and final chapter “Genome and Life: Extending Lifespan and its Moral Impact on Muslim Societies” (Al-jinum wa al-hayah: Tamdid al-hayah wa atharuh al-akhlaqi 'ala al-mujtama'at al-Islamiyya) by Amara al-Nasir explores the idea of modifying the genome for the sake of extending life and its ramifications through the lens of Islamic ethical protocols.
In the introduction, expounding on the objective of the work and the challenges of the Genome Question (GQ), the editor observes: “Addressing the deep ontological and ethical questions raised by the field of genomics, named here ‘the Genome Question’ (GQ) represents one of the key challenges that both religious and non-religious ethical traditions face in the modern time…When it comes to the religious perspectives, the list of available publications considerably declines. When it comes to genomics and Islamic ethics, in particular, one can hardly come across any distinct publication. This volume is meant to fill in this gap, without claiming to be all-inclusive, and to open up new venues for future studies and publications in this field…The GQ widely includes, and certainly not limited to, a set of ethical questions raised by the cutting-edge technologies of genomics, which the Islamic tradition would ordinarily respond to by providing immediate and short-term answers through judging specific applications, like genomic testing, DNA paternity and selective abortion, through the lens of ethics. This usually happens by employing tools from the discipline of Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh). The authors who contributed to this volume could strongly argue that GQ goes much further and deeper than exploring how far certain technologies in particular situations are (in)compatible with specific ethical traditions. The GQ is much broader in scope than these direct ethical questions which appear on the surface. The field of genomics itself needs to be critically examined, because the very birth and further progress of genomics are, implicitly or explicitly, indicative of certain perceptions we hold about ourselves as human beings (including individuals, families and societies) and the ways through which we answer questions like: What makes us distinctively human? Are genome and soul related? If yes, in what way? Is our human identity fixed and we must keep it intact, or is it evolving in nature, and we can/should always try to improve it, this time through ‘fixing’ or ‘enhancing’ our genome? What kind of individuals, families and societies would result, dominate or die out because of the genetic/genomic technologies which (will) allow choosing the sex of the children in addition to certain physical and cognitive characteristics?”
Expounding on the vast spectrum of the GQ and making Islamic Bioethics more effective by incorporating interdisciplinary approaches, the editor states: “The breadth and depth of the GQ, we argue, should be coupled with a parallel breadth and depth in the Islamic ethical discourse for two main reasons. The first reason deals with the complex and multidimensional nature of GQ itself. The larger and deeper questions of genomics, even some of the direct and specific questions, cannot be properly addressed by depending exclusively on the discipline of fiqh. The second reason attends to the nature and scope of the field of Islamic Bioethics, as we envisage it. As it is the case with the field of mainstream bioethics, Islamic Bioethics is to be characterized with interdisciplinarity. Besides the discipline of fiqh, Islamic bioethical discourse should truly reflect the richness of the Islamic tradition by incorporating insights from a broad spectrum of other disciplines including philosophy, theology, Sufism, Qur'an exegesis, Hadith commentaries, belles-lettres (adab), etc. Alongside these disciplines, usually imprecisely called ‘religious’ sciences, Islamic Bioethics should also benefit from the critical perspectives developed by social sciences and their interaction with biomedical sciences, like medical anthropology and medical sociology. By incorporating social sciences in the Islamic bioethical discourse, people can reach more comprehensive and informed conclusions in which not only the ‘ought’ aspect will be examined, but also the ‘is’ aspect, sometimes called in Islamic literature as people's realities (ahwal al-nas)…There is, however, another layer of interdisciplinarity that needs to be considered for Islamic Bioethics, viz engaging with bioethical deliberations from outside Islamic tradition, including both the religious (e.g. Jewish and Christian) and secular discussions.”
Commenting on the limitations of the work presented, the editor notes: “Unfortunately, some disciplines, such as Sufism, are not covered in this volume. This is due to the fact that we could not find experts in Sufism with interest in exploring genomics-related issues. Moreover, the volume does not include contributions from social scientists. This is partially because the field of genomics has just recently found its way into the Muslim world and thus there is still no concrete ‘social reality' of genomics research to be explored. We anticipate that these and other missing aspects will be attended to in future studies.”
The narratives presented in the book offer valid philosophical (from social sciences) and religious (from Islamic sources) discussions and provides good literature reviews of non-Islamic traditions ethical work published in the west —but falls short of breaking any new ground viz a viz presenting the real issues dealing with the state-of-the-art Genetic/Genomic technologies, their specific applications and implications! In order to address the real issues, active Muslims researchers working in area of Genetics/Genomics ought to collaborate with Islamic scholars to come up with specific ethical guidelines related to: (1) Use of gene modification techniques — GMO, recombinant DNA, transgenics, RNA interference, CRISPR, Synthetic biology, and gene drives, (2) Application of gene technologies in the areas of agriculture, animal and human health, environment and food, (3) Safety of gene technologies, and (4) Development of ethical standards to regulate gene technologies. There is also a need to establish a database of fatwas issued by individual Islamic scholars and Islamic institutions viz a viz Genetic/Genomic Technologies. Furthermore, mechanisms and processes need to be devised so that Muslim students, scholars and the population at large can benefit from the outcomes of Ijtihad efforts for Genetic/Genomic technologies — so that they can apply them in their daily lives.
Islamic Ethics and the Genome Question edited by Dr Mohammed Ghaly presents the complex issues of GQ and their implications. It also covers critical analyses and ethical implications of genomics, from non-Islamic traditions. Within the domains of Islamic tradition, the contributors expound on how the GQ can be better explored viz a viz insights from various disciplines — Qur’an exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, philosophy and theology. The book has a limitation in terms of inclusion of the technological discussions and insights — none of the contributors is an active GQ researcher or have a science and technology background! Despite this shortcoming the book is essential reading for researchers and students specializing in Islamic ethics, bioethics and Islamic studies. The book can be used as a reference for a variety of courses — Science, Technology and Society (STS), Ethics and Society, Ethics and Social Responsibility, Social Responsibility and Technology, Science Technology Ethics and Policy, Islamic Bioethics and several others.
(Dr Ahmed S. Khan — dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org — is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar. He is the author of Science, Technology & Society (STS) series of books that include Technology and Society: Issues for the 21 st Century & Beyond, and Nanotechnology: Ethical and Social Implications.)
