Sharia Scholars and Modern Biomedical Advancements: What Role for Religious Ethics in the Genomic Era?

By the beginning of the twentieth century, it became clear that the ramifications of the breathtaking biomedical advancements and associated technologies will not remain within the confines of scientific and clinical practices. The complex questions and challenges raised by these advancements and technologies also necessitated profound ethical considerations. Various religions and philosophies addressed these questions and challenges as part of their historical role in responding to peoples’ concerns and curiosities, in addition to demonstrating that they still hold influential roles in the age of modernity, with all its new challenges. By the middle of the twentieth century, the role of religious thought in the field of biomedical ethics in Western scholarship, particularly in the United States and Western Europe, started to wane. Furthermore, several scholars who specialized in religion and theology in their academic studies brushed aside religious discourse and instead, adopted a secular one when they embarked on the field of biomedical ethics. © Author