Critical questions in Islamic bioethics and the embryo

IGHI joined up with WISH and the Research Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics for an event about bioethics and the embryo.

The Institute of Global Health Innovation and representatives from the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) welcomed Professor Mohammed Ghaly to Imperial for a recent seminar about Islamic bioethics and the embryo. Mohammend is Professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE), Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar.

Professor Ghaly’s talk covered a range of ethical issues and questioned when does life actually begin?

In much the same way that recent biomedical technologies are re-shaping the field of biomedical research and healthcare services, the ethical issues these technologies generate are revolutionising the landscape of our moral world. At the heart of this technology-ethics debate lies the status of the embryo besides a long list of related ethical questions and perplexities. Our long-established understanding of some key ethical concepts, through which we make sense of our life is in need of serious revision and even reconceptualisation.  

The religion of Islam, like other ethical traditions, has been contributing to this global debate. 

The seminar was divided into two main parts:  the first was to elaborate on the emerging field of Islamic Bioethics, how ethical positions are developed, the main authoritative voices in this field and to what extent they are homogenous or heterogenous. The second part focused on the key question: When does the life of the embryo acquire the moral status of personhood?

Professor Ghaly also explored how the answer to this question determines the ethical position, and consequently the appropriate course of action, on a long list of complex issues like embryonic stem cell research, genetic tests, abortion, procreation options including the IVF technologies, etc. 

The concluding part of the seminar was a Q&A session where the participants will have the opportunity to raise questions about issues addressed in the lecture or related to the field of Islamic bioethics in general. 

Watch the full recording of the event above or via this link.

Speaker biography

Dr Mohammed Ghaly is Professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE), Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. Dr Ghaly graduated with a BA in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University (Egypt) and completed his MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from Leiden University (Netherlands).

Dr Ghaly was a faculty member at Leiden University (2007 -13) and since 2011 he has been a faculty member at the Erasmus Mundus Program; the European Master of Bioethics jointly organized by a number of European universities. Dr Ghaly is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Islamic Ethics (published by Brill) and serves on the editorial board of a number of academic journals. He is a consultant of a number of research projects and has lectured on Islamic Bioethics at many universities worldwide including Oxford University, Imperial College, University of Oslo, University of Chicago and Georgetown University. During the academic year 2014-2015, he was the Visiting Researcher at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.