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This book showcases multidisciplinary research at the intersection of the Islamic tradition and biomedicine. Within this broad area of scholarship, this book considers how Islamic theological constructs align with the science and practice of medicine, and in so doing offer resources for bridging the challenges of competing ontological visions, varied epistemic frameworks, and different theologies of life and living among the bodies of knowledge. By bringing together theologians, medical practitioners and intellectual historians, the book spurs deeper conversations at the intersection of these fields and provides fundamental resources for further dedicated research.
List of contents
Taking On the Ghazalian Challenge of Integrating Science and Theology with Islam and Biomedicine.- Medical Epistemology in Arabic Discourse from Greek Sources to the Arabic Commentary Tradition.- The Piety of Health: The Making of Health in Islamic Religious Narratives.- The Concept of a Human Microcosm: Exploring Possibilities for a Synthesis between Traditional and Modern Biomedicine.- Islam in Engagement with Life, Health and Medicine.- When Does a Human Fetus Become Human?.- At the Meeting of the Two Seas: The Value of Integrating Philosophy of Science and Religion in Determining the Nature and Purpose of the Human Self.- Muslim Values and End-of-Life Healthcare Decision-making: Values, Norms and Ontologies in Conflict?.- Intersection between Science, Philosophy and the Sunni Theological and Legal discourse in Defining Medical Death.- Islam and Science: Deepening the Discourse.- Science through an Islamic Epistemological Framework.- Interface between Islamic Law and Science: Legal Construction of Science in Light of Islamic Bioethical Discourses on Genetic and Reproductive Technologies.- Integrating Science and Scripture to Produce Moral Knowledge: Assessing Human Interests and Necessities in Islamic Bioethics.
About the author
Dato' Dr Afifi al-Akiti is the Kuwait Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and teaches in the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. Dato' Afifi is trained as a theologian in both the Islamic and Western traditions. His areas of expertise are Islamic theology, law, and science. He has worked on several BBC documentaries, including the award-winning Science and Islam (2009). Since 2010, Dato' Dr Afifi has been listed in The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims.
Dr Aasim I. Padela is a clinician, health researcher, and bioethicist at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He utilizes methodologies from health services research, religious studies, and comparative ethics to examine the encounter of Islam with contemporary biomedicine through the lives of Muslim patients and clinicians, and in the writings of Islamic scholars. His scholarship develops intellectual frameworks through which Islamic theology (both moral and scholastic) can engage with contemporary natural and social scientific data.
Report
"Islam and Biomedicine accomplishes a major feat by introducing some of the central philosophical issues that shape the science of biomedicine today and pose challenges for Muslims committed to traditional Islamic thought and practice. ... Islam and Biomedicine deserves to be read by all Muslims in the field of biomedicine with interests in deeper theological and philosophical matters." (Aasim Hasany, Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies, Vol. 8 (2), November, 2023)
"Islam and Biomedicine, is groundbreaking both in its approach and the invaluable content that it presents. The relevancy of the volume to Islamic ethics is translucent by the above chapter summaries ... . Indeed, each chapter opens up the researcher's horizon by posing significant questions and ends with successful attempts to shed light on the ethical challenges that the Muslim communities face when it comes to advancements in biomedical sciences." (Nasrin Rouzati, Journal of Islamic Ethics, Vol. 7 (1-2), 2023)
"The book is undoubtedly the beginning of exciting future works in this area. ... Islam and Biomedicine contains invaluable contributions to the far-reaching conversation between Islam and science. By bringing together theologians, clinicians, and intellectual historians, the book draws sustained attention to the shared intellectual space of Islam and biomedicine. It provides a foundation for dedicated research at this junction for many years to come." (Irwan Hanish, ISTAC - Journal of The International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, Vol. 28 (1), 2023)
