1. INTRODUCTION TO MUSLIM LAW. 1.1 THE ORIGINS. 1.2 THE PRESENT. 1.3 CONCLUSION. 2. FEATURES OF ISLAMIC BIOETHICS. 2.1 THE VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT POSITIONS. 2.2 THE PROBLEMS OF ETHICAL PLURALISM. 2.3 ALGERIA, TUNISIA, PAKISTAN AND IRAN. 2.4 THE DEPENDENCE ON MUSLIM LAW. 2.5 THE POLITICAL DIMENSION OF ISLAMIC BIOETHICS. 2.6 THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOETHICS. 2.7 CULTURAL SENSIBILITIES AND MEDICAL ETHICS. 2.8 BIOETHICS AND SOCIETY. 2.9 BIOETHICS AND APOLOGETICS. 2.10 BIOETHICS AND MUSLIM COUNTRIES. 2.11 CONCLUSION. 3. ASPECTS OF ISLAMIC MEDICAL ETHICS. 3.1 INTRODUCTION. 3.2 PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS. 3.3 THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP. 3.4 MEN AND WOMEN. 3.5 AUTONOMY AND CONSENT OF THE PATIENT. 3.6 SAUDI ARABIA, LIBYA, TUNISIA, ALGERIA. 3.7 THE PROBLEM OF PENAL MUTILATION. 3.8.1 Muslim Law in the penal context. 3.8.2 Muslim Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 3.9 DOCTORS AND PENAL MUTILATION. 3.10 CONCLUSION. 4. CONTRACEPTION AND POPULATION CONTROL. 4.1 SOME CLASSIC FORMULATIONS. 4.2 THE CONTEMPORARY DEBATE: THE PRO-CONTRACEPTION JURISTS. 4.3 STERILISATION. 4.4 THE OPPONENTS OF CONTRACEPTION. 4.5 THE SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT. 4.6 THE CASE OF IRAN. 4.7 CONCLUSION. 5. ABORTION. 5.1 INTRODUCTION. 5.2 THE SOURCES OF TRADITION. 5.3 BEFORE ENSOULMENT. 5.4 AFTER ENSOULMENT. 5.5 THE PENAL SYSTEM. 5.6 THE DURATION OF PREGNANCY. 5.7 THREE BIOETHICAL PROBLEMS. 5.8 THE DEBATE AND CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS. 5.9 RAPE, ADULTERY AND FORNICATION. 5.10 LEGISLATION IN SOME COUNTRIES. 5.11 ABORTION AND THE DEFENCE OF HONOUR. 5.12 CONCLUSION. 6. ASSISTED PROCREATION. 6.1 INTRODUCTION. 6.2 LEGAL ADOPTION. 6.3 JURIDICAL-RELIGIOUS FORMULATIONS. 6.4 OPINIONS IN SHI'ITE ISLAM. 6.5 PROBLEMS RELATIVE TO THE EMBRYO. 6.6 SOCIETY AND LEGISLATION. 6.7 CONCLUSION. 7.THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTS. 7.1 ETHICAL-JURIDICAL PRINCIPLES. 7.2 SOMEFEATURES OF THE DEBATE 7.3 TRANSPLANTS FROM LIVING DONORS. 7.4 TRANSPLANTS FROM CORPSES. 7.5 THE DEBATE ON THE CRITERIA OF DEATH. 7.6 THE ORGAN TRADE. 7.7 UTERINE TRANSPLANTATION. 7.8 XENOTRANSPLANTATION. 7.9 SOME NATIONAL LEGISLATIONS. 7.10 CONCLUSION. 8. AIDS. 8.1 INTRODUCTION. 8.2 PARTICULAR ASPECTS. 8.3 THE COUNTRIES. 8.4 EGYPT. 8.5 PAKISTAN 8.6 MOROCCO. 8.7 SAUDI ARABIA. 8.8 LEBANON. 8.9 LIBYA. 8.10 OMAN 8.11 SYRIA 8.12 IRAN 8.13. MALAYSIA 8.14 INDONESIA 8.15 SENEGAL 8.16 UGANDA 8.17 MALI 9.THE OPINIONS ON GENETICS. 9.1 PRINCIPLES AND VALUES. 9.2 THE DEBATE ON GENETICS. 9.3 HUMAN CLONING 9.4 POSITIONS TOLERATING HUMAN CLONING. 9.5 RESEARCH ON STEM CELLS. 9.6 THE ABORTION OF HANDICAPPED FOETUSES. 9.6.1 Some tolerant positions. 9.6.2 Some rigid positions. 9.6.3 The positions of different countries. 9.7 CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGE. 9.8 PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS. 9.10 CONCLUSION. 10. THE END OF LIFE. 10.1 SUFFERING AND ILLNESS. 10.2 THE INCURABLY AND TERMINALLY ILL PATIENT. 10.3 PALLIATIVE CARE 10.4 INFORMATION AND CONSENT OF THE SERIOUSLY AND TERMINALLY ILL PATIENT. 10.5 THE LIVING WILL 10.6 EUTHANASIA. 10.7 SUICIDE AND MARTYRDOM. 10.8 DEATH 10.9 POST-MORTEMS. 10.10 CONCLUSION. 11. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN SPECIFIC MUSLIM AREAS. 11.1 SOME HISTORICAL-JURIDICAL ELEMENTS. 11.2 THE OPINIONS IN FAVOUR OF GENITAL MUTILATION. 11.3 THE OPINIONS AGAINST GENITAL MUTILATION. 11.4 THE DEBATE IN SOME COUNTRIES. 12. THE KORAN AND MODERN SCIENCE. 12.1 INTRODUCTION. 12.2 SCIENTIFIC EXEGESIS OF THE KORAN. 12.3 MODERATE CONCORDISM. 12.4 THE OPPONENTS OF SCIENTIFIC EXEGESIS. 12.5 CONCLUSION. 13. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

This book presents a critical analysis of the debate in Muslim countries at the religious, legal and political level, sparked by the introduction of new biomedical technologies such as cloning, genetics, organ transplants and in vitro fertilisation. The book draws on law, sociology, anthropology, politics and the history of science. For this reason it will be of interest to scholars and operators in a wide variety of disciplines and fields.