Reflective Essay

Samuel Burgess

HNS 376WX-01

COL Turner

10/26/2015

Reflective Essay Draft 5-Final

 

Generally speaking, it is my thesis that religious non-Western cultures maintain beliefs and edicts towards medical advancements that are far more tolerant than secular Western societies perceive them as being. Authors Hassan Chamsi-Pasha and Mohammed Ali Albar (artifact 1) highlight some of the ways the Islamic religion adapts and responds to medical advances and bioethics within the Muslim community in their Article “Western and Islamic bioethics: How close is the gap?” (Chamsi-Pasha & Albar, 2013). In his paper (artifact 2), Arif Hossain gives important background into the foundations upon which Islamic bioethics have been written. In their article (artifact 3) “Aesthetic Surgery and Religion: Islamic Law Perspective,” Atiyeh et al. discuss Islamic bioethic’s pragmatic, principled, and logical response to the prevelance of cosmetic surgery in contemporary society.

My assertion results from the discussions and articles we have covered in this course this semester, as well as the sources I have researched independently throughout the semester. I have learned that it is important to gain a cross-cultural appreciation and understanding of the ways in which different factions of the world approach important questions such as bioethics, as ignorance breeds misinformation, overgeneralization, or even more serious consequences such as hatred. I am not shy in admitting that I held misinformed or even ignorant opinions as to the medical practices of largely religious and non-Western cultures before this course. The opinions I held were critical and judgmental of what I had thought to be entire nations living in the dark ages not only in access to medical technologies, but in antiquated moral philosophy (bioethics) as well. However, the opportunities to take enlightening glimpses into unfamiliar cultures that this class has provided, have given me a new appreciation for alternative approaches to bioethics.

Perhaps some of the most revealing and enlightening ways in which Chamsi-Pasha and Albar show the developed ideologies of Islamic bioethics, are through the contexts of international bioethical principles. For example, the authors reveal that through Islamic teachings, the Islamic faith views the principle of beneficence “not as a valuable, useful attitude in the care of patients but as a duty within the scope of the health care professional patient relationship” (Chamsi-Pasha & Albar, 2013). I have leaned to view this as the authors showing that the moral and bioethical principle of beneficence is embraced and enforced by Muslim physicians not as an idealistic guideline in medical practice, but as a religious mandate necessary in every action performed as an agent of a higher power. Therefore, Islamic culture is perhaps even more advanced in regards to putting the theory behind bioethics into practice, as Muslim physicians see the principle of beneficence as an obligatory duty as opposed to a level of ethics to ideally aim for.

In his paper “Consequential Approach of Islamic Bioethics,” Arif Hossain, the Vice President of the Bangladesh Bioethics Society, reveals the foundational theories of consequentialism and communitarianism in Islamic bioethics. When I first heard of some of the edicts and laws that are, generally speaking, adamantly followed by Muslims, I was quick to critique and judge the seemingly illogical practices and methods that come from the Islamic approach to bioethics. However, through the wide-range of scholarly resources I was able to access, I have come to learn that the foundations of Islamic bioethics are particular to theories of consequentialism and communal emphasis, which has shown me that “Islam puts a great emphasis on moral virtues, and the completion and perfection of moral ethics” (Hossain 2012). In gaining a better understanding of the foundations of Islamic bioethics, I have attained a new respect for the goals and values that guide Islamic practices in medical ethics, I have shed my harsh judgments that stemmed from my rudimentary insight into Islamic bioethics, and I can now see why some people in the Western world may determined these practices to be intolerant (although I would now argue otherwise). In regards to Hossain’s paper, consequentialism in ethics can be understood through the definition: “Of all the things a person might do at any given moment, the morally right action is the one with the best overall consequences” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Therefore, the morality of an action depends on the consequences of the action.

In his paper, Arif Hossain unpacks the ways in which consequentialism and communitarianism (significance in relationship between individual and community) play roles in Islamic bioethics through the decision-making process when a medical issue is at question. Hossain first explains that most biomedical issues and innovations will be tested against Shari’ah law. Hossain makes a sound point in comparing “the widely applied principle of Shari’ah law la darar wa la dirar (there shall be no harm inflicted or reciprocated)” with the principles seen in Hippocrates’ pronouncement “Primum non nocere (first do no harm)” (Hossain 2012). This has shown me that the foundational consideration of non-maleficence is both embedded in Shari’ah law and in the modern Hippocratic oath, which guides the ethics of Western medical practitioners. Hossain then explains that a secondary approach to the decision-making process, when Shari’ah law does not answer the question at hand, Muslims must turn to “the principle of maslaha (public benefit) by itjehad,” or by the decision of an Islamic scholar (Hossain 2012). Therefore, I have learned that in Islamic bioethics, the principle of maslaha shows the importance Islamic culture and law places on the communal right over individual rights. While the Western philosophy towards bioethics values individual rights, Hossain’s explanation of the roots of Islamic bioethics has taught me the thorough and culturally significant processes through which biomedical decisions are made. Consequently, I have gained a new respect for the Islamic approach to medical ethics and I have learned that some Western cultures disregard or marginalize this approach too quickly.

In their article on the Islamic response to aesthetic surgery, Atiyeh Bishara et al. have taught me the pragmatism and logic in adapting Islamic principles to new and growing medical advancements such as we see in cosmetic surgery. I have learned it is no secret that Western society (particularly the richer factions) has grown accustomed to the availability of medical cosmetic surgery. Contemporary Western medicine remains largely secular in allowing certain medical procedures such as cosmetic surgery. I have discovered that the Islamic response to cosmetic surgery is still somewhat ambiguous, and that Muslim scholars generally group aesthetic procedures under two categories: “Essential surgery genuinely needed to correct congenital or acquired defects” and “surgery performed for beautification” (Bishara et al 6). The authors have shown me that the Qu’ran tells us that the human is the perfect form and that we are as Allah made us to be. However, the Qur’an also informs us that when there are no alternatives, and when the act is done out of necessity and not out of craving, it is appropriate (Bishara et al 6). The authors explain “it is important that “any alteration of creation be addressed with the utmost care. Moreover, one must remain vigilant so that the market for ‘altered creation’… may remain mercy driven, not profit driven” (6). Through this article, I have grown to personally identify and agree with the Islamic bioethical view when it comes to cosmetic surgery, as the motivation for such a procedure is regarded for the benefit of the patient’s ailing and not for the personal and egotistical pursuit of perfection. I have determined that the Islamic perspective on aesthetic surgery should be widely considered in the Western world as in many cases, we have deemed the act as a marker of wealth and glamour as opposed to a humanitarian act of compassion and necessity. The authors of this article have shown me the pragmatic, logical, and principled Islamic perspective to a burgeoning medical surgery that I have learned many in the Western medical community have exploited for the wrong purposes.

Throughout the course of this semester and through the knowledge available to me in academic journals, I have come to conclude that religious non-Western cultures maintain beliefs and edicts towards medical advancements that are far more tolerant than secular Western societies perceive them as being. Through the academic references I have discovered, I have learned of the ways in which the Islamic religion adapts and responds to medical advances and bioethics within the Muslim community (artifact 1), I can now better understand the foundations upon which Islamic bioethics have been built (artifact 2), and I have realized Islamic bioethic’s pragmatic, principled, and logical response to the prevalence of cosmetic surgery in modern society (artifact 3).

 

 Works Cited

 

Atiyeh, Bishara S., Mohamed Kadry, Shady N. Hayek, and Ramzi S. Musharafieh. “Aesthetic Surgery and Religion: Islamic Law Perspective.” Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 32.1 (2007): 1-10. Springer. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Chamsi-Pasha, Hassan, and Mohammed Ali Albar. “Western And Islamic Bioethics: How Close Is The Gap?.” Avicenna Journal Of Medicine 3.1 (2013): 8-14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Haines, William. “Consequentialism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

Hossain, Arif. “Consequential approach of Islamic Bioethics.” Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 3.1 (2012): 19-22. Web. 5 Nov. 2015