IISTD Action Plan #3 of 4
( for IIIM and IMA in USA, others
World Wide )
IISTD/Institute of Islamic Sciences, Technology,
and Development (USA)
Islamization of Bio-Medical and Health Sciences:
An Action Plan for
Islamization Through Discipline-Oriented First or Second Majors,
Through Secular Colleges & Universities in N. America and World Wide
(Proposed for IIIM, International Institute of Islamic Medicine; and others
World Wide)
by: Prof. S. Waqar Ahmed Husaini, President, IISTD
Abstract:
IIIM, International Institute of Islamic Medicine ( of IMA, Islamic Medical
ssociation of N. America) should form a Committee of specialists in "Islamic and
Comparative Medical Education" to design, promote, and give advice on "Courses"
and "Programs" for Islamic pre-medical and medical education for secular U.S.
colleges and universities. Titles of discipline-oriented Core and Specialized
Courses for Pre-Medical undergraduate education are suggested; IIIM must develop
their Detailed Descriptions. Such Plans must be developed for all
Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries by their national and regional
Islamic medical ssociations. Kuwait has IOMS, Islamic Organization for
Medical Sciences, with publications in Arabic and English. See: IIIM: <www.iiim.org>.
IOMS:<www.islamset.com>.IMA:<www.imana.org>.
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1) Islamic biomedical ethics, like the secular, encompasses social and humanistic disciplines in their relation with medicine and health. These include Islamic biomedical anthropology, economics, education, history, law, metaphysics, politics and administration, sociology, psychology, psychiatry, etc. Islamic medicine, like any `ilm/knowledge, is an integration or
tawhid of two sources and aspects of `ilm: (i) the ideological or value-oriented ( wad`iyyah, shar`iyyah ), and (ii) the rational ( `aqliyyah or 'natural'/tabi`yyah; this is the classical Islamic epistemology. Islamic 'expert or individual opinion', ijtihad, is essential to develop 'modern'/ijtihadiyyah Islamic biomedical ethics; Islamic intellectual heritage can not limit and restrict ijtihad. As Ibn Khaldun had rightly pointed out, the Prophet was not sent to teach medicine; "medicine of Prophet Muhammad", at-tibb an-nabi, was the pre-Quranic heritage selectively used by the Prophet; it is a part of "Islamic medical anthropology".
The N. American Action Plan below should be adapted for the institutional contexts world wide. Islamic biomedical ethics should be studied and applied by every Muslim health professional as an Islamic duty ( fard ); these are God's laws and principles ( ayat-Allah, sunnat-Allah ) which do not exempt anybody from the consequences of their violation.
2) For studies and research in Islamic biomedical ethics, and its later applications, prerequisite studies must begin at the undergraduate level in 2-year colleges too.
3) "Pre-medical Islamic Studies" ( PIS ) must be "discipline-oriented". Deficiencies in "holistic" Islamic education in the primary to secondary school levels will demand more remedial undergraduate "Islamic studies", general and medicine-oriented.
4) PIS might be divided into (a) "CC/ Core Courses" and (b) "SC/ Specialized Courses". These will have to be initially through Self-Study as:
i) a part of the "General Education" or "Elective" courses for an undergraduate degree
ii) and/or "an Islamic Discipline-Oriented Second Major or Minor in PIS".
A student would take these ( Self-Study ) Courses, as far as possible, in lieu of similar secularized Courses. Examples of such courses are:
4. a ) CC/Core Courses: "General studies" Courses but, esp. CC5 to CC9, with emphasis on (I) Islamic medical and health sciences, and (ii) the ijtihadiyyah/ modern re-development and applications of the classical or "early" heritage.
CC1: Elementary Quranic Arabic ( 1-year intensive course; could be 9-weeks in Summer). CC2: Quran ( The Message of the Quran, trans. and explained by Muhammad Asad ).
CC3: Sunnah ( Kitab al-Kharaj and Kitab al-Amwaal series of books, and others ).
CC4: Islamic Civilization ( Ismail al-Faruqi, et al, Cultural Atlas of Islam ).
CC5: Social Sciences and Humanities in the Quran ( emphasis: biomedical applications )
CC6: Natural Sciences and Technology in the Quran.
CC1 to CC6 could be "pre-requisites" for CC7 to CC10.
CC7: Philosophy of Islamic Science & Technology ( general, and medical applications )
CC8: History of Islamic Sci. & Technology ( general & bio-medical; critical appreciation ). CC9: Sociology of Islamic Science and Technology ( on causes of their birth, development and world supremacy in the early centuries, causes of decadence, re-development ).
CC10: Readings in Early and Contemporary Islamic Biomedical Ethics.
4.b ) SC/Specialized Courses:
The purpose of these "Elective" SC Courses is to give the student a "taste" of the scope and functions of socio-humanistic sciences relevant to medical studies and practice; the latter are not just pharmacopoeia and surgery. The aim of SC is not to turn a medical doctor into an anthropologist, economist, sociologist, etc., but to make one "literate" in the methods and contents of such disciplines, their relevance, and their uses for holistic studies and practice of medicine. However, in the spirit of "socially requisite knowledge" ( ulum fard kifayah ), every society needs a requisite number of specialists in Islamic medical anthropology, economics, etc.; perhaps their "Major" specializations would be in such socio-humanistic sciences, and a "Minor" in the natural sciences and technology of medicine and health. A few examples of such courses in Comp./Comparative studies are:
SC1: Islamic & Comp. Medical Education.
SC2: Islamic & Comp. Medical Economics.
SC3: Islamic & Comp. Medical Law.
SC4: Islamic & Comp. Medical Administration.
SC5: Islamic & Comp. Medical Psychology and Psychiatry.
SC6: Islamic & Comp. Medical Anthropology. ( E.g., Tibb an-Nabi, "Prophet's medicine" )
5 ) Studies in Islamic and Comparative Biomedical Ethics in Secular MS/ Medical Schools, and for Practicing Professionals:
Senior students in medical schools should have one or more "advanced" Courses in biomedical ethics in the above "SC Series". Islamic and secular medical associations should offer similar Courses or Seminars in their "Continuing Education" programs. Professionals who did not have such studies, formally or informally, should pursue such Courses through Self-Study to imbibe and apply Islamic biomedical ethics in the general context of Islamic socio-humanistic and natural sciences and civilization.
Muslim-majority countries should lead in Islamization of medical and health sciences through their institutions for teaching, research, professional development, and promotion.
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