The Case of Organ Transplantation in Egypt: Reassessing Bioethics and Contemporary Islamic Thought
Sherine Hamdy, Kutayba Alghanim Assistant Professor of Social Sciences and Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Brown University; author, Our Bodies Belong to God: Bioethics, Islam, and Organ Transplantation
When: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Where: Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
Please RSVP here
Our Bodies Belong to God centers on why Egyptians were largely reluctant to accept transplant medicine. In the print news, on state television, radio, film, and in religious sermons, opinions clashed over this life-saving but death-ridden medical practice. Egypt’s organ transplant debate immediately presents a number of puzzles. Why did organ transplantation in particular, as opposed to other biotechnological practices, set off such a heated debate? Why was Egypt the pioneering Arab Muslim country in the field of transplant medicine, and yet the most resistant to passing a law?
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