By Abdullahi Jamaa
The Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Professionals (KAMMP) has today held its first international health conference in the coastal city of Mombasa in a rare attempt to sensitize its members on Islam and medicine.
The conference with the theme ‘Modern Day Medicine and Ethical Dilemmas’ sought to address Muslim doctors and other medical practitioners in a bid to align medical practice with Islam Shariah.
The chairman of KAMMPS Dr. Mahamud Adan said the purpose of the symposium was to enlighten their members regarding the values of Islamic medical ethics.
“This therefore calls for a conscious striving on our part to be aware of principles of Islamic medical ethics in relation to our practice such that medical practice is aligned with Sharia” Dr. Adan said
He said medical technology is evolving at a first pace and that Muslim doctors and practitioners must not be left behind by the current scientific advancement that continues to make strides every passing year.
“The use of stem cells, or treatment of infertility through IVF, the issue of surrogate motherhood and use of bio products from non-halal sources are some of the contentitious issues Muslim medics have to overcome along with many more grey areas” he said.
He said environment within hospitals also required far-reaching changes that must be aligned within the tenets Islamic ethics in abid to serve Muslim patients in accordance with their religion.
“The hospital environment is not so conducive for our patients to practice Ibahad. This is coupled with the fact that most of us assume a medics role only and forget about the spiritual Islamic component of advising, guiding and providing an enabling environment for our sick patients”
The two days conference attracted speakers from as far as Sudan as Muslim doctors plan to advance their professional ism and Islamic medical values.
The controversial Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was one of the hard topics the conference speakers addressed with Islamic scholars highlighting Quranic and prophetic rulings regarding the age-old practice.
The conference also addressed the place of medicine in Islam with guest speaker Dr. Islam Muhamad bringing into close scrutiny the the role of doctors in respect Islamic jurisprudence.
The conference that was held at Mombasa’s White Sand hotel is a first in a string international functions that the associations endeavors to encourage into is capacity building initiatives.
