Scientific Discussion Starts Islam Awareness Week

Islamic Awareness Week kicked off Saturday with a discussion of how to reconcile Islamic traditional teachings with modern scientific questions about stem cells, “gay genes” and bioethics.

“We want to spread awareness of Islam on campus. Let people see that we are not what all of the stereotypes of Muslims would say that we are,” said Omar A. Khan ’06, the treasurer of Harvard Islamic Society, which is sponsoring this week’s events.

Saeed Khan, director and senior fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, spoke for an hour Saturday about using Islamic scripture to resolve complicated issues surrounding stem cell research and genomic therapy. He discussed how the Fiqh Council, an Islamic advisory body which issues interpretations of the law, has provided guidelines on controversial topics such as the use of fetal stem cells for research purposes.

“Islam has a very progressive and very pragmatic viewpoint when it comes to stem cell research,” Khan said. “This is a departure from many other religions.”

Khan did however note the similarities between Islam and other religions regarding genomics in general.

“Protestants, Jews and Islam actually have a lot in common in the area of genomics,” he said. “None of the three have an official consensus, but all three advocate a very methodological and careful approach to genomics.”

Throughout the talk Khan stressed the fact that it is impossible to find firm answers to many questions of bioethics, but that Islamic scripture can still guide the debate.

“The Koran does speak in an indirect way about cloning,” Khan said after reading several passages from the Koran on human embryonic development.

Khan questioned whether parents should be able to insert a “Harvard Gene” into their children prior to birth. He hypothesized about Kaplan Test Prep’s opening a biogenetics division to sell such a procedure.

“Would you want to be in a position where you could afford your child that benefit? Is it something that is permissible in Islam?” Khan asked.

Khan also touched on the subject of gay marriage—a topic that has turned into a firestorm across the nation.

He proposed the possibility of discovering a “gay gene,” and wondered whether Muslim parents would have an obligation to remove it, as Islam does not condone homosexuality. “Do you have the right, do you have the duty to intervene and extricate that gene?”

Following the talk, Khan fielded a wide range of questions, and discussed some of the more ominous aspects of the human genome project.

“There will come a time in the world where those of us who are the products of love and lust are going to be viewed differently than those who are products of the lab,” Khan said. “Those who have a more favored gene composition are going to be favored over those who do not.”

The talk, which was titled, “The Human Genome Project and Islam,” was part of a larger effort this year to diversify the events comprising the annual “Islam Week.”

“I feel that one of the nice things about this year is that we have really managed to get a diverse list of events covering all aspects,” said Tariq M. Yasin ’04, the president of HIS. “It was nice starting off with a scientific-based event to mix things up.”

Though there were only a dozen students in attendance at Saturday’s talk, Farhana Sharmen ’07, the chair of Islam Awareness Week, said she was optimistic about higher attendance at future events.

“We hope that not only are we able to get a wider audience, but that we also address issues that concern the Harvard student body,” Sharmen said.

Other scheduled events include a discussion on Jesus Christ and a screening of the film “Mohammed: Legacy of a Profit” among others.

Islam Awareness Week runs through this Saturday.