Translational Research, Religious Studies Ethics (Except Ethics Related to Specific Subfields).
Funding Source: Qatar Research, Development and Innovation
Awarded To: Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Program: National Priorities Research Program
Project Number: NPRP8-1620-6-057
Award Start Date: Sep 11, 2016
Award End Date: Mar 27, 2020
Status: Closed
When the US-based Human Genome Project (HGP) completed its far-reaching research in April 2003 it was compared to the “moonshot”, the equivalent of the meticulous planning to successfully land humans on the moon. Together with the science, some of the most daunting challenges remain to be the ethical and moral questions and dilemmas generated by the applications of genomic research. That is why concurrent with the Human Genome Project was an equally significant project designated as the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program. The Gulf region showed a keen interest to join this genomic revolution. Gulf interest was tied to the potential that new genome-based technologies would contribute to improving the health sector and to combatting widespread genetic diseases particular to the Gulf region. In 2013, HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser launched the Qatar Genome Project. In 2008, the sequencing of the first Arab genome was announced in Saudi Arabia as part of the Arab Human Genome Project. As early as in 2003, the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies was established in the United Arab Emirates. What is absent in the Gulf region is a credible knowledge-base that pairs the scientific research with cutting-edge research in Islamic ethics similar in ambition to the ELSI program, but going beyond secular perspectives. Indigenizing Genomics in the Gulf Region (IGGR) is a research project that aspires to become a leading initiative in this regard. IGGR will accomplish its aims by developing interdisciplinary Islamic bioethical research. It will be rooted in the Islamic religio-ethical tradition on the one hand and on the other hand will pave the way for dynamic conversation with other global ethical traditions. This project aspires to convene the best team of experts in biomedical sciences and in Islamic ethics in order to provide their rigorous insights to the topic of Islamic bioethical discourses on genomics. By engaging the group of biomedical scientists who lead the Qatar Genome Project (QGP), this project will seek to find synergies with the Qatar Genome Project and similar initiatives in the region in order to optimize their research outcomes. The project will examine the impact of its results on drafting Qatari laws on genomics and the relevance of these results for developing informed and ethical policies in this field in Qatar, the Gulf region and beyond. The project will provide high quality deliverables including academic publications, online articles and essays, information available on mobile Apps, etc. IGGR will serve as a model for dialogue between science and Islam by creating a set of methods, questions and vocabulary to facilitate bringing together these sources of knowledge. Such a model will help organizations and governments that seek to meet the challenges faced by Muslim communities as they engage with modernity and its technological advancements via holistic approaches tied to the Islamic tradition.
