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The First EdX Course on Islamic Bioethics by CILE Professor

The Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE) is proud to announce launching the first ever Course on Islamic Bioethics to be hosted by the famous online forum EdX, which has about 2000 online courses from 140 leading institutions worldwide, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.

The course is developed and taught by Dr. Mohammed Ghaly, Professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics at CILE, College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). While working on this course, Dr. Ghaly received generous support from the HBKU team, led by Dr. Ala Al-Fuqaha, Ms. Elizabeth Amisi, Ms. Mohja Jerbi and from the Construct Education team, who were all very kind, patient and professional.

 

The Course

The key questions that will be examined throughout this 9-module course include the following:

  • How does a world religion like Islam engage with the moral questions and challenges posed by modern biomedical advancements?

  • Who contributes to the Islamic discourse on bioethical issues, like the beginning and end of human life, abortion, human milk banks, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), palliative care, brain death, euthanasia, pandemics like the recent COVID-19, etc.?

  • How are diverse bioethical perspectives deliberated and how are mainstream positions developed?

  • When do Islamic bioethical deliberations interact, agree or disagree with parallel discussions from outside the Islamic tradition and why?

     

The course will do justice to the complex character of these questions. Thus, rather than providing only simple answers, the focus will be on explaining well-argued insights, understanding the diversity within the Islamic discourse, and showing how disciplines from inside and outside the Islamic tradition contribute to, and shape, the field of Islamic Bioethics.

 

Syllabus

  • Module 1: Classical Islamic Bioethics

  • Module 2: Contemporary Islamic Bioethics

  • Module 3: The Beginning of Human Life

  • Module 4: Beginning of Human Life - Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

  • Module 5: Beginning of Human Life - Human Milk Banks

  • Module 6: End of Life and the Concept of Brain Death - When Does Human Life End?

  • Module 7: Organ Donation

  • Module 8: End-of-Life Care (EoLC): Life-Sustaining Treatments (LSTs) and Euthanasia

  • Module 9: Ethics of Pandemics and Covid-19

 

Important Information

 

  • Link to the Edx Course on Islamic Bioethics

  • Short Introductory Video

 

 

  • Extended Introductory Video

 

 

  • Enrollment starts on January 2, 2022

  • Dr. Ghaly’s LinkedIn post on the course

 

M.A. Program in Applied Islamic Ethics

This Edx course is one of the outcomes of Dr. Ghaly’s long-term interest and expertise in the field of Islamic (Bio)Ethics. In the pioneer M.A. program in Applied Islamic Ethics, Ghaly has been teaching various courses, including “Islamic Ethics: Mapping the Field”,  “Islamic Bioethics”, “Islamic Ethics of Pandemics and COVID-19”, and “Research Methods and Sources on Ethics”. This program addresses how Islam, as a world religion with a rich moral heritage, engages with and contributes to the global moral discourse. Its strong interdisciplinary character combines in-depth knowledge of both theoretical and applied ethics rooted in the Islamic tradition. More information about the program is available here.

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