General approaches to ethical reasoning in Islamic biomedical ethics discourse

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Islamic Ethics
• Comparative Ethics

Background:

• Mainstream biomedical ethics (MBME) utilizes contemporary Western ethical language.
• Existing comparisons between Islamic biomedical ethics (IBME) and MBME focus on meta- and normative positions, with less attention to reasoning approaches.
• Conceptualizing diverse languages within IBME's ethical reasoning is a significant literature gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize the general approaches to ethical reasoning within Islamic biomedical ethics (IBME).
• To identify and analyze the distinct linguistic strategies employed in IBME.
• To compare these approaches with those found in mainstream biomedical ethics (MBME).

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive review and content analysis of existing literature on IBME and MBME.
• Inductive distinction of ethical reasoning approaches based on language comparison.
• Analysis of four identified linguistic approaches within IBME.

Main Results:

• Four distinct approaches to ethical reasoning in IBME were conceptualized: (i) common language with MBME, (ii) MBME language adapted to Muslim beliefs, (iii) fatwa-based language, and (iv) IBME principle-based language.
• Identified challenges include ensuring religious sensitivity, defining common Muslim beliefs, managing diverse fatwas, and agreeing on principles and their application.

Conclusions:

• Recognizing and articulating diverse approaches to ethical reasoning in IBME is crucial for advancing comparative bioethics.
• Addressing the identified challenges is essential for the effective and sensitive application of IBME in practice.
• Further research is needed to refine these conceptualizations and their practical implications.