University Park, Pa. -- Penn State is hosting an international conference on "Islam and Bioethics: concerns, challenges and responses" March 27-28 at The Nittany Lion Inn, on Penn State's University Park Campus. All events are free and open to the public.
In addition, event organizers will host a screening of the documentary "Hold Your Breath" on Monday, March 27, at 8 p.m. in 112 Chambers, and a public lecture on Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in 110 Wartik.
The conference is attracting scholars, researchers and physicians from 10 different countries, including the United States, Germany and Pakistan.
"Islam is a highly ethical religion. Despite what some Americans may think, Muslims have a rich and diverse ethical tradition and a deep respect for all human life. At a time when images of some Muslims rioting or fighting are televised everywhere, this conference is a salient reminder that other Muslims are engaged in building a more caring, more ethical world," said Jonathan Brockopp, associate professor of religious studies and history at Penn State and the person organizing the conference.
"Very few conferences bring historians, health-care professionals, theologians and social scientists together in one place. Obviously, bioethical issues have a broad impact on our communities, and experts from various disciplines must work together," he added.
Conference presentations will focus on a wide range of issues, from fertility clinics to proper care of dying patients. Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. "As with any other religious group, Muslims strive to square their religious traditions with an ever-changing medical and technical world," Brockopp noted.
For example, Hassan Bella of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia will present the results of his survey of more than 70 physicians in Saudi Arabia on the practicality of teaching "Islamic Medical Ethics" in that country. Hamada Hamid of New York University, in contrast, will discuss the specific experiences of Muslim patients in hospitals in the United States.
While the majority of presentations deal with Muslims in clinical settings, historical and theological papers also ask fundamental questions about the tradition itself. Penn State researcher Samar Farage will probe the very different approach to medical care and ethics in the rich historical tradition of pre-modern medical texts, and Abulfadl Mohsin Ebrahim, a professor at Kwa Zulu University in South Africa, will compare Islamic theological doctrines with Human Rights conventions.
The film, "Hold Your Breath," is a full-length documentary that reveals the complexities of cross-cultural communication in contemporary America through the dramatic journey of Mohammad Kochi, a refugee from the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. Filmed by Maren Grainger-Monsen, a senior research scholar and director of the Biomedical Ethics in Film Program at the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics, it is a powerful look at the difficulties faced by some Muslims in America today.
The Wednesday lecture is "Negotiating Critical Life Decisions in Pakistan: The Role of Muslim Beliefs, Kinship Systems and Cultural Norms," by Farhat Moazam, Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities distinguished visiting fellow. A physician who trained and worked in the United States for 20 years, Moazam returned to her native Pakistan in 2004 as professor and chairperson of the Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture in Karachi. She has been particularly interested in the ways that local religious and cultural beliefs impact ethical decisions that Pakistanis face every day.
Co-sponsors of the conference include the College of the Liberal Arts, the Department of History and Religious Studies, the Rock Ethics Institute, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, and University Libraries, all at Penn State. For more information, see http://rockethics.psu.edu/islam_bioethics/ or contact Kathy Rumbaugh at (814) 863-0314.