Saudi theologians call for ban on baby gender selection

[abdulhakeem]

Wed, 07 Nov 2007
DPA

Riyadh - Saudi theologians called for a ban on baby gender selection after a heated debate with doctors and described the technology as "a crime against humanity."Members of the theological assembly decided during a four-hour meeting that selecting the gender of a baby was unethical and could cause genetic damage.

The assembly rejected views by other Muslim religious scholars that allowed people to use gender selection methods to determine the sex of their babies.

The theological assembly with members from all over the Islamic world is part of the World Muslim League funded by Saudi Arabia.

The league is often accused of being a propaganda arm of the Kingdom's strict puritanical Wahhabi Islamic ideology.

Sheikh Saad al-Shathri, a member of the Saudi Muslim Theologians Association, said in a statement published by local newspapers on Wednesday some international human right groups backed by an anti-religious media would hurry to defend baby gender selection supported by favourable views expressed by some Islamic scholars.

Despite the overwhelming opposition, some doctors at the meeting defended the technology.

The cell, determining the gender of a baby and selected after a process of embryo screening, does not cause any damage to the genes," Dr Abdallah Basalama said.

The procedure is done by experts who know what they are doing, Basalama said.

But another theologian perceived the method as an interference with God's will.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/138080.html

[Ibn Sina]

Good riddance, intervening in stuff that you're not supposed to intervene in is balatantly wrong ....

And "theologians"? .... ..

[dhak1yya]

It doesn't work very well anyway... but quite right it should be banned. Unfortunately there are still lots of people in the world with the jahil attitude that they prefer sons to daughters - and if they all get their way, some socities will see a surplus of men which is bad for society as it leads to an increase in sexual violence and homosexuality as there are too many bachelors that can't find wives.

A surplus of men already happening in at least one part of the world where people find out the sex of the baby and then have an abortion because its a girl Maybe more than one part because this practice isn't unique to one part or one culture, its just I've only seen the stats for one part of the world.

we know what Allah says about that in the Qur'an - the baby girls killed will face their parents on judgement day and ask them for what crime were they killed.......

[Bint Yusuf]

It doesn't work very well anyway... but quite right it should be banned. Unfortunately there are still lots of people in the world with the jahil attitude that they prefer sons to daughters - and if they all get their way, some socities will see a surplus of men which is bad for society as it leads to an increase in sexual violence and homosexuality as there are too many bachelors that can't find wives.

A surplus of men already happening in at least one part of the world where people find out the sex of the baby and then have an abortion because its a girl Maybe more than one part because this practice isn't unique to one part or one culture, its just I've only seen the stats for one part of the world.

we know what Allah says about that in the Qur'an - the baby girls killed will face their parents on judgement day and ask them for what crime were they killed.......

I think China is ridiculous with the one child law. I watched a documentary and you even need a birth permit...

[peace2u]

hmmm......



Peace

[dhak1yya]

I think China is ridiculous with the one child law. I watched a documentary and you even need a birth permit...

what it that obvious which country I was talking about? Yes, one child per family plus jahil attitude that baby boys are better than baby girls means there is a surplus of boys at the moment. I think something really bad like 70/30 ratio (it was a long time ago I learned about this... this may have been a projected ratio for if the trend continued)

[thetruth]

good news on the ban in Saudi.


As of lately, they seem to be trying to do the right things.

[aboosait]

Wed, 07 Nov 2007
DPA

Riyadh - Saudi theologians called for a ban on baby gender selection after a heated debate with doctors and described the technology as "a crime against humanity.......................The theological assembly with members from all over the Islamic world is part of the World Muslim League funded by Saudi Arabia.............The league is often accused of being a propaganda arm of the Kingdom's strict puritanical Wahhabi Islamic ideology................ Despite the overwhelming opposition, some doctors at the meeting defended the technology..............

9 November 2007

During the six-day meeting of The Islamic Jurisprudence Council in Makkah, which began Nov. 3 under the chairmanship of Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, 70 Muslim dignitaries and scholars tackled a number of important issues. On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal opened the first session of the council.

The council decided that Muslims are permitted to determine the sex of a fetus provided it was a medical necessity, such as when ascertaining diseases that are suspected to affect boys and not girls, and vice versa. The council said three doctors would be required to confirm the medical necessity of the procedure.

The council also approved damaging an ovary that could lead to a disabled child, but said that trying to control the sex of a child was strictly prohibited.

Source: Post no.7. http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthrea...25#post2241325

[mikejohnson998]

I recently converted to islam and waiting to be named soon Insha Allah.
I have not read any where as yet about gender selection ban etc. I would like to share my personal experience though that i wanted to have girls more than boys when i came across www.selectyourbaby.com . Tobe honest it worked for me, my brother and my brother in law.
We cant debate on this having religion in between. I think so

[Perseveranze]

Don't know what to say, even IslamQA supports gender selection... http://islamqa.info/en/ref/118173

I personally don't see how it's Islamically valid. Unless someone has evidence of the Prophet(pbuh) giving specific advise to people who preferred one gender to another.

[isawab_user]

Don't know what to say, even IslamQA supports gender selection... http://islamqa.info/en/ref/118173

I personally don't see how it's Islamically valid. Unless someone has evidence of the Prophet(pbuh) giving specific advise to people who preferred one gender to another.

Perhaps banning female fratricide which was common at the time would be a sufficient equivalent?

[AbuMubarak]

man has more knowledge than he knows what to do with

and the knowledge that is truly important, he rejects

[Perseveranze]

Perhaps banning female fratricide which was common at the time would be a sufficient equivalent?

Not sure what you mean, how does banning female infanticide, mean a person can choose which gender their child should be?

[Bubbs]

I'm a man and I'd prefer a daughter over a son, at least for my first child. If I could only have one then I'd flip a coin. I don't like people who love their sons more than their daughters.