: Separation of Conjoined Twins Poses Islamic Ethical Dilemma

Separating conjoined twins who are joined at the head is a controversial issue. While one such pair from Guatemala are recovering after separation surgery in Los Angeles, a similar pair in Egypt highlights an Islamic medical ethics dilemma. Although the doctors and nurses tending to 14-month old twins Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrahim have have agreed to perform separation surgery, the answer isn’t that simple for Islamic scholars. “Life is impossible like this,” commented Abd Al Moati Bauomy, retired dean of the Faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence at Cairo’s Al Azhar University. But, he said, any solution should follow the Islamic tenet of doing “the least harm.” “If there are two points of view from two religious authorities,” said Bauomy, “a person goes with the one that makes most sense to him. It’s a personal decision.” Already, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Sheik Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb has approved the separation provided that doctors believed at least one would survive and that the surgery wasn’t experimental.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.