Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Biology Department, Hashemite University, Zarqa, 13115, Jordan.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2020 Jun;26(3):1851-1860. doi: 10.1007/s11948-020-00205-5. Epub 2020 Mar 3.
In light of the development of "CRISPR" technology, new promising advances in therapeutic and preventive approaches have become a reality. However, with it came many ethical challenges. The most recent worldwide condemnation of the first use of CRISPR to genetically modify a human embryo is the latest example of ethically questionable use of this new and emerging field. Monotheistic religions are very conservative about such changes to the human genome and can be considered an interference with God's creation. Moreover, these changes could cause perpetual changes to future generations. The Muslim scholars establish their decisions by addressing five foundations of Islamic law i.e. "maqāṣid al sharı̄a"; the purposes of the law. These are dın̄ (religion), nafs (life), nasl (progeny), aql (intellect) and māl (wealth). To achieve this, the five principles should all be met before approval of an experiment like the Chinese embryo modifications; Qaṣd (intention) which is achieved in this case as it aims to protect the embryo from HIV. Yaqın̄ (certainty) and Ḍarar (injury) were not satisfied as they require strong scientific certainty of the procedures, and evidence of safety. Ḍarūra (necessity) by which the alternatives being compared; in this case more established and proven safe alternatives to protect the HIV transmission from the father are available, so this principle is not met. The final principle is `Urf (custom), by which the social context of using any contemporary technology should be taken in consideration, and clearly this was not achieved. Collectively, germline changes are rejected from an Islamic perspective until the five principles are fulfilled. In the Chinese Twins gene editing case, there was clearly no justification or support for it according to the Muslim Jurisprudence laws. These laws and approaches can serve as an ethical checklist for such controversial research, especially in early stages of the research.
鉴于“CRISPR”技术的发展，治疗和预防方法的新进展成为现实。然而，随之而来的是许多伦理挑战。最近，全世界谴责首例使用 CRISPR 基因编辑人类胚胎的事件，这是该新兴领域在伦理上有争议的使用的最新例子。一神论宗教对人类基因组的这种改变非常保守，这被认为是对上帝创造的干扰。此外，这些变化可能会对后代造成永久性的改变。穆斯林学者通过解决伊斯兰教法的五个基础即“maqāṣid al sharı̄a”，即法律的目的，来做出他们的决定。这五个目的是：dın̄（宗教）、nafs（生命）、nasl（后代）、aql（理智）和 māl（财富）。为了实现这一目标，在批准类似中国胚胎修饰的实验之前，应该满足五个原则；Qaṣd（意图），在这种情况下，这一意图是为了保护胚胎免受 HIV 的侵害，因此得到了满足。Yaqın̄（确定性）和 Ḍarar（伤害）没有得到满足，因为它们需要程序的强有力的科学确定性和安全性证据。Ḍarūra（必要性），通过比较所涉及的替代方案；在这种情况下，有更多的经过验证和安全的替代方案来保护父亲的 HIV 传播，因此这一原则没有得到满足。最后一个原则是 `Urf（习俗），即应该考虑到使用任何当代技术的社会背景，显然这一点没有得到满足。从伊斯兰教的角度来看，生殖系的改变是被拒绝的，直到满足这五个原则。在中国人的双胞胎基因编辑案例中，根据穆斯林法学，显然没有任何理由或支持来进行这种编辑。这些法律和方法可以作为这种有争议的研究的道德检查表，特别是在研究的早期阶段。
