Purpose Engagement of healthcare professionals with patients from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds is crucial in our multicultural society, where miscommunication and errors in medical history taking can lead to incorrect treatment. In particular, Muslim patients may present unique considerations due to their specific cultural and religious beliefs, which can significantly impact treatment outcomes. This study focuses on perioperative medication therapy for patients undergoing upper and lower gastrointestinal tract and pancreatic tumor surgery, specifically examining whether Islamic beliefs were duly considered (...) in medication selection compared to a matching patient cohort. Materials and methods Data from January 2004 to July 2023 were analyzed. Muslim patients were identified using the onomastic method and matched with non-Muslim patients at a 1:3 ratio based on age, gender, and procedure. Analysis included examination of subcutaneous, oral, and intravenous medications, with attention to ingredients and compatibility with Islamic principles. Results Among 5272 patients, only 5 met the study’s inclusion criteria as Muslim patients, undergoing procedures such as anterior rectum resection, gastrectomy, and pancreatic head resection. Their religious affiliations were not documented in the admission records. According to the matched-pair analysis, consistent treatment was performed regardless of religious beliefs. All patients received subcutaneous medication, primarily enoxaparin, instead of fondaparinux, an Islam-compliant alternative. Intravenous heparin was used once for short period. Contrary to Islamic dietary restrictions and the availability of alternatives, capsules containing animal-derived gelatin and other non-compliant medications were administered orally. Conclusion This study underscores the importance of acknowledging Muslim patients’ cultural and religious backgrounds in the perioperative setting, as failure to do so may lead healthcare professionals to overlook their potential alternative medication needs, which are essential for providing tailored medical care in modern societies. Integration of diversity-related topics into medical curricula is essential for better preparing physicians for clinical practice and ensuring patient-centered care. (shrink)

The field of Islamic bioethics is currently in development as thinkers delineate its normative content, ethical scope and research methods. Some scholars have offered Islamic bioethical frameworks based on the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, the higher objectives of Islamic law, to help advance the field. Accordingly, a recent JBI paper by Ibrahim and colleagues describes a method for using the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah to provide moral end-goals and deliberative mechanisms for an Islamic bioethics. Herein I highlight critical conceptual and practical gaps in the (...) model with the hopes of fostering greater discussion about how maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah frameworks may fit within Islamic bioethics deliberation. (shrink)

The technological advances in medicine, including prolongation of life, have constituted several dilemmas at the end of life. In the context of the Belgian debates on end-of-life care, the views of Muslim women remain understudied. The aim of this article is fourfold. First, we seek to describe the beliefs and attitudes of middle-aged and elderly Moroccan Muslim women toward withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. Second, we aim to identify whether differences are observable among middle-aged and elderly women’s attitudes toward withholding (...) and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. Third, we aim to explore the role of religion in their attitudes. Fourth, we seek to document how our results are related to normative Islamic literature. Qualitative empirical research was conducted with a sample of middle-aged and elderly Moroccan Muslim women living in Antwerp and with experts in the field. We found an unconditional belief in God’s sovereign power over the domain of life and death and in God’s almightiness. However, we also found a tolerant attitude, mainly among our middle-aged participants, toward withholding and withdrawing based on theological, eschatological, financial and quality of life arguments. Our study reveals that religious beliefs and worldviews have a great impact on the ethical attitudes toward end-of-life issues. We found divergent positions toward withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments, reflecting the lines of reasoning found in normative Islamic literature. In our interviews, theological and eschatological notions emerged as well as financial and quality of life arguments. (shrink)