Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia

by Jonathan E. Brockopp (Editor), Gene Outka (Foreword by)

Overview

2005 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

A pioneering work on controversial issues within the Muslim world

Islamic Ethics of Life considers three of the most contentious ethical issues of our time—abortion, war, and euthanasia—from the Muslim perspective. Distinguished scholars of Islamic studies have collaborated to produce a volume that both integrates Muslim thinking into the field of applied ethics and introduces readers to an aspect of the religion long overlooked in the West. This collective effort sets forth the relationship between Islamic ethics and law, clearly revealing the complexity and richness of the Islamic tradition as well as its responsiveness to these controversial modern issues. The contributors analyze classical sources and survey the modern ethical landscape to identify guiding principles within Islamic ethical thought. Clarifying the importance of pragmatism in Islamic decision making, the contributors also offer case studies related to specialized topics, including "wrongful birth" claims, terrorist attacks, and brain death. The case studies elicit possible variations on common Muslim perspectives. The contributors situate Muslim ethics relative to Christian and secular accounts of the value of human life, exposing surprising similarities and differences.

In an introductory overview of the volume, Jonathan E. Brockopp underscores the steady focus on God as the one who determines the value of human life, and hence as the final arbiter of Islamic ethics. A foreword by Gene Outka places the volume in the context of general ethical studies, and an afterword by A. Kevin Reinhart suggests some significant ramifications for comparative religious ethics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643362083
Publisher:	University of South Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Series:	Studies in Comparative Religion
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jonathan E. Brockopp is an associate professor of religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. The holder of graduate degrees from Yale University, he has published widely in the fields of Islamic law and Islamic ethics. His most recent book, written with Jacob Neusner and Tamara Sonn, is Judaism and Islam in Practice: A Sourcebook. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Gene Outka
Preface, by Jonathan E. Brockopp
1. Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context, by Jonathan E. Brockopp
2. The Problem of Abortion in Classical Sunni fiqh, by Marion Holmes Katz
3. Contemporary Muslim Ethics of Abortion, by Donna Lee Bowen
4. The Right Not to Be Born: Abortion of the Disadvantaged Fetus in Contemporary Fatwas, by Vardit Rispler-Chaim
5. Between Functionalism and Morality: The Juristic Debates on the Conduct of War, by Khaled Abou El Fadl
6. Saving and Taking Life in War: Three Modern Muslim Views, by Sohail H. Hashmi
7. Discourses on Jihad in the Postmodern Era, by Richard C. Martin
8. The "Good Death" in Islamic Theology and Law, by Jonathan E. Brockopp
9. Brain Death and Islamic Traditions: Shifting Borders of Life?, by Birgit Krawietz
Afterword: The Past in the Future of Islamic Ethics, by A. Kevin Reinhart

What People are Saying About This

John Kelsay

Islamic Ethics of Life makes a significant contribution to the discussion of religious ethics, not least by addressing the need for an anthology convenient for classroom use. Those who teach courses in religious ethics will find the essays a useful resource for displaying contemporary Islamic judgments regarding abortion, war, and euthanasia. Those who teach courses in Islamic Studies will similarly find the volume a useful supplement to the standards of Islamic tradition.

Editorial Reviews

This book takes a detailed look at Islamic teachings regarding the life-and-death ethical issues of abortion, war, and euthanasia. Brockopp (religion, Bard Coll.) assembled the work not to provide specific answers but to "show how Muslims frame the questions in terms of their particular religious viewpoint." The introductory chapter provides a very cogent framework for understanding the historical and current Islamic approach to ethical issues, focusing on the nature and use of primary sources in this field. The nine contributors are all scholars of Islam, and their essays are detailed and comprehensive. The three central issues are addressed in chapters that cover such topics as contemporary Muslim ethics of abortion, saving and taking life in war, and brain death. A glossary is included. Although current popular interest in Islam includes curiosity about the issues covered in this book (especially war), it is meant for serious students of Islam and is written at a level appropriate for upper-level undergraduates and above. Recommended for academic libraries.-Stephen Joseph, Butler Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Pittsburgh Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal