Islam and Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Marcia C. Inhorn is the William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs in the Department of Anthropology, and The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.

“It is to the editors’ credit that they have been able to harness these diverse angles in such a way that the whole in fact emerges as more than its parts. ARTs and the problem of third-party donation within Islam speak to more overarching issues of policy, modernity, gender, rights, and social change… In its sensitivity to discrepancies between norms and practice, the volume not only contributes knowledge to the field of ARTs and procreative practices more generally, indicating a socio-political religious complexity that is not easily disentangled. It also and perhaps more importantly enhances our knowledge of Islam, while encouraging a continual comparative perspective.”  ·  The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute“Readers looking for an overview of the different policies and perspectives on assisted reproductive technology (ART) will discover many interesting facets to these issues in the Middle East…Students of assisted reproductive technology in Europe and America will also find much to learn from in this book. The chapter that compares the Catholic hierarchy’s response to ART issues with those of Muslim leaders gives a fresh perspective to the longstanding debates…  It is fascinating to read about another religious tradition, just as rich as Catholicism, being used creatively to respond to new situations unforeseen by earlier leaders.”  ·  Conscience“This pioneering volume offers a robust contribution to the fields of medical anthropology and religious studies. It historicizes ARTs within Sunni and Shia Islamic traditions while situating grounded results within a broad comparative ethnographic framework… Because [it] initiates a new theoretical repertoire for critical medical anthropologists and scholars of Islam, this book proves to be a much-needed theoretical springboard for anthropologists interested in issues regarding human life itself—from children’s rights to technoscience to neoliberal regimes and subjectivities.”  ·  American Ethnologist“This groundbreaking volume is highly likely to become a point of departure for all future engagements with biotechnologies in the Middle East. The collection expertly reveals in vivid detail the ‘local moral worlds’ of ‘biotechnologies of life’ within the Islamic landscape. Unprecedented and unique, this book challenges both popular misconceptions and academic gaps in knowledge vis-à-vis new developments in bioscience and technology from theocratic Iran to secular Turkey.”  ·  Aditya Bharadwaj, University of Edinburgh

• AcknowledgmentsGlossary of Arabic, Farsi and Turkish TermsIntroduction: Islam and Assisted Reproductive TechnologiesSoraya Tremayne and Marcia C. InhornPart I:  Islamic Legal Thought and ARTs: Marriage, Morality, and Clinical ConundrumsIntroductionFrank GriffelChapter 1. Constructing Kinship in Sunni Islamic Legal TextsThomas EichChapter 2. Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Assisted Reproduction: Establishing Limits to Avoid Social DisordersSandra HouotChapter 3. Controversies in Islamic Evaluation of Assisted Reproductive TechnologiesFarouk MahmoudPart II. From Sperm Donation to Stem Cells: The Iranian ART RevolutionIntroductionNarges EramiChapter 4. More than Fatwas: Ethical Decision Making in Iranian Fertility ClinicsRobert TappanChapter 5. The “Down Side” of Gamete Donation: Challenging “Happy Family” Rhetoric in IranSoraya TremayneChapter 6. Gestational Surrogacy in Iran: Uterine Kinship in Shia Thought and PracticeShirin Garmaroudi Chapter 7. Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Iran: The Significance of the Islamic ContextMansooreh SanieiPart III. Islamic Biopolitics and the “Modern” Nation-state: Comparative Case Studies of ARTIntroductionSean BrothertonChapter 8. Third-Party Reproductive Assistance around the Mediterranean: Comparing Sunni Egypt, Catholic Italy, and Multisectarian LebanonMarcia C. Inhorn, Pasquale Patrizio and Gamal I. SerourChapter 9. Islamic Bioethics and Religious Politics in Lebanon: On Hizbullah and ARTsMorgan ClarkeChapter 10. Assisted Reproduction in Secular Turkey:Regulation, Rhetoric, and the Role of ReligionZeynep Gürtin-BroadbentNotes on ContributorsBibliographyIndex