Ep.72 - Roe v. Wade, Abortion & Islam with Dr Tahseen Shareef and Ustadh Iyad Hilal
The reversal of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court judgment that made abortion a constitutional right has created a debate within the Muslim community. Much of this has centred on support for pro-life or pro-choice positions, binaries that reflect a liberal and conservative worldview, not an Islamic one. Too many Muslims either regurgitate liberal talking points or conservative dogma without first reflecting on Islam. Today I want to look beyond these stifling discussion points – to look at the medical, social and political implications as well as get to grips with Islamic scholarly discourse on the issue of abortion.
Our guests this week, distinguished in their field to take a deeper look at the issues arising from the revocation of abortion as a constitutional right. What exactly is the position of shari’ah regarding abortion? What did the classical scholars say about the issue and is there a difference with more modern takes? How do we appreciate the political context of the Supreme Court decision and what are the social repercussions? My guests have a rich background and expertise and as you know, this podcast wants to move our thinking away from the ill-informed vox pop style contributions everyone seems to want to make without the depth of study required.
Dr Tehseen Sharrif is a US based physician specialising in internal medicine. She started two Islamic schools in her home state California, delivers Islamic circles to women, and is currently pursuing Islamic studies on top of her busy clinical responsibilities. Iyad Hilal is an author of an acclaimed book on Usul al Fiqh and regular Friday khateeb at Mosques in California.
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To come soon