AIMA Victoria and JBE Events collaborated to host a half day seminar on Islamic medical ethics on Saturday 10 February led by Dr Nazir Khan, a practicing radiologist and President of Yaqeen Institute Canada and its Director of Research Strategy with training and expertise in Islamic sciences.

Dr Khan covered the importance of decolonialising our understanding of the world and the concepts that underpin ethics, by embracing our Islamic worldview.

In particular he went through certain Islamic theological principles that as Muslim doctors and patients we must remind ourselves of when we interact with healthcare.

Examples of this include that life is not pointless and that we have been created to worship Allah, spirituality makes meaning out of suffering, medical therapy is a means but the healing is from Allah.

Using these principles and the methodology of Islamic jurisprudence, Dr Khan then used contemporary medical issues such as termination of pregnancy and end of life care as way of showcasing how Islamic rulings have been derived.

As with any session on contentious topics, there was robust discussion and not enough time.

The event underscores the need to train our healthcare professionals in matters of our faith and practice, and the need to establish peer support for many of us who face moral distress in our professional lives.