Article: Nanotechnology and Lack of Islamic Legal Opinion

Nanotechnology and Lack of Islamic Legal Opinion

Saleh Al-Alaiyan, MD

“I couldn’t find an exact definition for nanotechnology. Furthermore, if you take a random selection of scientists, engineers, investors and the general public and ask them what nanotechnology is, you will receive a range of replies as broad as the subject itself. Nanotechnology is primarily concerned with understanding how nature works. In contrast, our efforts to produce devices and manipulate matter are still at a very primitive stage compared to nature’s.”

Nature has the ability to design highly energy-efficient systems that operate precisely and without waste, fix only that which needs fixing, do only what needs doing, and no more. Nanotechnology is now used in medicine, pharmacy, genetic engineering, military industries, electronics, automotive industries, and even cosmetics.

I also found that there’s no single objective of nanotechnology. Some nanotechnologists are exploring new kinds of medicine; others want to make computer circuits from DNA or new materials. Still others are talking about accelerating advancement of mental, physical, and overall human performance to the degree that emotional and volitional aspects as well as intellectual data can be passed from one person to another without speaking. Possibly this can be achieved by what is called “convergent technologies,” referring to the synergistic combination of four major provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate: These are nanoscience and nanotechnology; biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering; information technology, including advanced computing and communications; and cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience.

Even more promising for the future of anti-aging is the possibility of using nanotechnology to isolate and eradicate certain bacteria and even clean clogged arteries and cure cancer. Moreover, in the decade of 2020-2030, scientists hope to use advanced nanotechnology to replace frail biological parts with powerful non-biological components.

The U.S. federal government spends billions of dollars on basic nanotechnology research. However, a more recent survey in the U.S. by Dominique Brossard et al. found that the “strength of religious beliefs is negatively related to support for funding of nanotechnology.” In the Islamic world, Iran ranks first in the Middle East in nanotechnology, second after Turkey, and higher than Malaysia, Egypt and Tunisia.

Many religious persons worry that nanotechnology will contribute to redefining human nature in ways that are amoral or dangerous. They are also worried that the control of nanotechnology by irresponsible organizations will lead to adverse consequences like inequality or injustice. In addition, religious reactions include a concern that nanotechnology will contribute to changing our sense of what it means to be human, and that this is clearly undesirable.

I haven’t come across any opinion from our Islamic scholars about the ethics of human enhancement and modification. It is time for all Islamic scholars to express their legal opinions about nanotechnology before it becomes too late.