Islam and AIDS

This is a valuable collection of 14 articles, including, at least, seven by Muslim scholars, on the role of Islam in fighting the pandemic of AIDS. Some of the concerns of the editors are indicated by the self-suggestive title of the work. Abdulaziz Sachedina’s “Afflicted by God: Muslim Perspectives on Health and Suffering” (pp.13–27) is a balanced treatment of the subject. He illustrates both the Islamic theoretical stance on human suffering in the context of a believer’s spiritual station and the positive response of the religiously run Islamic hospitals, mostly by volunteers, to even those human beings who themselves are the cause of their suffering. Equally valuable is Malik Badri’s “The AIDS Crisis: An Islamic Perspective” (pp.28–42) who does well in highlighting the Islamic teachings on compassion and mercy and on caring for the sick, along with those which point to the nexus between divine retribution and sexual deviance. Other pieces, analysing the Islamic stance are by Nabilah Siddiquee, Muhammad Hashim Kamali, Clara Koh, Kate Henley Long, Caitlin Yoshiko Buysse, Laura McTighe and Kesia Ali. Nabilah Siddiquee, nonetheless, contests both the authenticity and application of the oft-quoted tiadith about the divine scourge for the sexually deviant people. (pp.59–75) In sum, this volume will go a long way in making Muslims sensitive towards the need for a humane treatment of AIDS patients and in elucidating the Islamic stance on the whole issue.