Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt

by Sherine Hamdy

Why has Egypt, a pioneer of organ transplantation, been reluctant to pass a national organ transplant law for more than three decades? This book analyzes the national debate over organ transplantation in Egypt as it has unfolded during a time of major social and political transformation—including mounting dissent against a brutal regime, the privatization of health care, advances in science, the growing gap between rich and poor, and the Islamic revival. Sherine Hamdy recasts bioethics as a necessarily political project as she traces the moral positions of patients in need of new tissues and organs, doctors uncertain about whether transplantation is a “good” medical or religious practice, and Islamic scholars. Her richly narrated study delves into topics including current definitions of brain death, the authority of Islamic fatwas, reports about the mismanagement of toxic waste predisposing the poor to organ failure, the Egyptian black market in organs, and more. Incorporating insights from a range of disciplines, Our Bodies Belong to God sheds new light on contemporary Islamic thought, while challenging the presumed divide between religion and science, and between ethics and politics.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Egypt, Middle East, Medicine, Ethnography

370 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Organ transplantation is a fascinating and highly controversial topic. Though we in the West tend to see it as overwhelmingly positive, those in other countries face far greater ethical challenges. Bioethics is a nascent field in Islamic jurisprudence, a fact this book frequently acknowledges. Looking at the concept of organ transplants through an Egyptian lens made me challenge some of my own assumptions and preconceptions. If you are interested in Islam, Egypt, bioethics, organ transplants or health in developing countries, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

[Mirdog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was initially assigned this book by my medical anthropology professor and never read it, but held on to it in the hopes I would eventually! Let me tell you this book changed my life. I am half Egyptian and not only did I learn so much about Egyptian culture, I feel this book so thoughtfully address sort of the nuances of culture, I ended up having some incredible conversations with my dad about this topic and I would read it again in a heart beat. It’s heart wrenching, and sooooo so thoughtful. Thank you Sherine Hamdy, your work has impacted me greatly

[Sara Salem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this book, especially the last few chapters where she really did well at contextualizing organ donation and the transnational elements of it. I especially liked when she spoke of the need to not criminalize the process because it automatically creates criminals and victims, whereas the process of selling organs and receiving them is much more complex, as with so many other phenomena.

[Pepe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book explores the political discourse of Islamic interpretation on body transplantation in Egypt. Hamdy’s finding is really grim yet hopeful. The lower class people who are in desperate needs for transplantation are hesitant not because of their mere piety, but over a realization that this body which belongs to God are corrupted by greedy and unethical corporations that dumped mercury in their river. They also fully realize and are so considerate with the fact that the donors for kidneys and eyes are often poorer people struggling for easy cash. So beyond the religiosity, their hesitation is out of compassion among themselves, rationalized surrendering, & critical assessment of their political bodies. Hamdy also explores the contestation of legitimation power between doctors, clerks, and public officials. This book is richly written, really blue but strangely intimate.