Governing Death: Medical Fatwas at the Intersection of Medicine and Islamic Bioethics

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6. Religion and Authority

Abstract

Religion continues to maintain its legitimacy and authority in diverse forms across different geographies. In Turkey, religion rearticulates itself within everyday life by addressing people’s practical concerns and offering ethical guidance. Issues related to the body, health, illness, and death, which are now largely covered by medicine remain vital domains of social life in which religion has long been actively engaged. In Turkey, the increasingly authoritative state religious institution, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), has expanded its involvement in medical matters. Diyanet regularly issues religious legal opinions known as fatwas to guide people in their everyday concerns and to intervene in ethical deliberation. Medical fatwas address a wide range of ethical issues, ranging from reproductive medicine, organ donation, stem-cell research to end of life decisions. In this paper, I focus on medical fatwas related to end of life issues and examine how Islamic bioethics is mobilized at the intersection of medicine, the state and everyday life in Turkey. I seek to understand how religious authority gains legitimacy and extends its influence around contested ethical concerns such as death.

I argue that everyday life and deeply practical medical concerns, particularly those surrounding death, constitute a ground for religious legitimacy. At the same time, I suggest that religion’s capacity to establish and sustain legitimacy in daily life is closely tied to the authority and resources it derives from the state. Under President Erdoğan’s authoritarian regime, Diyanet has become increasingly institutionalized, rationalized and centralized which enhances its capacity to shape and mobilize religious bioethics. Therefore, I examine how religion establishes its legitimacy and authority in everyday life through engagement with concrete bioethical issues, while simultaneously consolidating its power institutionally at the state level.

Author

• Sevinc Dogan, Brandeis University