Islamists in the Hospital Ward

A number of incidents are showing the incompatibility of radical Islam with modern medicine. Here are a trio to get this blog going, with more examples to be listed, in reverse chronological order, as they occur:

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Omer Butt, a dentist in Bury, Lancashire, UK, made women under his care wear hijabs.

Muslim dentist insists patients obey Islamic dress codes: Omer Butt, 32, is a dentist at the Unsworth Smile Clinic, in Bury, Lancashire, a clinic funded by taxpayers via the National Health Service, and also the brother of the notorious Hassan Butt, former spokesman of "Al-Muhajiroun." Butt posted put a sign in his waiting room informing women under his care – Muslim and non-Muslim alike – that they must wear a hijab or find another dentist, while men had to remove any gold jewelry. Tom Kelly in the Daily Mail notes that Butt insisted on these rules to the point of providing hijabs and abandoning at least two patients in pain when they refused his terms. After patients complained, the General Dental Council got involved. John Snell of the GDC observed that Butt

sought to impose a dress code on patients attending his practice. … If he had simply expressed a preference, without imposing any compulsion to adhere to this dress code, there may be no cause for complaint. However, he insisted - and those who did not comply were refused treatment. He made compliance with Islamic dress code a condition of treatment, which is entirely inappropriate under the auspices of the National Health Service. Patients should have access to NHS treatment regardless of their religious observance, or otherwise.

(May 7, 2009)

Dutch Muslims want sex-separated hospital rooms: As reported in BN DeStem, Muslim organizations in the Dutch town of Breda are demanding that men and women at Amphia Hospital not be roomed together. "Many Muslim women don't think it's nice based on religious conviction to have a half-naked man in the bed next to them," says a spokesman for the Immigrant Council and the Aarahman mosque. Sex-separate rooms were usual in Dutch hospitals until recently but coed rooms are now the rule. (April 23, 2009) Apr. 24, 2009 update: Raymond Ibrahim ties this demand to the Shari'a by quoting me, making a point I myself had not thought of:

"[R]ather than instill internalized ethical principles [such as notion of sexual responsibility], Islam establishes physical boundaries to keep the sexes apart and punishes transgressions harshly.... Resistance to Western influences has less to do with morality than with fears of unleashed forces that would destroy Islamicate society" (In the Path of God, 181).

Dutch Islamists refuse pain treatment: Recalling that the Koran says one must be alert before Allah, some Muslims are refusing palliative care, fearing that it would leave them drowsy on their death beds. Prof. Wouter Zuurmond of the Vrije Universiteit Medisch Centrum in Amsterdam has seen this pattern while working at the Kuria Hospice, which he manages. He finds the situation frustrating, knowing as he does that pain management need not make one drowsy. Accordingly, VUMC organized a symposium on March 29 about providing palliative care to Muslim patients. (March 31, 2009)

Amniotic fluid check to abort females: This update concerns Muslims in general, not specifically Islamists, for it concerns the deep cultural demand for mothers to produce sons. That demand takes on new forms when modern tests are available in the West. Consider the news from Sweden, where mothers are aborting healthy female fetuses:

In a recent case in Sweden a woman twice aborted her baby after finding out the fetus was a girl, reports Svenska Dagbladet. The woman, who had previously given birth to several daughters, asked for an amniotic fluid check, saying she was worried and wanted to establish the sex of the fetus. After finding out it was a girl, she aborted the pregnancy immediately. She soon afterward got pregnant again, and again aborted the fetus once she discovered it was a girl.

The case caused strong reactions from doctors and nurses who want to know whether they're obligated to reveal the sex of the fetus. A senior official in the industry says that there was no medical reason for the abortion, but that the nurse went ahead with the amniotic fluid check. "They've experienced having been forced into a corner and contributing to an abortion on the grounds that the fetus had the 'wrong' sex," the official says. Doctors and nurses are now demanding guidelines on how they should proceed with such cases.

In a previous case, a man was sentenced to a fine of 4,000 Swedish kroner for threatening to put a pistol to a doctor's head if she didn't tell him the fetus' sex, according to Svenska Dagbladet.

(February 22, 2009)

Muslima refuses to bare arms below elbow, loses job: An unnamed female Muslim therapeutic radiographer lost her job of six weeks at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading for refusing to comply with the National Health Service's new "bare below the elbows" hygiene rules designed to combat superbugs. Prompted by concerns about patients catching superbugs (MRSA, Clostridium difficile) while in the hospital, the NHS introduced a new dress code for staff in January 2008 to avoid transmitting bacteria. All doctors and nurses in contact with patients must bare their arms below the elbow. The ban also extends to jewelry, watches, and false nails.

Claiming she was discriminated against and forced to choose between her religious beliefs and her livelihood, she refused to bare her arms and instead left her job. She describes her situation as having been a "continuous nightmare" and fears she may not be able to get another job. Still, she plans to campaign against the NHS policy because she wants to "prevent the policy from being universally applied, so other Muslim women do not experience the same trauma."

The Islamic Medical Association sympathizes with the woman. Its spokesman, Majid Katme, said that "Any practising Muslim woman should have the right to cover her arms, as long as her job doesn't jeopardise the care of the patient. What's the harm in somebody in her position covering their arms, as people in radiography have done for some time?" (September 1, 2008)

Muslim husband attacks male gynecologist: An unnamed husband attacked a gynecologist, David Benyaoun, as he was treating a complex birth at the Hôpital de l'Hôtel Dieu in Lyons, France. (August 4, 2008)

American Muslima medical student refuses male patients: Patrick Poole documents in "CAIR's Medical School Grievance Theater" how Iram Qureshi of Dublin, Ohio, dismissed from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine last month for her poor academic record, has turned to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and sued the school. Her attorney has raised allegations of religious discrimination, such as her reluctance to conduct chest and pelvic examinations on male subjects. (July 17, 2008)

French Muslim couple fined for refusing male doctor at childbirth: A French Muslim couple sued a hospital in Bourg-en-Bresse in eastern France for €100,000 after their son, Mohammed Ijjou, was born heavily handicapped on November 8, 1998, as a result of neurological complications during birth. Instead, the couple found itself fined €1,000 because the father, Radouane Ijjou, physically barred a male doctor from entering his wife's room for half an hour to carry out tests, citing religious reasons, after a midwife asked for help with the wife's labor. The court in Lyon found that "the child's condition is totally due to the attitude of Radouane Ijjou"; had the doctor been allowed in, the texts could have prevented the complications. Therefore, the hospital could not be held responsible. (June 11, 2008)

British female Muslim doctors "must remove veil": New guidelines issued yesterday by the UK's General Medical Council (in a document titled Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice) requires doctors to set aside personal and cultural preferences. Specfically, under the general guideline that religious clothing must not impede trust and communication with patients, female Muslim doctors must be prepared to remove their veil to treat patients effectively:

it is important that patients feel able to build relationships of trust and communicate freely with their doctors. Some patients, for example, may find that a face veil worn by their doctor presents an obstacle to effective communication and the development of trust. You must be prepared to respond to a patient's individual needs and take steps to anticipate and overcome any perceived barrier to communication. In some situations this may require you to set aside your personal and cultural preferences in order to provide effective patient care.

The Muslim Council of Britain endorsed the guidance, so long as it permits female doctors to wear a hijab, which does not cover the face. The chairman of the MCB's medical committee, Abdullah Shehu, explained: "While wearing a veil does not preclude someone from practising medicine, there is no harm in removing it where the ability to communicate or care for the patient is compromised. The Muslim community very much welcomes this guidance." (March 18, 2008)

British female Muslim medics refuse to battle superbugs: Crisis talks are underway with medical staff who object to hospital hygiene rules because of their understanding of Islamic modesty regulations. The new breed of superbugs, such as such as MRSA and Clostridium difficle, require medical personnel to roll up their sleeves when washing their hands and to remove arm coverings when in the operating room. But female medics in hospitals in at least three major English cities (Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool, Leicester University hospital, and Sheffield University hospital) have refused to follow the "bare below the elbows" dress code, on the grounds that this is immodest.

Some students have threatened to quit their course work rather than expose their arms. They won support from the Islamic Medical Association, which holds that women covering all their body in public, except for the face and hands, is a basic tenet of Islam. "No practising Muslim woman – doctor, medical student, nurse, or patient – should be forced to bare her arms below the elbow."

In contrast, the medical director at Alder Hey, Dr. Steve Ryan, emphasized that "We specify bare below elbows, no wrist watches, nail varnish or false nails in clinical areas. Good hand hygiene is one of the most important and simplest actions we can take to prevent healthcare associated infections.' He added that "A number of female Muslim students had approached the University of Liverpool to ask if we would provide facilities for them to change their outerwear and hijab for theatre scrubs. We were pleased to accommodate this request and these facilities have now been incorporated."

Dr. Charles Tannock, a Conservative MEP and former hospital consultant, took a tougher stand: "These students are being trained using taxpayers' money and they have a duty of care to their patients not to put their health at risk. Perhaps these women should not be choosing medicine as a career if they feel unable to abide by the guidelines everyone else has to follow." (February 27, 2008)

Belgian Muslimas may not refuse male doctors: Going in precisely in the opposite direction from their Dutch counterparts, the Belgian gynecological association has issued a code of conduct for patients that takes away their right to refuse a male doctor in emergency childbirths. Women coming in to give birth will have to sign the code to be serviced. Johan Van Wiemeersch, chairman of the association, warns that the police can be called in if the patient (or her husband) then reneges on the agreement. (February 2, 2008)

Dutch Muslimas may refuse male doctors: The Dutch physicians organization, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst, has issued new guidelines, following an incident in an Amersfoort hospital when a pregnant Muslim woman refused treatment by a male gynecologist. The guidelines urge hospitals, except in emergency cases, to find ways to fulfill Islamist women's wishes. (December 18, 2007) Feb. 8, 2008 update: The KNMG requires patients who want to be treated by a doctor of one or other gender to state this when making an appointment, or else the preference is not operational. Also, this choice is limited to the sex of the doctor and cannot extend to skin color, political conviction, or religion.

Muslim husband ejects male anesthetist from the operating room: Hospital personnel are not the only Islamists in the wards. Here's a case of a patient's husband from Bree, Belgium: When a pregnant Muslim arrived late at night needing an emergency Caesarean, the hospital called Dr. Philippe Becx to serve as anesthetist.

However, her husband blocked the door and demanded a female anesthetist. The latter was unavailable. After a two-hour discussion proved fruitless, an imam was summoned. The imam permitted the doctor to apply an epidural injection, but only if the woman was fully covered with only a small area of skin showing. During the surgery itself, performed by a female gynecologist, the anesthetist was to remain in the hallway. Through a door that was slightly ajar, he shouted instructions to a nurse who was monitoring the anesthesia.

Despite all this, the Caesarean was succesful. (October 27, 2007)

British Muslim medical students reject kafir ways: In a report by Daniel Foggo and Abul Taher in the The Sunday Times (London), we learn that

Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs. Some trainee doctors say learning to treat the diseases conflicts with their faith, which states that Muslims should not drink alcohol and rejects sexual promiscuity. A small number of Muslim medical students have even refused to treat patients of the opposite sex. One male student was prepared to fail his final exams rather than carry out a basic examination of a female patient.

The British Medical Association has received reports of Muslim students who did not want to learn anything about alcohol or the effects of overconsumption. "They are so opposed to the consumption of it they don't want to learn anything about it." (October 7, 2007)

Doctor urges Muslims to shun haram vaccines: Dr. Abdul Majid Katme, a psychiatrist who has worked in the National Health Service for 15 years and heads the Islamic Medical Association, wants British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against measles, mumps, rubella, MMR, diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, and meningitis. He argues, writes Abul Taher in London's Sunday Times, that these and almost all vaccines contain products derived from proscribed animal or human tissue, making them haram, or unlawful, for Muslims. "Many vaccines, especially those given to children, are full of haram substances — human parts, gelatine from pork, alcohol, animal/monkey parts, all coming from the West who do not have knowledge of halal or haram. It is forbidden in Islam to have any of these haram substances in our bodies."

Instead of relying on vaccines, Katme wants Muslims to let their children develop their own immune system naturally. Leading "Islamically healthy lives," he believes, is enough to ward off illnesses and diseases. "You see, God created us perfect and with a very strong defence system. If you breast-feed your child for two years — as the Koran says — and you eat Koranic food like olives and black seed, and you do ablution each time you pray, then you will have a strong defence system." (January 28, 2007)

The UK National Health Service should provide Muslims with faith-based services: So argues Aziz Sheikh, professor of primary care research and development at the University of Edinburgh (and an activist in the Muslim Council of Britain), calling for doctors of the same gender as their patients and helping patients "avoid porcine and alcohol derived drugs." (January 13, 2007)

A typical anti-bacterial gel found in UK hospitals.

Muslim visitors refuse anti-bacterial gel: British hospitals offer dispensers with anti-bacterial gel outside wards so that visitors can be sure not to bring in such infections as MRSA and PVL. But the gel contains alcohol, prompting some Muslims to refuse to use the hand cleansers on religious grounds. A National Health Service employee, Theresa Poupa told in December 2006 of her experience visiting a sick relative at the London Chest Hospital:

I could not believe it - the signs are large enough and clear enough but they just took no notice and walked straight onto the ward. I was there almost every day for three weeks and I saw it repeated dozens and dozens of times. When I raised the matter with the nursing staff they just shrugged and said that Muslims were refusing to use the gel because it contained alcohol. They said they couldn't force visitors to use the gel and I understand that — but I was astonished that anyone who didn't wash their hands was allowed onto a ward. I know the dangers that bugs like MRSA can cause. They kill hundreds of patients a year.

Male refused treatment by female doctors: A 17-year-old male shepherd from Konya, Turkey, referred to only as "A.G.," arrived at the Konya Testing Hospital complaining of swollen testicles. He was sent to get ultrasound tests, but two headscarved (i.e., Islamist) female radiology doctors refused him service. Not receiving proper attention, A.G. later had one of his testicles removed by operation. The case has provoked much attention. The hospital's head of urology, Celal Tutuncu, portrayed the case as very "black and white," and said that action would be taken. Members of the opposition CHP party raised the case in parliament in December 2006. A CHP lawyer, Atilla Kart, noted that "This is the destruction wrought by religious references spilling over into public administration."

Male relatives preventing female patients from being treated by male doctors: So rampant is the problem in France of Muslim husbands preventing their wives and other female relatives from being treated by male doctors (for example, women in labor have not had epidurals because the anesthetist was a man) that Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin reportedly planned in February 2004 to propose legislation to stop this from happening (how he plans to do this is not explained). (December 29, 2006)

Hijabs during surgery: Sabrina Talukdar, 25, a medical student at the University of St Andrews, convinced the British Medical Association to permit sterile hijabs in the operating theater. She argued that this measure was necessary in order not to prevent some women from entering medical careers. "I think some in the medical profession get put off by this, and I can certainly see it stopping some from entering medicine." She also suggested that screens be put up so that Muslim women personnel can wash in private before preparing for an operation. "It is about making people feel more comfortable. Such straightforward innovations would do wonders for the morale of staff and students." (June 29, 2005)

"'Offensive' hospital bibles may be banned": The University of Leicester NHS Trust is considering the removal of Gideon Bibles from its wards at three hospitals, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary, and Glenfield Hospital. Nick Britten explains in the Daily Telegraph that the trust is concerned that the hospital's non-Christian patients might be offended by the presence of Bibles. Interestingly, Suleman Nagdi of Leicestershire's Federation of Muslim Organisations commented on the possible ban: "This is a Christian country and it would be sad to see the tradition end." And Resham Singh Sandu, the Sikh chairman of the local Council of Faiths, added: "I don't think many ethnic minority patients would object to the Bible in a locker." Comment: This case concerns not Islamists in the ward but what I like to call pre-emptive dhimmitude. (June 3, 2005) May 14, 2006 update: At least two hospitals in Australia, the Royal Brisbane and Women's and the Royal Melbourne, have stopped providing Bibles, in part because they could spread germs and are supposedly present a health hazard.