Islamic Response to Agricultural Biotechnology

At the outset an introduction to the fundamental techniques and procedures operatingin biotechnology is elaborated. Risk and benefit analysis of agricultural biotechnology isdiscussed with examples and then the ethical questions are listed and possible solutionsare suggested that how Muslims should deal with this phenomenon with guidance frombasic principles of Islam. It is important to emphasize that moral pronouncements andethical values are intimately related to the beliefs, values and composition of anysociety. Islam is today one of the major religions with more than one billion followerswhich are 26% of the total population on the planet. Among every four humans in theworld, one of them is a Muslim. In this paper the response of Muslims to theAgricultural Biotechnology is discussed, and the possibility of adaptation of this newagricultural technology by the Muslim community under the guidance of Islam isexplored.Key words: Islam, Agricultural Biotechnology, GMO, Ijtihad, Ethics.