RIYADH, 19 October — The Ministry of Interior has referred the issue of illegal practitioners of traditional medicine to the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars to give its edict, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Mutlak, a council member.
Speaking to Arab News after attending a seminar on cancer, Mutlak said the Islamic council was studying the file presented by the ministry.
"Practitioners of traditional medicine who have no proper knowledge of medicine are conducting experiments on human body. This is not allowed in Islam. Human body is not a thing for conducting experiments," he said.
The ministry’s move came after illegal practitioners of traditional medicine caused the death of several people in various parts of the country.
During the seminar, which discussed the role of traditional and modern medicine in treating cancer, participants admitted that there was negligence in conducting adequate studies and research on traditional medicine.
They stressed the need for rules and regulations to avoid clash between the two systems of medicine. Experts of modern medicine said most traditional medical practitioners mixed chemicals with herbal medicine without considering their consequences on the patient’s health .
A spokesman for traditional medicine admitted that some of the practitioners were lacking adequate knowledge.
Mutlak said the treatment by Ruqiya (reading from the Holy Qur’an) does not contradict with modern or traditional medicine. However, he said patients being treated using Ruqiya method should also go to a clinic or hospital for proper treatment.
"God is the one who provides cure. Doctors and medicines are just some of the instruments of treatment. If a person does not find cure at hospital, he can follow Ruqiya as instructed by the Prophet (peace be upon him)," Mutlak said.
During the seminar, Abdullah Khoja, a traditional medical practitioner, admitted that he did not have any license as there was no law enabling the Health Ministry or any other agency to issue such licenses.
