Recommendations and Final Statement

In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful Praise be to God, Lord of all creation, and peace be upon the seal of the Prophets, Mohammed, and on all his family and companions.
Cognisant of its pioneering role in dealing with the major problems concerning human life and man's physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being; and being fully cognisant of the threat felt by the ummah's scholars and intelligentsia of the alarming world-wide spread of intoxicants, engulfing the Arab and Muslim worlds and threatening the health and safety of millions, especially young, people; and in response to the kind invitation by Dr. Ihsan

Dogramaghi, the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences (IOMS), in collaboration with the Islamic Education, Science and Culture Organization (ISESCO) and the World Health Organization, held its Sixth International Convention for Islamic Medicine under the title: Drugs, Psychologically harmful Substances and Smoking: A threat to Future Generations, during the period 7-10 Jumada al-Aoula 1419, corresponding to 29/8 to 1/9/1998, in Istanbul, Turkey, under the auspices of His Excellency President Sulayman Demiril of Turkey.

The President's address was followed by speeches by HE Dr. Ihsan Dogramaghi, HE Dr. Abdulrahman al-Awadi, HE Dr. Abdulaziz al-Twaijeri, HE Dr. Hussain al-Jazaeri, and HE The Turkish Minister of Health whose address was read by his deputy, Dr. Yaldiz Baterbajil.

The Convention was opened with recitation from the Glorious Quran followed by a letter from the Turkish President in which he pointed out that the Muslim ulema's concern regarding drugs and smoking emanates from Islam's own concern for man's well-being. He expressed the belief that the Convention, by combining modern scientific knowledge with the age-old heritage of Islam, would make a tremendous contribution to the fight against drugs and smoking.

At the end of the inaugural session, IOMS prizes, offered by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, were presented to Dr. Muhammad Sulayman al-Ashqar and Dr Muhammad Nazar al-Doqr.

Scientific sessions were then convened as shown in the Convention programme.

The Convention was attended by over seventy invited participants specialising in various related fields. Subcommittees were appointed for every session, consisting of a Secretary and the presenters of scientific papers who would summarise the papers and the discussions and recommendations. Reports of the sub-committees were then reviewed by the Draft Committee who summarised them in the form of general principles and a list of detailed recommendations, as follows:

GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
The participants have approved the following General Principles:

1. Physical and mental health is a blessing from God Almighty. Any threat or harm caused to it is liable to exact a high price. Accordingly, the protection of humanity against any harmful or disabling substances is a paramount Islamic duty.

2. Addiction to intoxicants, drugs, tobacco and other psychologically harmful substances, in all its forms, has today become a world-wide problem, with not a single country being immune from it. Muslim countries have a duty be at the front of the international effort to prevent this epidemic and protect present and future generations against it.

3. The many dangers that threaten humanity as a result of this problem are far greater than many people, including its victims, can imagine. This fact calls for effective education, based on proper scientific methods and approach.

4. Muslim countries, In particular, should be at the forefront In fighting this epidemic, guided by the Quranic principle: "Do not kill yourselves," and: "Do not with your own hands bring destruction upon yourselves," and the general rule propounded by the Prophet that: "Harm should neither be inflicted nor sustained." Furthermore, the human mind is the seat of responsibility and accountability, protected by the shariah; any violation, invasion or disabling of the mind, in any way whatsoever, is in violation of the shariah and contrary to its spirit and aims.

5. Fear of God and the incentive of faith and religious deterrence form, altogether, the first line of defense in this regard, and it should be fortified and strengthened further by all available means.

6. To achieve this goal, all countries must rectify the United Nations conventions on the banning of illegal trade in drugs, and psychologically harmful substances.

7. A factor of success has also been the support given to resolutions passed at the Extraordinary Session of the UN General Assembly, held during 8-10 June 1998, on prevention of illegal drugs, including reinforcement of drugs control and their progenitors, prevention of money laundrying and the reduction of demand for drugs, the elimination of farming of illegal substances and support of alternative development programmes, and the combat of amphithamins. Depending on the particular regional situation, support for the Arab world strategy for the combat of drugs and psychologically harmful substances, would increase the chances of success in prevention and treatment for the Arab population.

8. Prevention will have a better chance of success if it starts with the young and before it is too late. This requires the incorporation of educational material in the school curricula from primary levels onwards, and the training of parents, teachers and instructors. Special procedures must be put in place with such flexibility as to allow the use of religious values, useful customs and traditions in the prevention or treatment processes.

9. Care for future generations dictates that the provision in the mother's womb of a clean and healthy environment. This means more educational and health care for pregnant mothers.

10. The proven success of religious education and instruction in the prevention of drug addiction and the treatment of addicts is in need of greater support and encouragement. More field studies and scientific documentation is required in this area.