A Muslim doctors’ leader has urged British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella because it is ‘un-Islamic’. According to a report in The Times newspaper, Dr Abdul Majid Katme, head of the Islamic Medical Association, is telling Muslims that almost all vaccines contain products derived from animal and human tissue, which make them ‘haram’ (unlawful) for Muslims to take.
Islam permits only the consumption of halal products, where the animal has had its throat cut and bled to death while God’s name is invoked. Islam also forbids the eating of any pig meat, which Katme says is another reason why vaccines should be avoided, as some contain or have been made using pork-based gelatine.
Katme maintains that Muslims should allow their children to develop their own immune system naturally rather than rely on vaccines, and that leading ‘Islamically healthy lives’ would ward off illnesses and diseases.
