DUBAI: A Malaysian religious body says that under Islam, surrogacy is forbidden. The statement from the Islamic Affairs Department of the country's largest state, Selango, comes after the practice continues to become increasingly popular. “If another woman is introduced into the situation, then it means the real mother of the child can be questioned,” said Mat Jais Kamos department in Selangor. “This creates confusion in Islamic law especially when it comes to inheritance, as it will be hard to determine the individual's bloodline and thus the person's rights to any inheritance,” he told reporters. The official continued to say that a fatwa was issued in 2008 that banned surrogacy by the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs, but that decision has not been widely reported until now, as the practice increases in popularity. “It categorically states that such a form of pregnancy is unacceptable under Islamic law,' Mat Jais said, adding that IVF is permissible as long as the sperm and egg belong to a married couple. “In Islam, it is not permissible for the sperm of the male of a married couple to be implanted into the egg of another woman,” he said. “That is considered a violation because the man is not married to this other woman and yet she is the bearer of his child out of wedlock.” Women's activists in the country are concerned over the reporting of the fatwa, saying it is another step in the direction of an anti-women's agenda being pushed by the conservative religious leaders in the country. “What we are seeing is a decision not based on science, but on the idea that a few men think they know best,” said a female doctor and activist based in Kuala Lumpur who has helped couples use surrogates. She pointed to the reality that if the sperm and egg are from the couple, then genetically it is not the carriers child. “Islam is compatible with science and this opinion denies the facts on the ground. It is just an attempt to force a belief that has no basis in reality,” she told Bikya Masr, asking to remain anonymous for fear of any future attack that could come with the fatwa. BM
