Minister of Health Dr. Osama Shobokshi addressed in Riyadh today an ongoing symposium on the topic 'Medical Ethics in Islam: How Different?' organized by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. Islamic scholars as well as physicians are participating in the three-day conference, which is reviewimg medical practice from the Islamic point of view and comparing it with medical practice in non-Muslim societies. Some 30 papers will be presented by participants from the United States, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, and Syria in addition to Saudi Arabia. Although Arabic is the official language of the conference, there is simultaneous translation into English.

Addressing the gathering, Dr Hussein Al-Jazaeri, East Mediterranean regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Islam advocates excellence in moral behavior and kindly and polite treatment of people irrespective of their religion or race. He went on to express criticism of prevailing mores of doctor-patient relationships that are based on material concerns, and are weak in humanity.

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