The Islamic Health Industry - Prospects And Challenges

1. The Islamic Medicine alternative

The appeal of the concept of Islamic medicine is set to grow phenomenally in the next 20 years.

This growth will be driven by two main forces. The first one is the general process of defining Islamic alternatives in many fields of endeavor. For example Islamic banking has expanded to all countries of the world being recognized and catered for by the Bank of England and virtually all banking giants that are not in any way describable as Muslims. Many of these banks have set up special accounts and special windows to handle Islamic banking and the industry is worth billions with the prospect it shall soon be worth trillions.

2. Dissatisfaction

The second driver is the general dissatisfaction with modern scientific medicine.

This dissatisfaction is evidenced by the phenomenal growth of alternative traditional of complementary (TCM) medicine. The disadvantage of the TCM movement has been denying a large number of patients the powerful curative modalities of scientific medicine. People turn away from scientific medicine not because of its technology but because of its lack of a human dimension.  The growing popularity of Islamic medicine is that it has reintroduced the human element in medical practice without missing out on the benefits of modern medical technology.

This popularity is witnessed by building of Islamic hospitals in many parts of the world. The medicine practiced in these hospitals is as modern as is found in the best medical centers in New York and London but has the added value of a human dimension that gives patients so much satisfaction. It is for these reasons that we have included some elements of Islamic medicine in the undergraduate medical curriculum to prepare our students to be players in an industry that is billed to grow phenomenally in subsequent years.