You may have a point there, Alias. I hope you get over your cold soon!

I work in the field and use the gel regularly. It is a great benefit, it does not dry out your hands like soap and water, it is faster, and truthfully it works better than using soap and water. Truth be told, most people do not know how to properly wash their own hands to prevent the spread of disease.

The answer to this problem is simple, if someone gets sick and should perhaps die because of an infection, charge the responsible part with the crime. Religion or not, the alcohol used in the gel is different than the one you drink. Their objections are ridiculous and their entry into a ward can be refused and should be.

dmk

Absolutely.. if you are not willing to abide by the laws of the land then get lost. ALL hospitals in pakistan use disinfectants and medicines containing alcohol. It has never been an issue here, and it damn well shouldn't be one any where else int he world.

However mind you this; while this demand is plain stupid and has NOTHING to to with Islam ( since it is a demand that would refused in MUSLIM countries also) bringing issues to light like the right to pray and the right to wear a veil is not unjust. However any change brought must be WITHIN the legal framework of the nation.

If muslims can get a law passed by congress mandating prayer breaks for muslims for instance, then it is their right because it has been acquired democratically.

I'm sure you can agree with that.
Well the UK has AWFUL medical service. The NHA is hopelessly underfunded, ineffective and just plain CRAP ( i lived in the UK for a while and got sick a couple of times.. I actually had to come back to Pakistan to get proper treatment).

SCANDINAVIA on the other hand have a BRILLIANT service. My mom got breast cancer and she was given complete treatment, followup checks, psychiatric assistance and even free transport to and from her chaemo sessions.

Likewise my dad had a quintuple bypass not long after. He too was given the best treatment in the world. And we are just average danish citizens ( completely broke at the time actually).

Please for the love of god do not put all muslims in the same bracket as those fools. If you do, then you prevent muslims from condemning those fools themselves. If you follow up on this story i bet you will see NO MUSLIMS supporting unhygeinic practices.

I happen to know that as several of my family members are doctors in the UK

I agree. This is NOT a Muslim issue. It's a MEDICAL issue.

As I said earlier, because of my job I'm in and out of hospitals regularly - and actually, many different hospitals.

If I refused to follow specified procedures for cleanliness and patient safety, I'd be ushered out of the hospital - and probably receive a boot to the butt as well. And I SHOULD be.

Patient health is #1 in hospitals - not religious expression.

I assume these people do not take cough syrup for colds, as it contains alcohol.

I believe the issue for Muslims is avoiding intoxication, so anything that causes intoxication is not to be consumed. I believe there is confusion over the types of alcohols (ethanol vs. isopropyl alcohol).

Isopropyl alcohol should never be consumed by mouth, as it is highly toxic. OSHA has a long page on it discussing protection of workers who manufacture products containing Isopropyl alcohol. I believe the small amount in antiseptic gels is too small to cause symptoms of poisoning, otherwise the feds would not allow it to be used in hospitals.

Ethanol is also toxic, but less so than isopropyl alcohol. It is ethanol that is in alcoholic beverages.

Perhaps the question needs to be posed not to the medical community, but to the muslim community leader(s) on the use of gels or antiseptic products containing isopropyl alcohol to cleanse the body.

1) Is there a non-alcohol based gel that will work as well?
If so, there might be a compromise.

2) It's fairly cut and dried.
Having a religion does not exempt one from the rules.
If the rules require the gel, and there is a good reason for the rule, then the rule should be adhered to.

3) I don't get the Muslim perspective on this at all. It's not going in their mouths, but on their hands.
But then again there are Christian religious perspectives which forbid things like blood transfusions because of similar strict interpretations.