KUALA LUMPUR, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Malaysian Muslims' National Fatwa Council, the local body of clerics that delivers "fatwas" (religious decrees), this week declared that "therapeutic" cloning of human embryos is ethically acceptable for research purposes so long as the embryo is destroyed before it reaches 120 days of age.
The clerics said reproductive cloning of humans is not allowed because according to the Koran, "a baby must be a result of a union between a man and a woman who are legally married." But council chairman Ismail Ibrahim explained that scientific "therapeutic" research on human embryos up to 120 days would be in keeping with the view in some sectors of Islam that, until a fetus reaches four months, it has no soul and therefore can be aborted.
For related LifeSite coverage see:
MULTI-FAITH COALITION OF LEADERS OBJECT TO CLONING
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2001/jan/01011603.html