RAMALLAH, West Bank, November 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Before Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s death early Thursday morning, popular media suggested the possibility that top Palestinian officials and family members were contemplating ending his life prematurely by removing life support. “People talk as if his life can be plugged in or plugged out. This is ridiculous. We Muslims do not allow euthanasia,” Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister, said at a news conference Wednesday, as reported by the National Post. “He will live or die depending on his body’s ability to resist and on the will of God.” When top Palestinian Islamic cleric Tayssir el-Tamimi visited Arafat’s sickbed Wednesday, popular media sources said perhaps he was there to authorize the termination of his life support.
“There is no question of switching off the equipment,” Tamimi emphasized. “It is against Islamic law which bans this type of practice. As long as there is warmth and life in his body, we cannot switch off the equipment,” he said, as reported by expatica.com. Palestinian representative in France, Leila Shahid, when asked for the reason of Tamimi’s visit, also scoffed at the idea that they would even contemplate euthanasia. “Clearly a man of religion should be near a patient in the final phase of his life,” she said. “That is why he is there, not to disconnect him – because euthanasia is banned in Islam.”
Although the incident highlights strong Muslim opposition to euthanasia, pro-life groups have emphasized that removal of burdensome life support systems from dying patients is not usually considered euthanasia. However, removal of nutrition and hydration or deliberate administration of medications or interventions intended to hasten death would be considered euthanasia. tv