Illustration: Sylvain Leblanc
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When a cabal of physicians was
arrested in connection with two failed car bombings
in Britain earlier this month, much more than the plateglass
entrance at Glasgow airport was shattered.
The idea that physicians could
perpetrate a terror attack just seemed unthinkable —
especially to fellow physicians. That feeling is particularly
strong among those who share the Islamic faith of the
accused, four of whom, all MDs, have been charged. "Our
members are shocked and dismayed that this occurred,"
says Dr Sheik Hassan, president of the Islamic Medical
Association of North America, which represents a number
of Canadian Muslim physicians. "This is nothing any
physician from any religion should do."
PRIMUM
NON NOCERE
It is perhaps a naive view, but one held by many, that
physicians — as men and women of science —
should be better able to resist the illogical arguments
of fanatics. And what of the Hippocratic oath?
"When we read of doctors who cheat
their patients," writes political commentator Christopher
Hitchens in Slate, "or who poison them in order to get
their property or just for the fun of it, we feel outraged
more, perhaps, than we would feel if a lawyer had tried
to fleece a client. It seems a deeper betrayal. A doctor
as a perpetrator of random murder is a nightmarish figure
who has violated a trust."
Physicians, including Dr Hassan,
agree. "We're trained to preserve life as much as possible.
We're expected to be compassionate people," he says,
adding, "But in any group there will be people who don't
follow the rules."
A recent report by the Centre for
Islamic Pluralism's Dr Irfan al-Alawi offers a partial
explanation for the caregiver-terrorist paradox. "In
our study we have documented notable cases where the
phenomenon of radical Muslim doctors is well known,"
writes Dr al-Alawi, quoted in The Observer. "These individuals
suffer from divided minds, in which their professional
duties clash with their ideological fantasies. They
are driven not by faith, or by training, or by professional
standing or aspiration, but by an ideology of fundamentalist
separatism."
IMG
SCRUTINY
In the Edmonton Journal, University of Alberta international
relations professor W Andy Knight wonders whether the
failed plot could, or should, force doctor-desperate
Canada to tighten security checks on international medical
grads (IMGs). He notes that stringent immigrant screening
measures introduced here after 9/11 are "not intended
to deal with highly skilled individuals, such as foreign-trained
doctors, who are being wooed by various government entities
and the CMA."
In Britain, new PM Gordon Brown
launched a review into NHS recruitment of overseas MDs
and promised to step up background checks on IMGs before
work permits are granted.
IMGs already go through rigorous
clinical and language testing when they vie to qualify
in Canada. Any further security screening would have
to be carried out by the RCMP and CSIS. "The medical
societies don't have the resources," notes Dr Hassan.
In the meantime, physician solidarity
has stood firm in Canada's hospitals in the face of
this terrible event. "Our members have been in touch
and not one has had any fallout from this," says Dr
Hassan. "People have been very supportive."
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