Approaches to family planning in Muslim communities

Addressing the cultural and religious beliefs around the issue of family planning has been a big challenge for the international development community. The concept of family planning has raised some concerns regarding its acceptability within Muslim populations. While some Muslim states and organisations have adopted a rather cautious approach to the issue, others have gone to the extent of inviting religious leaders to present religiously sound interpretations (fatwa) on the subject. Alongside these deliberations are some alarming statistics on maternal health. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide 211 million women become pregnant each year and that about two-thirds of them deliver live infants. The remaining one-third of pregnancies end in miscarriage, stillbirth or induced abortion. Some 200 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for effective contraception. These statistics and the ongoing discussion surrounding family planning in the Muslim communities raise legitimate questions. How is 27 ©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2010: 36(1) Introduction Addressing the cultural and religious beliefs around the issue of family planning has been a big challenge for the international development community. The concept of family planning has raised some concerns regarding its acceptability within certain Muslim populations. While some Muslim states and organisations have adopted a rather cautious approach to the issue, others have gone to the extent of inviting religious leaders to present religiously sound interpretations (known as a fatwa, a religious opinion on Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar) on the subjects. Poor reproductive health jeopardises the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, which require improving antenatal, delivery, postnatal, and newborn care; providing services for family planning; eliminating unsafe abortion; combating AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and harmful practices; and promoting sexual health education. The ongoing discussion surrounding family planning in the Muslim community raises legitimate questions. How is family planning perceived within the Muslim community? Does Islam address the issue of family planning? Is it permissible? How should appropriate family planning programmes within Muslim settings be developed and applied? This article seeks to present the ongoing debate on family planning within the Muslim community and offer recommendations to organisations for effective strategy implementation of family planning programmes within Muslim settings, drawing largely on the experience of Islamic Relief in Bangladesh and Pakistan [Note 1]. Approaches to family planning in Muslim communities Najat El Hamri ARTICLE Islamic Relief Worldwide, Policy and Research Unit,