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`Religious technology`

LEADING Islamic scholars have ruled that Muslims should be allowed to take advantage of the medical benefits of genetic engineering. But they urged companies to take steps to ensure the technology does not become dangerous or violate Islamic laws. According to the Saudi newspaper Arab News, scholars from the Islamic Jurisprudence Council (IJC) based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, also accepted that DNA tests could be an accurate way to identify people and a great help to forensic medicine.

They upheld a previous ruling banning human cloning, but postponed a ruling on the permitted uses of DNA until next year. "They called on companies and manufacturers to reveal the composition of genetically-modified food and medicines so they can be screened and used in a manner that does not contradict or become detrimental to Islamic law," said the paper.

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