Islam and AIDS: Between Scorn, Pity and Justice

Islam and AIDS is the first book to comprehensively address the HIV/AIDS pandemic from an Islam perspective, with contributions from a number of internationally known activists and scholars of Islam. Religious leaders, whether Muslim or Catholic, have been frequently accused of denying the AIDS pandemic and encouraging the stigmatization of people living with the illness. While often true, this view ignores the fact that religious communities have also been at the forefront of addressing the epidemic, which afflicts thirty million worldwide, and devastates the lives of many more. With an introduction by Peter Piot, Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, this landmark work provides an insight into new and exciting possibilities of critical and progressive Islamic approaches, in both law and ethics, to one of the most urgent crises facing humankind today. Farid Esack is Visiting Professor of Islamic Studies, Harvard University, and author of The Qur’an: A Beginner’s Guide. Sarah Chiddy has master's degree from Harvard Divinity School and works as a spiritual counselor for people with HIV and AIDS in Boston.