Medical Pluralism in the Coronavirus Epidemic: A Study of Controversy over Islamic Medicine

Medical pluralism refers to the coexistence of different medical traditions in a society, and on this basis, alternative and complementary medicine have found their way into the health care systems of different countries. Recently, some have claimed a healing system called Islamic medicine, which has been the subject of much debate, especially during the coronavirus epidemic. The purpose of this study was to examine the controversy surrounding Islamic medicine during the Covid 19 epidemic from a sociological perspective. This qualitative study was conducted with a content analysis approach and documentary method and data were collected from various sources including news portals, information databases, telegram and Instagram channels related to the subject. Data were analyzed using coding and extraction of subclasses and classes. The study showed that Islamic medicine activists, with claims such as the inefficiency of conventional medicine, the need for independence in medicine and the elimination of dependence on the West, the effectiveness and economy of Islamic medicine and its reliance on religion, entered the field of competition with conventional medicine. Act as a healing system to be effective in controlling the coronavirus epidemic. Opponents, on the other hand, made claims including; The dangerousness, unscientificness and violation of Islamic medicine, the abuse of religion and the greed of Islamic medicine activists have risen up against these new rivals. According to the principles of professionalism, non-specialists and ordinary people are not allowed to practice medicine. Hence, Islamic medicine, which is claimed by non-specialists, has not been able to fall under the umbrella of medical pluralism. The claimants of Islamic medicine in the period of the Covid 19 epidemic, relying on modern medical weaknesses in disease management, try to rebel against the existing medical order and use religion as the main base of the government's ideological apparatus to bring and impose their alleged healing system to the health system.