Enhancing the Role of Ulama in Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a multidimensional discipline of knowledge that has great impactson the society. While it has been acknowledged that biotechnology has great potentialsand benefits, its acceptance in society has been delayed. This paper proposes that theIslamic religious scholars or ulama play an important role in disseminating informationon biotechnology to the masses. The ulama are trusted source of information. Therefore,they have a great role to play towards this end. Two main roles are touched upon in thispaper. Firstly, ulama as a source for providing guidance on biotechnological issues, andsecondly, ulama as influential communicators of biotechnology.