ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Genet.
Sec. ELSI in Science and Genetics
This article is part of the Research TopicInsights in ELSI in Science and Genetics 2024-2025View all 14 articles
Geneticization Outside Genetics' Birthplace: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region
Provisionally accepted
Safa Shaheen1*
Mohammed Ghaly2- 1Hamad Bin Khalifa University College of Health and Life Sciences, Doha, Qatar
- 2Hamad Bin Khalifa University College of Islamic Studies, Doha, Qatar
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Geneticization refers to the growing tendency to explain health, behavior, and identity primarily through genetic terms, often at the expense of social, environmental, and cultural factors. This paper offers a novel contribution to the global discourse on geneticization - a phenomenon extensively examined in Western, predominantly secular contexts, by critically analyzing its ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) within the Muslim-majority societies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. As genetic screening programs such as prenatal, newborn, and premarital screening (PMS) gain traction across the GCC countries, often supported by advanced technologies like whole genome sequencing and whole exome sequencing, they encounter not only globally recognized concerns but also distinct religio-ethical and socio-cultural challenges that necessitate engagement with Islamic moral frameworks. Drawing on a close analysis of interdisciplinary literature, the study identifies key ethical tensions surrounding theological sensitivities, informed consent, individual autonomy, genetic discrimination, stigmatization, eugenics, and the management of incidental findings. The paper further highlights legal inconsistencies in PMS mandates and the evolving regulatory landscape governing genomic research across the region. Social implications including high rates of consanguinity, varying levels of public awareness, and community reception of screening programs underscore the need for culturally responsive approaches that align with local values and norms. By foregrounding these region-specific dynamics, this paper advances a more contextually grounded and ethically attuned understanding of geneticization beyond its Western foundations. In doing so, it offers new perspectives for navigating the ELSI of genomics in the GCC, with broader relevance to the Arab world.
Keywords: bioethics8, ELSI5, GCC4, geneticization3, genetics1, Genomics2, premarital screening6, wholegenome sequencing7
Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 22 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shaheen and Ghaly. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Safa Shaheen
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