Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri:

It would be wrong for us to put all religions in one particular box. The Islamic stance on abortion, for example, is that it is permissible. That is exactly what I stated a few years ago. Islam recognises divorce. At the same time our stance on marriage equality was that it is not a religious matter. This is not about the religious Islamic marriage; it is about marrying in a secular state. In all those situations, our perspective has always been to make sure that we protect vulnerable people. Whether they are women or men, gays or lesbians, it is the vulnerable people who need to be protected. In this particular situation, we are opposing any change in legislation because we are concerned about vulnerable people - people with mental health issues including depression. If we open the door, we might call it a slippery slope or whatever.

I am originally from the Netherlands and moved here 20 years ago. As an imam, I am still connected to the Dutch Muslim community. I came across a case where a person was suffering from depression and his family members were not meeting him. He had children but the children did not want to have any contact with him. In that particular situation, he decided he wanted to end his life. He was put in contact with me and we had a discussion. I happened to be in the Netherlands to meet my brothers and I met this patient. I gave him some pastoral care and eventually he decided not to proceed. Today in 2023, probably four years later, this particular individual again has a connection, a relationship, with his children who had abandoned him previously. At least he has an ending where he met his family members. Given that the legislation allows for this, if he had chosen to proceed with assisted dying, he would have regretted it. He said, "It was a good decision. Thank God I had this pastoral care."

I personally think it is about the vulnerable people. If there is change in legislation, we need to ensure that vulnerable people are looked after. That is the most important thing.