Who is Hassan Hathout?
Hassan Hathout, MD, PhD, FRCOG, FRCSE, FACS, was a multi-cultural physician, ethicist, and poet. He grew up in surroundings where love of God and country, and call of duty, were pivotal. With much talent, learning, discipline, and meditation, he was able to combine a highly successful career in academic medicine, ethics, and theology.
Dr. Hassan Hathout received his extensive postgraduate training in Britain at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. There, he earned the triple degrees of: Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Doctorate of Philosophy in the field of Reproductive Genetics. Subsequent affiliations included Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons, International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and World Health Organization committee for medical ethics. Together with being a medical school Professor and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he was an active member of the WHO committee on ethics of human reproduction, and a close affiliate to the Vatican.
Concomitantly, he was co-founder of the International Organization of Medical Sciences, designed with the primary goal of dissemination of God-guided medical ethics. Over the years, this organization has proven to be a valuable source of information for religious and secular communities on rapidly advancing, ethically controversial fields such as abortion, alternative medicine, genetic engineering, transplantation, and stem-cell research.
Hassan Hathout was a man of God, and a scholar of monotheism including Christianity and Judaism. For him, the concept of religion could be summarized in one word, and that was: LOVE. He was the keynote speaker at the first Christian-Muslim celebration at the White House in 1999. Additionally, he was the co-founder of the Interfaith Council of Southern California, and an invited speaker in many religious and interfaith locations locally and nationwide, including the Wilshire Temple, the Crystal Cathedral, and the United Methodist Church of Pasadena. Dr Hassan Hathout was the recipient of many awards from interfaith and humanitarian communities including the Jewish Christian Muslim Olive Branch award for his efforts in making peace and harmony between people of different faiths, and the Initiatives of Change Life Changer award. He was author of numerous medical, ethical, and religious manuscripts, chapters, and books including: The Spirit of the Red Cross in the Teachings of Islam, The Humane Physician, Islamic Perspectives on Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reading the Muslim Mind, Thus Shall I Stand before God, and Audible Silence.
In addition to being a scientist and ethicist, he was a bicultural and bilingual poet, speaker, thinker, and writer. Among his most beautiful poems are: The Migration, In the Hands of the Prophet, and Jesus, the Son of Man. He resided in Pasadena, California, with his wife of more than fifty-six years, Salonas, a retired pathologist. He passed away on April 25, 2009. He is survived by his daughter, Eba, a Professor of Pediatrics at Loma Linda University Medical School in Southern California, and by his grandchildren Sarrah and Hassaan Shahawy.
Hassan Hathout (Arabic: حسان حتحوت; born in Egypt on 23 December 1924 – died in Pasadena, California on 25 April 2009) [1] was a Muslim doctor and professor of medicine who lived in Britain, the Middle East, and the United States. Frequently referred to as having an encyclopedic personality, Hassan Hathout was also atheologian, humanist, speaker, writer and poet. A Medical School professor and chairman with degrees and certifications from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Surgeons, the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Hassan Hathout was also a member of the World Health Organization’s committee on the ethics of human reproduction.[2]