Social, Cultural and Religious Issues Related to Genetic Diseases Among the Bangladeshis in the UK

In order to make sense of how British Bangladeshis respond to and cope with genetic disorder and associated medical illness, we need to understand Bangladeshi social, cultural, and religious life in its British context. In this interconnected global village, it is not only science, technologies, or commodities that travel across the many national boundaries, but also ideas, values, and religion. Thus to talk of one culture being clearly distinct from another culture is na·ive, to say the least (Clarke & Parsons 1997:1).

The cultural and religious values that influence British Bangladeshis in relation to genetics are therefore fluid and complex. Minimally, one needs to bear in mind the transnational nature of British Bangladeshi families· and the strong familial ties they maintain with their relatives in Sylhet, where most of the Bangladeshi migrants come from. Through these ongoing ties, Bangladesh impacts directly on their own beliefs, values, and culture in general.

The chapter provides an overview on the British Bangladeshis, followed by their ideas about illness including beliefs about spirit causation (upri, bhut, nazar). We then discuss the British Bangladeshis and the Islamic position on genetics, followed by the various misunderstandings and confUsion about genetics on the part of our interviewees.