Page 244 - The Social Weapon: Darwinism

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In the Ottoman Empire where Islamic moral values pre-
vailed, families looked after not only their own sick, but also
those around them. The ailing were cared for in special clinics
and efforts were made to treat them using various means. The
poor were offered free health services, and doctors and hospi-
tal officials were even punished for demanding money from
the poor. In 1871 the Health Inspectors and National Doctors
offices were established with the aim of regulating public
health services. Some of the measures under this arrangement
were as follows:
• Doctors will examine all patients on specific days and at
specific times of the week, and in a specific place, free of
charge, making no distinction between rich and poor. The nec-
essary vaccinations will also be given free of charge.
• Doctors will examine those who are unable to attend
physical examination in their own homes, and a predeter-
mined fee will be charged to those who have the means to pay.
No fee will be taken from the poor, and costs incurred will be
paid to the doctor from municipal funds.
• Failing to care for the sick without a valid reason, or re-
ceiving fees from the poor, will be a cause for sacking. 135
Ottoman mental hospitals also employed special treat-
ment methods. In the 15th-century Ottoman Empire, special
hospitals were built for mental patients. Efforts were made to
heal the sick, depending on their illness, by means of specially
selected Turkish melodies, special meals, and flowers. Patients
were fed poultry in particular. Every patient's room had two
windows, preferably looking out over a rose garden. 136
Long before the Ottoman Empire, other Muslim states
employed special methods to care for the physically and men-
tally ill. During the time of the Abbasid Caliphate in particular,
the Islamic world attained the highest medical and psychiatric