Background: Turkey, with a Muslim population of officially over 99 %, is one of the few secular states in the Muslim world. Although state institutions are not based on Islamic juridical and ethical norms, the latter play a significant role in defining people’s attitudes towards controversial issues in the modern world, especially when backed by opinions of Muslim scholars living in Turkey. Accordingly, opinions of Muslim scholars undoubtedly have an important effect on bioethical decisions made by institutions and individuals.

Objective(s): To explore the ethical positions of Muslim scholars living in Turkey and their arguments used in the ethical assessment of embryonic stem cell research; to discuss the biological-moral tensions arising in medical research on human embryos.

Design: Qualitative study.

Setting: Muslim scholars located in different parts of Turkey.

Methods: Qualitative method, involving the collection of opinions of various scholars, by means of 15 individual semi-structured interviews, evaluated using thematic qualitative analysis.

Results: Positions regarding embryonic stem cell research differ among Muslim scholars in Turkey. On the other hand, even where positions are similar, they are often supported by different arguments.

Conclusion: Despite the heterogeneity of the arguments presented, the dominant position considers embryonic stem cell research as morally acceptable.