Islamic environmentalism is a strand of
environmental philosophy
Environmental philosophy is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the natural environment and humans' place within it. It asks crucial questions about human environmental relations such as "What do we mean when we talk about nature?" "What ...
as well as an Islamic movement that employs environmental principles derived from
Islamic scriptures and traditions to the environment and the modern-day
environmental crisis
An ecological or environmental crises occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include:
* Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, incr ...
. Muslim environmentalists believe in
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
's absolute sovereignty over nature and emphasize humanity's role as
God's vicegerent, making it their duty to protect and preserve the environment. Islamic environmentalism encompasses Islamic ecological philosophy, Sharia-based environmental law, and Islamic environmental activism.
History
Islamic environmentalism began with the
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
philosopher
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University.
Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the United St ...
and has evolved since the 1960s. A series of lectures delivered at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1966 by Nasr serves as an original point of reference. He was, in fact, among the early thinkers "to draw attention to the spiritual dimensions of the environmental crisis". Nasr draws on
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
and the concept of the unity of being to emphasize the connections between
environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; an ...
and the modern world's spiritual and moral crises. The field of Islamic environmentalism developed further in the 1980s with the contributions made by contemporary thinkers such as
Mawil Izzi Dien and
Fazlun Khalid.
People
The Iranian-born philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr is considered the founding father of Islamic environmentalism.
Other notable figures in this field include:
Fazlun Khalid,
Mawil Izzi Dien, Othman Llewellyn,
Ibrahim Ozdemir,
Syed Nomanul Haq and
Mustafa Abu Sway.
Ideas
No human sovereignty
The concept of human sovereignty over nature and natural resources, referred to as "dominion" in religious contexts, lies at the center of religious and secular environmental debates. The Quran, unlike the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
and secular philosophy, does not recognize human sovereignty over nature, which has a significant impact on Islamic environmental debate. The Quran declares in seventeen different places that ''mulk'' or ''dominion'' exclusively belongs to
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
(Allah). ''Mulk'' is derived from the root ''M L K'' and means "ownership" or "possession." It appears forty-eight times in the Quran, and it refers to both the earthly kingdom or kingship, such as the kingdom of Solomon in 2:102, and to "the heavens and the earth", implying the whole of creation. It is always God who possesses ''mulk'' in every passage when "the heavens and the earth" as a whole is mentioned, rather than a specific earthly kingdom.
Mankind as ''Khalifah''
The Quran defined mankind as a ''Khālifah'', or a representative or successor on the earth, rather than having dominion over or possession of it. The idea of ''khalifah'' (stewardship) is arguably the most important concept in Islamic environmentalism. Proponents of eco-Islamic beliefs emphasize man's duty as God's vicegerent or steward (''khalifah'') on the earth. As such, he is responsible for acting in line with God's will and caring for the earth in the way He demands. It is vital to recognize that stewardship does not imply supremacy over other living beings. Humans must learn to live in harmony with nature rather than working against it in order to practice stewardship. Some Muslim scholars even consider this stewardship a divine test. Natural world, as God's creation, is a sign through which humanity can perceive God.
Oneness of God
The idea of
oneness of God (''tawhid'') is another important principle that is frequently pursued in Islamic ecology. Within the context of Islamic environmentalism, the notion of ''tawhid'' has different levels of meaning. To begin with, it denotes monotheistic oneness of God, in contrast to the polytheistic doctrines and beliefs, and unity of God, in contrast to the Christian idea of the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
. It is an expression of God's transcendent unity with all of His creation. This unity with creation expresses the reality that everything in the world is a part of God's creation and is interconnected, making the entire world meaningful, valuable, and deserving of preservation.
Notion of ''mizan''
The notion of ''mizan'', which means "balance", is fundamental to an Islamic environmental perspective. This idea is employed to describe the complex eco-systems and physical laws of the cosmos. The most common verse used by Muslim scholars when discussing ''mizan'' is 15:19, which says, "As for the earth, We have spread it out, set firm mountains on it, and made everything grow there in due balance". In other words humans must "make the best use of reason and to maintain the balance and proportion God has built into his creation". In Arabic, the word ''mizan'' connotes both physical balance, and justice.
Other ideas
To address contemporary issues such as pollution, Muslim authors employ the Islamic juristic practice of ''
Qiyas
In Islamic jurisprudence, qiyas ( ar, قياس , "analogy") is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Quran, in order to apply a known injunction ('' nass'') to a new ...
'' (reasoning by analogy). They understand ''
ahadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
'' regulating cleanliness, prohibitions against odour, and hygiene as prohibitions against contamination of land, water, and air.
Islamic environmental literature cites sayings of the
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
emphasising the importance of conserving water during ablution and not being wasteful as instances of Islam's attitude on wasteful resource consumption.
See also
*
Biocentrism (ethics)
Biocentrism (from Greek βίος ''bios'', "life" and κέντρον ''kentron'', "center"), in a political and ecological sense, as well as literally, is an ethical point of view that extends inherent value to all living things. It is an unders ...
*
Deep ecology
Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas.
Deep ecolo ...
*
Environmental ethics
In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resourc ...
*
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science
*
Land ethic
A land ethic is a philosophy or theoretical framework about how, ethically, humans should regard the land. The term was coined by Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) in his ''A Sand County Almanac'' (1949), a classic text of the environmental movement. The ...
*
Resacralization of nature
Resacralization of nature is a term used in environmental philosophy to describe the process of restoring the sacred quality of nature. The primary Presupposition (philosophy), assumption is that nature has a sanctified aspect that has become lo ...
References
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Further reading
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External links
Environmental Ethics and Islam— Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics
How Islam can represent a model for environmental stewardship—
UN Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
The environment in Islamic civilization: The concept of human Khilafah on Earthby Dr.
Ali Gomaa
Ali Gomaa ( ar, علي جمعة, Egyptian Arabic: ) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, Jurist, and public figure who has taken a number of controversial political stances. He specializes in Islamic Legal Theory. He follows the Shafi`i school of I ...
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Al-Masry Al-Youm
''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Arabic as is its website, ''almasryalyoum.com''. An ...
{{Authority control
Islam and environmentalism
Environmentalism and religion
Ecotheology
Environmental philosophy
Seyyed Hossein Nasr