Environment & Ecology in Islam - article collection

updated 3-31-2007

“And We created from water every living thing.”  Qur’an 21:30

“Make not mischief on the earth” Qur’an 2:11

“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that (God) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil).”  Qur’an 30:41

“There is not a moving creature on earth, or a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like you (humans).  We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they shall (all) be gathered.” Qur’n 6:38

Muslims are instructed to look after the environment and not to damage it:

Devote thyself single-mindedly to the Faith, and thus follow the nature designed by Allah, the nature according to which He has fashioned mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah.
Qur’an 30:30

This is part of a Muslims responsibility to God:

Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then He settled Himself on the Throne, and constrained the sun and the moon; each one pursues its course during an appointed term. He regulates it all and explains the Signs in detail, that you may have firm belief in the meeting with your Lord. He it is Who spread out the earth and made thereon firmly fixed mountains and rivers, and of fruits of every kind He has made pairs. He causes the night to cover the day. In all this, verily, are signs for a people who reflect.  Qur’an 13:2-3

RESOURCES

ARTICLES

A Different Jihad, Asghar Ali Engineer http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/a_different_jihad/

A General Introduction to Islam’s Attitude Toward the Universe, Natural Resources, and the Relation Between Man and Nature http://www.islamset.com/env/section1.html

Advancing Islamic environmental law: a collaborative exploration conference http://www.islamset.com/env/islamic_env/islam_env.html 

American Lifestyle As a Threat to Life Itself, Stan Moore http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/30054

Animals in Islam, al-Hafiz B.A. Masri, http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7368/an1.htm

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Approach to the Environment, Irahim Idemir http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/bediuzzaman_said_nursis_approach_to_the_environment/

Broad Lines of the Islamic Approach to Environment Protection, Muhammad Yunus http://www.isesco.org.ma/pub/ISTD/Eng/20/P7.htm

The City Of Boughzoul – Algerian Model Low-Carbon City,  Moshe Terdiman http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/category/articles/the-city-of-boughzoul-%e2%80%93-algerian-model-low-carbon-city/

Climate Change at Crisis Level http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/16319129.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?ei=5090&en=51c46d7689bee520&ex=1296190800&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

The Coming Resource Wars , Michael T. Klare http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/07/the_coming_resource_wars.php

Eco Islam Hits Zanzibar Fishermen http://thetruereligion.org/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=287

Ecology in Islam: Protection of the Web of Life a Duty for Muslims, By Dr. Hasan Zillur Rahim http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1091/9110065.htm

Environment and Values, S. Parvez Manzoor, http://www.islamonline.net/english/introducingislam/topic12.shtml

Environment in the eyes of Islam http://aquacool.blogspot.com/2003/12/environment-in-eyes-of-islam.html

Environmental Perspectives: Islam and Ecologism, Dr. Muzammal Hussain http://www.imase.org/content/view/55/35/

Environmental Ethics in Islam, By Abdur-Razzaq Lubis http://www.mandailing.org/Eng/envethicsislam.html

Environmental protection in Islam http://www.islamset.com/env/contenv.html

Environmental Responsibility Clear in Islamic Scriptures, Imam Zaid Shakir http://english.islammessage.com/articledetails.aspx?articleId=673
 
Filtering Out the Arsenic of Corruption, Hasan Zillur Rahim http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/filtering_out_the_arsenic_of_corruption/

Forever Interdependent: Man and Nature, Hwaa Irfan, http://www.islamonline.net/english/Science/2001/06/article2.shtml

Global Warming: Hotter, Faster, Worser John Atcheson http://www.countercurrents.org/cc-atcheson240206.htm

Guardians of the Natural Order, Fazlun Khalid http://ifees.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=56

In the Beginning of Creation Was Consciousness, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/bulletin/articles/nasr.html

Interfaith environmental group formed in Britain http://www.rferl.org/content/Religious_Leaders_Take_The_Lead_On_Environmental_Protection_/1869577.html

Is a Greener Islam Possible?, M. Aurangzeb Ahmed http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=P1893_0_24_0

Islam and Climate Change: Perspectives & Engagement, Dr Muzammal Hussain http://www.lineonweb.org.uk/Resources/reading.htm

Islam and Ecology, Frederick Denny, http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/islam/  and http://ecologyandislam.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/islam-and-ecology-a-bestowed-trust-inviting-balanced-stewardship/

Islam and Ecology, Imam Tajuddin H. Alhilaly http://www.speednet.com.au/~keysar/ecology.htm

Islam and the Environment, Theory and Practice, Dr. Mawil Izzi Dien http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/islam_and_the_environment_theory_and_practice/

Islam and the environment, Hussein A. Amery http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-93950-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Islam and the environment http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544990

Islam and the Environment,  Gar Smith http://www.islamawareness.net/Nature/environment.html

Islam and the Environment, Fazlun Khalid, http://www.ifees.org/islamEnviroment.pdf

Islam and Environmental Conservation http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/Fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=2997&Option=FatwaId

Islam and Ecology, Marjorie Hope & James Young, http://www.crosscurrents.org/islamecology.htm

Islam and the planet http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/re/science/iscareofplanetrev2.shtml

Islam, Environment and Sustainability: “The Environmental Crisis is also a Spiritual Crisis”, Eren Güvercin http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/islam_environment_and_sustainability_the_environmental_crisis_is_also_a_spi/

Islamic Conceptual Framework, S. Parvez Manzoor http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2002/05/Article23.shtml

Islamic Declaration on Sustainable Development, http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/publications/statements/islam_statement.pdf

Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society, Mawil Y. Izzi Deen http://www.mbcru.com/Texas%20Tech%20Mypage/Conservation%20Biology/Assignment%202/IzziDeenIslamicEcol.pdf

Islamic Faith and the Environment, Hyder Ihsan Mahasneh http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=75

Man and Ecology, an Islamic Perspective,  Atiya and Irshaad Hussain http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Articles/Ecology%20Environment%20and%20Islam.html

Man and Ecology: An Islamic Perspective, M. Terdman http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/man-and-ecology-an-islamic-perspective/

Morocco’s National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development, Moshe Terdman http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/moroccos-national-charter-for-environment-and-sustainable-development-moshe-terdman/

Muslims embrace the environment http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=3499

Muslims Spearhead Environmental Efforts to Clean Up Cooks River in Sydney Australia http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/category/australia/muslims-spearhead-environmental-efforts-to-clean-up-cooks-river-in-sydney-australia/

New Approaches to Religions and the Environment, Muhammad Hyder Mahasneh, http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/envext.nsf/48ByDocName/IslamicFaithStatementsonEcology/$FILE/FaithIslam2003Final.pdf

PRACTICAL ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTALISM: THE APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS TO PROMOTE MARINE CONSERVATION IN ZANZIBAR A CASE STUDY http://ifees.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=55
Qur’an and the Environment, Karem Ghoneim, http://www.islamonline.net/english/Science/2000/4/article1.shtml

Significance of the environment in Islam, Akhtar Mahmood http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/archive/article.php?lang=E&id=46430

Spirituality and the Environment, Hasan Zillur Rahim http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/spirituality_and_the_environment/

Sufis Are Islam’s Eco Guardians http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/sufis-are-islam%e2%80%99s-eco-guardians/

Sustenance and Accountability: Islam’s Views on the Environment, by Rahat Kurd http://www.perc.ca/PEN/1993-12-01/s-kurd.html

Thirst for Oil Threatens 1/5 of Earth’s Fresh Water http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2074838,00.html

Towards an Islamic Jurisprudence of the Environment, Mustafa Abu-Sway, http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2002/08/Article02.shtml

Towards an Islamic Theory of the Environment, Ziauddin Sardar, http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Spa/3879/environ.html

VIDEO: Global Warming, the Denial Machine http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17138.htm

VIDEO: Climate Chaos http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13511.htm

VIDEO: Global Dimming http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15809.htm

Warmer Seas Will Wipe Out Plankton http://www.countercurrents.org/cc-connor200106.htm

Water Wars May Be Looming http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article348196.ece

What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ibrahim-abdulmatin/what-islam-teaches-about-_b_851781.html

ORGANIZATIONS

Alliance of religions and conservation http://www.arcworld.org/ — Islamic eco-news page http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=112
Forum on Religion and Ecology http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/information/about/index.html
Green Muslims http://dcgreenmuslims.blogspot.com/
Green Sufi http://cyclewalabanda.blogspot.com/
Interfaith earth network http://www.interfaithearthnetwork.org/
Islamic Environmental Group of Wisconsin http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=join_change_the_world.showPledgeDriverDetails&cpd_id=7356
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences http://www.ifees.org/
London Islamic Network for the Environment http://www.lineonweb.org.uk/Resources/reading.htm
Muslim Environment Watch http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/category/muslim-environmental-organizations/