The Islam and Ecology volume of the Religions of the World and Ecology series followed the May 1998 conference on Islam and Ecology held at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. The volume identifies the dialogue that is taking place both at philosophical and practical levels to uncover and use the many resources that Islam provides for environmental balance. These resources are at times specific to the relationship between humans and the natural world, and at other times reflective of a larger relationship among humans and the divine that is described in Islam as al-tawh_d, or divine unity. The discussion of these resources has been taking place within the Muslim world and is now, in this volume and others, beginning to find an audience among non-Muslim scholars and lay people of all faiths. The caution that members of the developing world, many of whom are Muslim, often feel toward environmental concerns is present in this volume as well.
The essay by Ibrahim Ozdemir examines approaches to nature in the had_th and Qur'an, showing that the Prophet spoke in very specific ways about use of resources, such as water. But more generally nature serves as the reminder of the order and purpose of creation, and illustrates the potential for harmony that would result from a balance between humanity and the natural world. L. Clarke carries this theme into the poetry of Rumi and the Masnav_. Saadia Chishti explores the idea of al-fitra, or the primordial nature of things. In all of these teachings the balance with nature is part of a larger balance that we have forgotten, but not one that is fundamentally at odds with true human nature. On the contrary, in these essays the ecological crisis is just another aspect of a natural balance that includes humans, but has been disrupted. The effects of the crisis are, therefore, very much like other aspects of the Islamic concern for justice that appears throughout the religion-pollution, like poverty, follows from our own failure to observe an underlying law of our lives. Later essays in the volume pick up these themes well, particularly those by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Mawal Izzi Dien, and S. Nomanul Haq. Clearly there is a great deal in the teachings of the Prophet and the philosophy of Islam that supports the restoration of our relationship with the natural world.
However, although the developing world is often hardest hit by environmental degradation, it is a risk to make changes that would increase the already widespread poverty-for example, the preservation of nature in ways that damage livelihoods of those who live directly from the land. These concerns are addressed in the sections on sustainable development and social justice. Khalid, Dutton, and Dockrat examine the role of credit, interest and money (along with the alternative of Islamic financial systems), and the prospects for placing Islamic societies on a sound economic footing not dependent on credit from the West. Also moving beyond traditional sources, Nawwal Ammar examines the possibilities for combining ecological justice and human rights for women by helping them to become less dependent on children as a source of both self-esteem and income. Linking these issues of population and ecology, she notes, “for Muslim women the depletion of our planet's environment should be extended beyond the Qur'anic text and into the holistic, dynamic cultural arenas of justice, equity, and human rights.” For her, as for many observers of the developing world, the role of women is the most critical variable in effecting widespread social change.
The book is an excellent resource for an exploration of these questions, but as a whole too much in depth for most secondary school courses that include Islam. It could easily serve as a resource for a student doing an independent research project, and as background material for the instructor. In a term-long course, a number of the essays could be used to provide an interesting set of insights into the Qur'an and had_th, a well-grounded explanation of a philosophical idea such as fitra or al-tawh_d, or a better understanding of the positive contributions of Islam in the developing world.
Review ©2005 by Kathy Brownback and RSiSS
Phillips Exeter Academy