Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust

"The environmental crisis falls hardest upon the world's poor, a disproportionate number of whom are Muslims. Islam contains a strong message of social justice, which challenges many of the environmentally destructive development models currently in place. Moreover, the Islamic tradition contains rich sources for environmental ethics, although this dimension has not yet figured prominently in the discourse of contemporary Muslim intellectuals who tend to see environmental issues as symptoms of broader social justice concerns." "The conference on Islam and ecology held at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, in 1998 was the first international forum to bring Islamic environmental values to the forefront of discussion. In the Islamic worldview humans are seen as stewards over a creation that belongs ultimately not to humans, but to God. Islamic law provides for levels of environmental protection that exceed in some cases those in contemporary Western legal systems, but throughout the Muslim world these traditions have been replaced or allowed to lapse. Today, however, Muslims everywhere are coming to see the environment as an issue affecting the welfare of all present and future generations, and they are coming with renewed interest to the guidance that Islamic models of stewardship can provide." "Muslims today constitute one-sixth of the world's human population, and Muslim communities are present in virtually every country around the globe. This volume contains a set of essays written by scholars of Islam from a wide range of countries and cultural backgrounds, attesting to the importance of including this major religious tradition in global discussions on environment and sustainability."--Jacket.