Odeh Al-Jayyousi, Professor and head of innovation at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, scholar in sustainable innovation and a member of UN Global Scientific Advisory Panel, for UN Environment’s Global Environment Outlook 6 (GEO6), argues that Islamic worldview represents a unique model for a transition to sustainable development by focusing on justice, degrowth and harmony between human and nature.

He commented that Islam views the environmental challenges as an indicator for a moral and ethical crisis. Looking at the creation of human, Earth, and cosmos as signs of the Creator (Kitab Manthoor) is a key in Islamic values.

Prof. Al-Jayyousi elaborated that Islamic worldview defines a good life (Hayat Tayebah) living lightly on Earth (Zohd) and caring for both people and nature. Islamic discourse offers a sense of hope and optimism about the possibility of attaining harmony between human and nature. Earth will find a balance if humans rethink their lifestyles and mindsets as stated in the Quran:

Corruption has appeared in both land and sea
Because of what people’s own hands have brought
So that they may taste something of what they have done
So that hopefully they will turn back
Qur’an 30: 41

Professor Al-Jayyousi calls to revive the holistic view of Islam which is founded on the notion of harmony and “natural state” (fitra) and in respecting balance (mizan) and proportion (mikdar) in the systems of the universe. These notions provide an ethical dimension and a mandate for all humans to respect nature and all forms of life.

Hence, the overcoming environmental crisis and mitigating the impact of climate change, from an Islamic perspective is underpinned by defining the role of humans as trustees and stewards (khalifah). This balance has been disturbed because to human choices which result in overconsumption, overexploitation and overuse of resources.

Islamic values call to save integrity and to protect the diversity of all forms of life. Professor Al-Jayyousi commented that the ecological crisis is linked to human ethics and values. Human actions are responsible for the global ecological crisis. “Reflecting on the main environmental problems, such as the destruction of natural habitats, loss of biodiversity, climate change, and erosion of soil, we see that all are triggered by human greed and ignorance. Human responsibility is to save and protect livelihood and ecosystem services to ensure a sustainable civilization learning from and reflecting on the fate of past civilizations”, said Professor Al-Jayyousi.

He cited a verse from the Holy Book, Quran, “Every living thing is in a state of worship”. He commented that when one hurts a bird or a plant, he/she is silencing a community of worshippers. To celebrate the symphony of life, all humans need to celebrate and protect biological and cultural diversity.

Islamic worldview calls to make a transition to a sustainable society and economy by adopting responsible development and respecting sustainability principles. This change requires a shift in norms and practices. Religion can become a powerful part of the solution if humans embody a holistic spiritual view towards mankind, earth and cosmos.

In 2015 in Istanbul, the Muslim world in its Islamic declaration for climate change set the framework for an ethical code of conduct to build a low-emission climate resilient future.

Al-Jayyousi aspires to see a new Islamic discourse that emphasizes and links faith, reason and empathy to ensure an ecological insight (Baseera). He calls to rethink educational systems that neglected the beauty and majesty of nature and the cosmos.

“The extinction of species around us which are simply communities like us (Ummam Amthalokom) may extend to humankind unless we change our worldviews and development models”, warns Prof. Al-Jayyousi.  He calls to revive the concept of Green Endowment Fund (Waqf) to support a transition to sustainable economy by promoting innovation (ijtihad)  inspired by nature and culture.

He proposed a conceptual model with three domains to address climate change and sustainability:

• Green activism (Jihad)
• Green innovation (Ijtihad)
• Green lifestyle (Zohd).

He refers to this as a Green JIZ model, which represents an Islamic response to climate change embodying the concept of de-growth.

“Conflict and poor governance are putting the Middle East and North Africa at jeopardy” points out Prof. Al-Jayyousi. He calls for a sustainable region that is founded on human and environmental justice. An optimist, Prof. Al-Jayyousi is inspired by prophet Mohammed saying “If it is the Last day of life and you have a small plant, make sure you plant it”.

By Odeh Al-Jayyousi, published in UN Environment.

Professor Odeh Al-Jayyousi is the head of Innovation and Technology Management at Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. He published a book on “Islam and sustainable development”, UK, (2012) and a book on Integral Innovation, 2017, UK. He is a member of UN GEO6- Scientific Advisory Panel.

Photo Credit

The Great Mosque at Djenné in Mali at sunrise, Credit Damon Winter The NYT.

Download full article here

By Rana Dajani

Source: http://www.zygonjournal.org/

It is inspiring to harness local knowledge and culture to inform sustainability. Islam as a worldview and a way of life can provide a fresh outlook to human-environmental in a globalized market economy. Environment and sustainable development is a neutral platform for dialogue between cultures in East and West since ecology is about “interdependence” and “social learning”.

Islamic Development Model

Islamic worldview not only defines what constitutes a good life “Hayat Tayebah” but also can guide, inform and reform the current development model. The Islamic development model is based on living lightly on Earth (Zohd) to limit our ecological footprints. The Islamic worldview can add the 4th dimension to the sustainability model (ecology, society and economy); i.e., faith and spirituality. Islamic discourse offers a sense of hope and optimism about the possibility of re-alignment of human compass. There is a hope, if humans can re-think and re-adjust the dominant development models, life styles and mind sets as stated in the Holy Quran:

ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

Corruption has appeared in both land and sea

Because of what people’s own hands have brought

So that they may taste something of what they have done

So that hopefully they will turn back

Qur’an 30: 41

The essence of Islam is being in a state of harmony and “natural state” (fitra) and in respecting balance (mizan) and proportion (mikdar) in the systems of the universe. All these notions embedded in the Islamic value system can provide an ethical dimension for Muslims on the climate change issue. Translating this into the technical terms of measuring the concentration of climate in parts per million (ppm). The climate debate is about the increase in the concentration or proportion of greenhouse gases which can be measured in ppm. Due to human development model and consumption patterns, we are seeing an increase in carbon dioxide concentrations of more than 420 ppm as compared to pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm.

Addressing climate change, from an Islamic perspective, is about assuming the human role as a trustee and steward (khalifah) and the role of the median community (ummah wassat) to enjoin good and forbid evil and ensure harmony, balance, and right proportion (fitra). This balance has been disturbed due to human choices which result in overconsumption, overexploitation and overuse of resources. The ethical dimension of Islam is about linking theory and practice through evolving new consciousness and spiritual development. Embodying Islam in turn will lead to environmental activism to save the integrity of planet through protecting life on earth and to respect of rights of other species and the protection of the diversity of all communities of life.

Climate Change Global Debates in 2015

As for preparing for Climate Change global debates in 2015, parties to the Convention have agreed to set an upper limit on acceptable warming at 2 0C above the pre-industrial level by the end of this century. This decision was based on political judgment informed by science. There are significant risks associated with any level of warming and many Parties call for stabilisation well below 2 0C aiming to be as close to 1.5 0C as possible.

The science is clear. Due to the fact that warming from carbon dioxide persists for many centuries, any upper limit on warming requires net carbon dioxide emissions to eventually fall to zero. Avoiding dangerous climate change therefore requires fundamental economic transformation, not fine tuning of existing systems, leading to deep, and later full, decarbonisation of energy supply. This transition will bring multiple other benefits and open up huge opportunities. So the moral and economic imperatives are therefore fully aligned.

The objective of Paris meeting in 2015 is to significantly accelerate this transition and to ensure that it can be sustained over time to ensure that warning will be limited to well under 20C this century. The outcome will be a new legal instrument under the Climate Convention, which is an international treaty with universal membership, to come into effect in 2020.

Significance of Islamic Climate Change Declaration

To sustain the economic transformation over time, there is a need for strong and deep moral motivation for change. Religion can become a powerful part of the solution if we tap into this source of divine guidance through study and reflection and if this motivates us to act differently. The Islamic declaration on climate change, launched in Istanbul on 19th August 2015, is a profound example of the role of faith in informing and reforming sustainability dialogue.  This makes faith-based climate engagement essential, considering that 84% of the world’s population is religiously affiliated, according to the Pew Research Center.

Islam has been the motive force behind civilization through history. The declaration can help to channel the spiritual and moral force of Islam towards the aspiration to build a low-emission climate resilient future.

In sum, Islam counts amongst its faithful 1.6 billion people. Many of them, perhaps the majority, are in countries which are most vulnerable to climate change. The Muslim leadership can contribute to global discourse as manifested in the Islamic declaration of climate change. Muslims have a mandate and responsibility to channelize the spiritual and moral force of Islam towards the aspiration to build a sustainable human civilization and a low-emission climate resilient future.

By Odeh Rashed Al-Jayyousi, August 26th 2015.

Photo Credit

There is an environmental framework embedded within the traditional principles of Islam. Photograph: Hassan Ammar

Fewer than four months before politicians gather in Paris to try to hammer out an international climate agreement, Islamic scholars have underscored the urgency of halting climate change.

The International Islamic Climate Change Symposium, drawn up by a group of academics, Muslim scholars and international environment policy experts, was announced this week at a symposium on Islam and climate change in Istanbul. It calls on the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world to phase out greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels and switch instead to energy from renewable sources.

We have a religious duty to take immediate action against climate change!

Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

PREAMBLE

• God – Whom we know as Allah – has created the universe in all its diversity, richness and vitality: the stars, the sun and moon, the earth and all its communities of living beings. All these reflect and manifest the boundless glory and mercy of their Creator. All created beings by nature serve and glorify their Maker, all bow to their Lord’s will. We human beings are created to serve the Lord of all beings, to work the greatest good we can for all the species, individuals, and generations of God’s creatures.

• Our planet has existed for billions of years and climate change in itself is not new. The earth’s climate has gone through phases wet and dry, cold and warm, in response to many natural factors. Most of these changes have been gradual, so that the forms and communities of life have adjusted accordingly. There have been catastrophic climate changes that brought about mass extinctions, but over time, life adjusted even to these impacts, flowering anew in the emergence of balanced ecosystems such as those we treasure today. Climate change in the past was also instrumental in laying down immense stores of fossil fuels from which we derive benefits today. Ironically, our unwise and short-sighted use of these resources is now resulting in the destruction of the very conditions that have made our life on earth possible.

• The pace of Global climate change today is of a different order of magnitude from the gradual changes that previously occurred throughout the most recent era, the Cenozoic. Moreover, it is human-induced: we have now become a force dominating nature. The epoch in which we live has increasingly been described in geological terms as the Anthropocene, or “Age of Humans”. Our species, though selected to be a caretaker or steward (khalifah) on the earth, has been the cause of such corruption and devastation on it that we are in danger ending life as we know it on our planet. This current rate of climate change cannot be sustained, and the earth’s fine equilibrium (mīzān) may soon be lost. As we humans are woven into the fabric of the natural world, its gifts are for us to savour. But the same fossil fuels that helped us achieve most of the prosperity we see today are the main cause of climate change. Excessive pollution from fossil fuels threatens to destroy the gifts bestowed on us by God, whom we know as Allah – gifts such as a functioning climate, healthy air to breathe, regular seasons, and living oceans. But our attitude to these gifts has been short-sighted, and we have abused them. What will future generations say of us, who leave them a degraded planet as our legacy? How will we face our Lord and Creator?

• We note that the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (UNEP, 2005) and backed by over 1300 scientists from 95 countries, found that “overall, people have made greater changes to ecosystems in the last half of the 20th century than at any time in human history… these changes have enhanced human well-being, but have been accompanied by ever increasing degradation (of our environment).”

“Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of the earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”

• Nearly ten years later, and in spite of the numerous conferences that have taken place to try to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the overall state of the Earth has steadily deteriorated. A study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) comprising representatives from over 100 nations published in March 2014 gave five reasons for concern. In summary, they are:

• Ecosystems and human cultures are already at risk from climate change;
• Risks resulting from climate change caused by extreme events such as heat waves, extreme precipitation and coastal flooding are on the rise;
• These risks are unevenly distributed, and are generally greater for the poor and disadvantaged communities of every country, at all levels of development;
• Foreseeable impacts will affect adversely Earth’s biodiversity, the goods and services provided by our ecosystems, and our overall global economy;
• The Earth’s core physical systems themselves are at risk of abrupt and irreversible changes.

We are driven to conclude from these warnings that there are serious flaws in the way we have used natural resources – the sources of life on Earth. An urgent and radical reappraisal is called for. Humankind cannot afford the slow progress we have seen in all the COP (Conference of Parties – climate change negotiations) processes since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was published in 2005, or the present deadlock.

• In the brief period since the Industrial Revolution, humans have consumed much of the non-renewable resources which have taken the earth 250 million years to produce – all in the name of economic development and human progress. We note with alarm the combined impacts of rising per capita consumption combined with the rising human population. We also note with alarm the multi-national scramble now taking place for more fossil fuel deposits under the dissolving ice caps in the arctic regions. We are accelerating our own destruction through these processes.

• Leading climate scientists now believe that a rise of two degrees centigrade in global temperature, which is considered to be the “tipping point”, is now very unlikely to be avoided if we continue with business-as-usual; other leading climate scientists consider 1.5 degrees centigrade to be a more likely “tipping point”. This is the point considered to be the threshold for catastrophic climate change, which will expose yet more millions of people and countless other creatures to drought, hunger and flooding. The brunt of this will continue to be borne by the poor, as the Earth experiences a drastic increase in levels of carbon in the atmosphere brought on in the period since the onset of the industrial revolution.

1.8 It is alarming that in spite of all the warnings and predictions, the successor to the Kyoto Protocol which should have been in place by 2012, has been delayed. It is essential that all countries, especially the more developed nations, increase their efforts and adopt the pro-active approach needed to halt and hopefully eventually reverse the damage being wrought.

WE AFFIRM

• We affirm that Allah is the Lord and Sustainer (Rabb) of all beings

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Praise be to Allah, Lord and Sustainer of all beings

Qur’an 1: 1

He is the One Creator – He is al-Khāliq

هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ

He is Allah – the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form

Qur’an 59: 24

الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ

He Who has perfected every thing He has created

Qur’an 32: 7

Nothing that He creates is without value: each thing is created bi ’l-haqq, in truth and for right.

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ

And We did not create the heavens and earth and that between them in play. We have not created them but in truth

Qur’an 44: 38

• We affirm that He encompasses all of His creation – He is al-Muhīt

وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّحِيطًا

All that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah.

Allah encompasses all things

Qur’an 4: 125

• We affirm that –

• God created the Earth in perfect equilibrium (mīzān);
• By His immense mercy we have been given fertile land, fresh air, clean water and all the good things on Earth that makes our lives here viable and delightful;
• The Earth functions in natural seasonal rhythms and cycles: a climate in which living beings – including humans – thrive;
• The present climate change catastrophe is a result of the human disruption of this balance –

وَالسَّمَاء رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ

أَلاَّ تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ

وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ

وَالأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ

He raised the heaven and established the balance

So that you would not transgress the balance.

Give just weight – do not skimp in the balance.

He laid out the earth for all living creatures.

Qur’an 55: 7-10

• We affirm the natural state (fitrah) of God’s creation –

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا

لا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ

So set your face firmly towards the (natural) Way

As a pure, natural believer

Allah’s natural pattern on which He made mankind

There is no changing Allah’s creation.

That is the true (natural) Way

But most people do not know it.

Quran 30: 30

2.5 We recognize the corruption (fasād) that humans have caused on the Earth due to our relentless pursuit of economic growth and consumption. Its consequences have been –

• Global climate change, which is our present concern, in addition to:
• Contamination and befoulment of the atmosphere, land, inland water systems, and seas;
• Soil erosion, deforestation and desertification;
• Damage to human health, including a host of modern-day diseases.

ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

Corruption has appeared on land and sea

Because of what people’s own hands have wrought,

So that they may taste something of what they have done;

So that hopefully they will turn back.

Qur’an 30: 41

• We recognize that we are but a miniscule part of the divine order, yet within that order, we are exceptionally powerful beings, and have the responsibility to establish good and avert evil in every way we can. We also recognize that –

• We are but one of the multitude of living beings with whom we share the Earth;
• We have no right to oppress the rest of creation or cause it harm;
• Intelligence and conscience behoove us, as our faith commands, to treat all things with care and awe (taqwa) of their Creator, compassion (rahmah) and utmost good (ihsan).

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلاَّ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم

There is no animal on the earth, or any bird that wings its flight, but is a community like you.

Qur’an 6: 38

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ

The creation of the heavens and the earth

Is far greater than the creation of mankind,

But most of mankind do not know it

Qur’an 40: 57

• We recognize that we are accountable for all our actions –

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

Then he who has done an atom’s weight of good, shall see it;

and he who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.

Qur’an 99:6-8

2.8 In view of these considerations we affirm that our responsibility as Muslims is to act according to the example of the Prophet Muhammad (God’s peace and blessings be upon him) who –

• Declared and protected the rights of all living beings, outlawed the custom of burying infant girls alive, prohibited killing living beings for sport, guided his companions to conserve water even in washing for prayer, forbade the felling of trees in the desert, ordered a man who had taken some nestlings from their nest to return them to their mother, and when he came upon a man who had lit a fire on an anthill, commanded, “Put it out, put it out!”;
• Established inviolable zones (harams) around Makkah and Al-Madinah, within which native plants may not be felled or cut and wild animals may not be hunted or disturbed;
• Established protected areas (himas) for the conservation and sustainable use of rangelands, plant cover and wildlife.
• Lived a frugal life, free of excess, waste, and ostentation;
• Renewed and recycled his meagre possessions by repairing or giving them away;
• Ate simple, healthy food, which only occasionally included meat;
• Took delight in the created world; and
• Was, in the words of the Qur’an, “a mercy to all beings.”

WE CALL

3.1 We call upon the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Kyoto Protocol taking place in Paris this December, 2015 to bring their discussions to an equitable and binding conclusion, bearing in mind –

• The scientific consensus on climate change, which is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate systems;
• The need to set clear targets and monitoring systems;
• The dire consequences to planet earth if we do not do so;
• The enormous responsibility the COP shoulders on behalf of the rest of humanity, including leading the rest of us to a new way of relating to God’s Earth.

3.2 We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to –

• Lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century;
• Provide generous financial and technical support to the less well-off to achieve a phase-out of greenhouse gases as early as possible;
• Recognize the moral obligation to reduce consumption so that the poor may benefit from what is left of the earth’s non-renewable resources;
• Stay within the ‘2 degree’ limit, or, preferably, within the ‘1.5 degree’ limit, bearing in mind that two-thirds of the earth’s proven fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground;
• Re-focus their concerns from unethical profit from the environment, to that of preserving it and elevating the condition of the world’s poor.
• Invest in the creation of a green economy.

3.3 We call on the people of all nations and their leaders to –

• Aim to phase out greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible in order to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere;
• Commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible, to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities;
• Invest in decentralized renewable energy, which is the best way to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development;
• Realize that to chase after unlimited economic growth in a planet that is finite and already overloaded is not viable. Growth must be pursued wisely and in moderation; placing a priority on increasing the resilience of all, and especially the most vulnerable, to the climate change impacts already underway and expected to continue for many years to come.
• Set in motion a fresh model of wellbeing, based on an alternative to the current financial model which depletes resources, degrades the environment, and deepens inequality.
• Prioritise adaptation efforts with appropriate support to the vulnerable countries with the least capacity to adapt. And to vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples, women and children.

3.4 We call upon corporations, finance, and the business sector to –

• Shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities, and take a visibly more active role in reducing their carbon footprint and other forms of impact upon the natural environment;
• In order to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, commit themselves to 100 % renewable energy and/or a zero emissions strategy as early as possible and shift investments into renewable energy;
• Change from the current business model which is based on an unsustainable escalating economy, and to adopt a circular economy that is wholly sustainable;
• Pay more heed to social and ecological responsibilities, particularly to the extent that they extract and utilize scarce resources;
• Assist in the divestment from the fossil fuel driven economy and the scaling up of renewable energy and other ecological alternatives.

3.5 We call on all groups to join us in collaboration, co-operation and friendly competition in this endeavour and we welcome the significant contributions taken by other faiths, as we can all be winners in this race

وَلَكِن لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُم فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ

He (God) wanted to test you regarding what has

come to you. So compete with each other

in doing good deeds.

Qur’an 5: 48

If we each offer the best of our respective traditions, we may yet see a way through our difficulties.

3.6 Finally, we call on all Muslims wherever they may be –

Heads of state

Political leaders

Business community

UNFCCC delegates

Religious leaders and scholars

Mosque congregations

Islamic endowments (awqaf)

Educators and educational institutions

Community leaders

Civil society activists

Non-governmental organisations

Communications and media

وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الأَرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً

Do not strut arrogantly on the earth.

You will never split the earth apart

nor will you ever rival the mountains’ stature.

Qur’an 17: 37

We bear in mind the words of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

The world is sweet and verdant, and verily Allah has made you stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves

Hadīth related by Muslim from Abu Sa‘īd Al-Khudrī)

See the original Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change

See also this video: Launch of the Islamic Climate Change Declaration

Islamic leaders launch climate change declaration in Istanbul. Photograph: Islamic Relief

Abstract:

This paper aims to shed some light on the notion of sustainability from an Islamic perspective. It is intended to frame an enlightened Islamic discourse to address global environmental issues.  Islam as a way of life is seen as the mercy to all humanity that can provide some remedies and insights to the global debate on progress, sustainable development and good life (Hayat Tayebah). The essence of knowledge, role of human and the environment in Islam will be presented. A framework for sustainability which represents balanced and harmonious progress will be outlined.

1. Introduction :

The 21^st century is characterized by a number of global environmental challenges that shaped and defined the discourse and agenda of the West with respect to the developing world and specifically the Islamic world. In this article I intend to shed some light on the global environmental challenges and how Islam can contribute to explain and provide insights to address these challenges. However, in order to define a new perspective and discourse for the future of sustainability and progress, there is a need to define what constitutes a good life (Hayat Tayebah) from an Islamic perspective.

Between 1700 and 1980, 1.2 billion hectare of agricultural land was gained at the expense of a roughly equal amount of forest (Richards, 1990). Such conversion involves loss of species and biological diversity which in turn limits the provision of eco-system services. The problem is further magnified due to pollution as a result of land use and ecosystem changes.

The conversion of natural areas to agriculture has brought benefits in terms of food production, but it has come at a cost of lost species and changes in ecosystem functions.  Part of the problem is that the benefits of agriculture are commercial, whereas the benefits of species diversity do not show up in the form of financial forms. The challenge is that economic approaches are faced with the question of what are the benefits of conservation and what are the economic value of ecosystem services and species. There is a critical need to explain why biodiversity needs to be conserved and what does this mean to the progress of society. Sachs and Reid (2006) argue for the need to invest in ecological infrastructure in poor countries and establish a periodic assessment of the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems.

The main conclusions of Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) are: 1) environmental degradation is a major barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Out of 24 ecosystem services, only the productivity of 4 had been enhanced over the last 50 years. More that 70 percent of the 1.1 billion poor people surviving on less than $ 1 per day live in rural areas, where they are directly dependant on ecosystem services; 2) Investing in environmental assets and equitable strategies are vital to achieve national goals for relief from poverty, hunger and disease; 3) Reaching environmental goals requires progress in eradicating poverty.

Major changes are needed in consumption patterns and education paradigms (Al-Jayyousi, 2001, 2008). Also, there is a need to re-think notions of green economy and clean technology, Green Fund for mainstreaming environment in national development strategies, and periodic assessments of MEA and higher prices for exploiting ecosystems could reverse the degradation of ecosystems services over the next 50 years.

The concept of sustainable development (Tayebah development) and the future of sustainability were debated by The World Conservation Union –IUCN so as to evolve a new paradigm (IUCN, 2006). Zaidi (1981) argues that the ecological crisis is actually a moral crisis and he demonstrates why the ecological crisis warrants an ethic grounded in a religious matrix that acknowledges a law with divine principles. He concludes by stating that faith in
Islam translates into action, through what he terms “the process of decision-action” as contextualized in Qur’an as faith and good action (Eman and Amal Saleh).

Ban (1999) argues that human history is determined by the environment and human
behaviors. As a result of the last ice age, a once verdant garden of Eden was transformed into the barren deserts of today’s North Africa and the Middle East, while Europe’s glacier cover to be gradually replaced by thick, fertile forests. I believe that it is enlightening to reflect of the fate of the early hydraulic civilizations where the over-exploitation of natural capital resulted in collapse of empires and nations.

Foltz et al. (2003) contributed to Harvard Divinity School publication which attempted to reinterpret Islam from an environmental perspective. This literature focused on the notion of “vice regency” and made a correlation of the Islamic understanding of “justice” with ecological concerns. Erdur (1997) demonstrates how the American environmental movement began as a radical critique of Western modernity and was subsequently absorbed into it. I argue that there is a need to de-construct and re-think the fundamental underpinnings so as to evolve an Islamic environmental worldview that is in harmony with ecology, society and culture.

Foltz (2000) noted that the majority of Muslim scholars are more focused on social rather than environmental injustices. He stressed the need to revitalize the Islamic tradition of rational intelligence (aql) as a positive force for addressing the global environmental crises. It is critical, I believe, that both value and aesthetic rationality (norms) are informed by economic rationality (aql) to ensure sustainability and progress.

Nasr (1992) argues that religion has both an ethical and intellectual component. He suggests that the environmental crisis can only be cured through the spiritual healing of
humankind. He also critiqued Darwin’s evolutionary ideas and argued that any environmental understanding founded in Islam must include: the notion of transcendence, a correspondence between the microcosm and macrocosm. This will entail, I think, a transformative education that will develop a story for the creation of universe and human based on Islamic culture and perspectives informed from ideology, epistemology and norms and values.

Islam sees the role of the individual as a value-and knowledge creator, a steward, witness, and a reformer who strive to contribute to progress and good life (Hayat Tayebah) (Al-Jayyousi,  2008). To be able to achieve this, we must establish development models informed by both culture and ecology.

Islam should be viewed not only as a religion but also as a way of life, a worldview, a holistic culture and a vision of a just and equitable society. Islam also provides new perspectives for discovering and explaining the root causes for the current environmental, economic and social crises as manifested in climate change, HIV, poverty and human security. Specifically, the Islamic perspective is that social, economic and political problems manifested in global poverty, financial crisis, and climate change are indications of market failures. Besides, Islam views the root cause of global warming and ecological crisis is due to the absence or lack of human stewardship and the deviation and departure from “natural state” or Fitra.

The objective of this paper will focus on how Islam views the notion of sustainability, as a good indication for progress. This paper argues that Islam should be viewed not as merely a religion but as a worldview and a way of life to address the current global problems including the ecological crises. To address the notion of sustainability in its broad terms we intend to look at the threes pillars of sustainability, i.e, ecological, social, and economic. Progress of societies and sustainability will be framed and defined with respect to four capitals; natural (ecosystems and renewable energy), social, financial and manufactured (technology) capitals.

The following section will address the value and significance of incorporating our natural capital (and renewable resources and energy) to measure the progress of societies. It also seeks to shed some light on the linkages and synergy between ecology and culture in the future thinking of sustainability and progress of societies.

1. 1.     Our natural capital – Learning from ecology and culture

The mental model of how humans conceptualize the linkages between ecology, economics and society determines how we define progress and explains how conserving nature means progress. The conventional model for sustainability used to see the three spheres of sustainability, i.e, ecology, economics, and society as three overlapping domains. This implied that the three components have equal weights and thus we can make trade-offs using market mechanisms and pricing techniques to offset ecological damage. Recently, there was a new model which sees the three domains as three contained circles with the same center. The larger circle is the natural capital (ecology); the second smaller circle is the social capital, and the smallest circle is the financial capital. This model has the following simple implications and meanings:

1. Nature and ecosystem services underpin all other capitals. Hence, progress means that ensuring the life, functioning and resilience of our nature is maintained.
2. We need to invest in nature to ensure progress since we can not invest on a dead planet.
3. Progress should entail the careful consideration of all capitals.
4. Technology and energy are key components in defining progress.
5. We can envision Islam as the 4^th  larger virtual layer (which means spirituality) that shape and refine all capitals.

The linkage between ecology and culture are evident in the rich use of metaphors and analogies in Islamic culture that relate culture and ecology. Both sources of knowledge in Islam, Qur’an and Hadith, promote reflection open a wide avenue for innovative solutions for real and current issues.

The Islamic notion of humankind’s stewardship of the earth entails a profound responsibility. Other living species are also considered by the Qur’an to be “peoples or communities” (ummam; Sura 6:38). The creation itself, in all its myriad diversity and complexity, may be thought of as a vast universe of “signs” of God’s power, wisdom, beneficence, and majesty. Islam is not a new religion but a continuity of Abraham’s message. Believing in Islam entails a belief in all prophets including Moses and Jesus. Islam is keen to enable humanity to see this notion “unity” within “diversity” through promoting dialogue and wisdom sharing between cultures.

Qur’an teaches that the whole creation is in a state of prayers (Tasbeeh and Sujood which I call symphony of life) and praises God by its very being (Sura 59:24). According to the Qur’an, the creation of the cosmos is a greater reality than the creation of humankind (Sura 40:57). Islam does view the earth to be subservient to humankind but it should be administered and exploited responsibly. Prophet Muhammad said, “When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand he should plant it. It is illuminating to reflect on this notion of harnessing every single positive energy so as to green the planet and to invest in nature as part of serving God through environmental stewardship. This example is a good indication for the emphasis on Islam on positive action, hope, and optimism for dealing with ecological risks like climate change, desertification and de-forestation. This positive call should be harnessed to form coalition for a green economy and to establish people-centered development.

In Islam, the Qur’an contains many metaphors that link human evolution, history and nature. Conceptualizing society as an ecosystem (not a machine based on Newtonian physics) informs and enlightens our minds, and souls and transforms our worldviews and mind-sets. In an attempt to link environment and culture, Islam draws analogies and metaphors between human and ecology to illustrate notions of renewal, succession and innovation.

As articulated by Kiuchi and Shireman (2002), nature is a source of knowledge, a research and development lab with 3.8 billion years of product development.  Societies can get inspirations and information from culture and ecology. A society founded on information – one whose lifestyle and ideas reflect the idea that knowledge and design are the root source of value – is where the emerging economies in the South should be heading.   Seeing unity within diversity among disciplines and themes of ecology and culture can open new possibilities for harnessing the best of our financial, human and natural capital.

In a knowledge economy, businesses and societies run not just on fossil fuels and raw materials but also on ideas, information and inspiration, they begin more and more to resemble the creative systems of nature – systems like the prairie, the coral reef and the rainforest. The patterns and cycles of rainforest, for example, can inform us how phases we see in nature can evolve towards more creative, value creating, and life affirming patterns.

The heavy emphasis of the industrial economy on replication tends to cultivate false beliefs about the source of value. According to the machine model of business and society, it is natural to think we create value by taking in resources so as to develop products along with pollution and waste.

As we leave the machine economy behind and cultivate a living economy that is informed and reformed by ecology and culture, we discover new drivers for societal values and human transformation. For example, diversity promotes sustainability simply because diversity is choice. The more diverse the organisms in an ecosystem, the more types of resources are available to deal with a challenge, the greater the likelihood of success.

Broadly speaking, in the cultures of the north and west, in Europe, industrialised America and Asia, material affluence is vast. Yet the loss of connection to community, and the alienation it brings with it, can erode our own foundations and undermine our culture’s capacity to sustain itself. In the cultures of the south and east, parts of Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia, we are reminded of the value of faith, human connection and empathy.

Living systems, such as the water cycle, are regulated by such limiting factors as seasons, weather, sun and soil, each of which is governed by feedback loops. Feedback in nature is continual. Such elements as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen are constantly being recycled.  Societies and business may not only be informed by nature but also reformed by nature and culture. The Arabic language and the Islamic term to describe this: visible (thahe) is contextualized through nature and invisible (batin through culture and belief system ).. This duality of thaher and batin explains the substance and form of the underlying reality of progress and sustainability.

A sustainable society, community or ecology needs an accurate balance sheet that reflects the status of the ecosystem services and enhances the flow of financial, manufactured, human and natural capital.  The current economic metrics do not account for the value and benefit for the ecosystem services. The key to sustainability according to Hawken et al. (1999) is to seek that all four capital stockholdings (financial and manufactured, natural and human) are as prudently stewarded. It is believed that the next industrial revolution then, after the digital revolution for is an ecological. The key implications and requirements for this ecological revolution include increased resource productivity, enhancement of flow and service and reduction or elimination of waste.

Reducing and eliminating the very idea of waste, can be accomplished by redesigning industrial, or utility based, systems on biological lines. This serves to change the nature of industrial processes and materials, enabling the newly sustainable society to maintain and develop a constant use of materials in continuous closed circles.  This entails a new perception of value, a shift from the acquisition of goods to the purchase of services, whereby quality, utility and performance is continually sought to promote natural and social wellbeing.

1. 2.      Ecosystems and the Progress of societies:

The end of the millennium witnessed three independent processes, i.e, the information technology revolution; the economic crisis of  capitalism; and the emergence of cultural social movements, such as human rights, feminism and environmentalism.  Castells and Blackwall (2000) argued that the interaction between these processes, and the reactions they triggered, brought into being a new dominant social structure, the network society; a new economy, the informational/global economy; and a new culture. The logic embedded in this economy and society underlies all institutions in an interdependent world.

Progress of these new network societies should ensure a balanced use of all capitals including natural capital, social capital, financial and manufactured (technology). Measuring and defining (or re-defining) progress of societies relies mainly on a societal embodiment of a dream that integrates the four capitals. The aim of this paper is to evolve and revive a culturally-based notion for the progress of societies that have resonance to norms and values of Islam.  Paradoxically, Islam is currently viewed as a threat rather than a remedy or cure from the fragmentation of knowledge, matter and spirit and human and the community. In this paper, I am arguing that Islam should be detached and analyzed out of the realm of the separation of church and state and the Western narrative of secularization of science and knowledge. In today’s global crises (HIV, poverty, finance, and ecology) Islam can offer a fresh and renewed model for a re-definition of progress of societies. This is attained through the articulation of what constitutes a good life (Hayat Tayebeh) and also part of a larger process of civic renewal (Al-Jayyousi, 2008).

In liberal economic theory, happiness was already an economic measurement used interchangeably with utility as well as general welfare. Economists attempt to quantify happiness through measurements in consumption and profits. The underlying assumption is that when societies consume more of a product it means that it is good and generate happiness. It is this equating of high consumption levels with happiness that has been challenged by proponents of gross national happiness (GNH). GNH depends on a series of subjective judgements about wellbeing to address the limitations of gross domestic product (GDP).

However, gross domestic product (GDP), remains the dominant indicator of national performance for most developed countries.  Measuring progress covers a wide range of attributes which include health, social and spiritual dimensions. A number of experts challenge the GNP as an adequate measure for assessing the progress of societies (Korten, 1995). As a result, genuine progress indicator (GPI) and happy planet index (HPI) were developed as a refined version of GDP to address other dimensions like the state of environment and other social and health aspects.

The GPI is an index that intends to reflect the sustainable economic welfare.  The formulation of GPI was based on the basics of GDP but modified to address the value of household and community work, and deducts the costs of commuting, pollution, land degradation and industrial accidents.  However, the GPI does not account for either the accumulation or decline of human capital (health, skills, knowledge and experience) or social capital as sound and stable institutions and supportive communities.

The GPI advocates argue that the GDP commands such overwhelming attention that needs to be replaced by a similar, single measure, which is underpinned by considerations of sustainability. On the other hand, other indices include the Happy Planet Index (HPI) which is a measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. The index is built from three different indicators, two of which are objective: life expectancy and ecological footprints and the third is people’s well-being or “life satisfaction” which depends on the world views and the mental and physical health. Human Development Index (HDI) is another index developed in 1990 and consists of three elements; standard of living, life expectancy, and knowledge.

In sum, all what these measures attempt to do is to ensure that markets tell us the ecological and social truth.

1. 3.      Islam and re-definition of progress

It is enlightening to realize the historical role of Islamic culture and worldviews in promoting co-existence, socialization of knowledge, and dialogue between cultures.  Ibn Khaldoun in his Mukadimmah presented a social theory for explaining the rise an fall of nations during the Muslim rule in Spain and North Africa. He developed a theory of economic cycles which is an inter-temporal analysis of socio-economic and political changes. He also outlined the societal transformation from nomadic (badawah) to urban (madaneyah). Ibn Khaldoun argued that it is the sociological make-up of society which holds the secret to economic growth and decline.

An understanding of the interaction between demographic, technological, and institutional factors would provide fundamental insights into societal evolution. Also, of special significance is the notion of Assabiyah (group solidarity, group consciousness) that Ibn Khaldoun introduced to explain social cohesion. Assabiyah  is a group feeling and energy that emerges from the unity of social, economic, and political interests. The existing social solidarity is both conducive in providing economic activities and at the same time the pursuit of economic fruits provide further impetus for social binding and synergy.

Islam looks upon the challenges of the twenty first century as a crisis of values.  It realizes the need to re-examine the foundations on which the entire structure of society is built.  The crisis in economic, ecological and political relations is the natural outcome of values and institutions that characterize modern civilization.  It is believed that through a thorough understanding of the social values of Islam, set in the context of sustainable development, value-oriented communities can develop (and transform) a creative and innovative approach to the challenges confronting humanity today. Paradoxically, the dominant worldview (in the media) projects Islam as a potential global threat, my intent is to transform this mis-conception and present Islam as a source of remedy and mercy for humanity (Rahma lel alameen) and a way to redefine progress of societies.

Islam as a way of life covers all aspects of human life. It regulates the relationships between God, Human, and Nature. It is based on the recognition of the unity of the Creator and of human’s submission to His will.  Everything originates from the One God, and everyone is responsible to Him. Human is viewed as a trustee (khalifah) and a witness (shahed).  Human role and responsibility is to ensure that all resources, physical and human, are utilized in a reasonable, equitable, and sustainable manner.

Islam teaches that nature is created by God (Allah) for the benefit of humans.  The relationship between humans and Nature is based on harmony, since all creatures obey the laws (sunan) of God.  Humans are urged to explore and utilize the natural resources in a sustainable manner.  It is through submission to the Will of God that peace is brought about. Harmonization of human’s will with the Will of God leads to a responsible and balanced life.  Every human activity is given a transcendent dimension; it becomes sacred, meaningful, and goal-centered.

Islam does not approve the useless cutting of trees and bushes. Man can use their fruits but he has not the right to destroy them.  Nor does Islam allow waste among even lifeless things, to the extent that it disapproves of wasteful use of water, even if there is no scarcity of water.  Its vowed purpose is to avoid waste in every conceivable form and to make the best use of all resources.

Humans have been endowed with countless powers and faculties. They possess intellect and wisdom to achieve balance in this Universe.  Their very life and success depends on the proper use of these powers. God has also provided humans with all those means and resources to make their natural faculties function and to achieve the fulfillment of their needs.  The environment and surroundings contain resources that are harnessed for humans.

Qur’an teaches that human beings from all faiths and nations should cooperate and exchange knowledge and wisdom (Hikmah) to establish a better and prosperous life. The proper use of human’s powers implies the attainment of benefits to public or what is referred to as “construction of the world (Emmartu al Kawn).  Every other use of resources which results in waste or destruction is wrong and unreasonable.

In this paper I argue that the Western model which is based on market economy and consumerism as a means for the pursuit of happiness had failed people, nature and economy. It failed people since we live in a world where there is 1 billion people who live in extreme poverty and that the top 200 wealthy people have more income that 2.5 billion inhabitants.  It failed nature since we are experiencing species extinction, loss of forests and the global warming. It failed economic development since it created an artificial meaning for development and progress that resulted in collapse of financial markets and promoted arms race and became addicted to oil.

Hence, there is a need to re-think the current western model and evolve a new model inspired from Islamic culture. In an effort to shed some light on how Islam as a way of life sets a framework for a good life and enoughness (Zohd), I will discuss a framework for a sustainable development inspired from Islamic values which looks at the four components that constitute good life and progress. These include justice, excellence, family-community values, and limit of corruption.

To address the notion of progress, I intend to introduce a set of concepts extracted and synthesized from Islam to contextualize the notion of progress. This framework as depicted in Figure 1 is comprised of a core circle which represents good life (Hayat Tayebah) and a larger circle which represents the notion of construction of universe (Emaret Al-Kawn). The four components which constitute progress are outlined below:

1. Justice (adl or Mizan) which corresponds to cosmic, ecological, human justice and harmony in the Universe. Hence, good and ethical governance is the cornerstone for attaining and sustaining progress and thus good life (Hayat Tayebah).

2. Excellence (Ihsan) which means inner beauty, excellence and conscious evolution of individuals, organizations and society (Ummah). This also entails the continuous improvement and value and knowledge creation for all humanity.

1. Family-community values (Arham) which refers to the social networks from family to neighborhood and the global human community at large. Islam teaches that all people were created from different nations so as to be able to achieve “social learning and intelligence” (Le ta’arafu).
2. Limit mischief and corruption (Fassad) which is an indication for the deviation from natural state (Fitra) and the balance that was created by God. This imbalance was attributed to human-activities that do not consider ecological and ethical values. These notions from Islam can constitute new parameters for progress of societies.  Transforming Islam to a knowledge-based and diverse worldview will help both our ecosystems and the global community.

The Islamic value system establishes clear relationship between finite, mortal human beings and the infinite Divine, the secular and the sacred. Oneness (tawheed) or unity of God and submission of human to the Creator are the foundations in the Islamic belief system. Hence, humans are created to play the role of a witness and steward.  Islam, as a way of life expects human beings to conserve the environment, since the environment is God’s creation. The creation of this earth and all its natural resources is a sign of God’s wisdom, mercy, and power. The environment contains God’s creatures which Islam teaches that these species resemble human communities and also deserve protection (Hima). Besides, Islam promotes the notion of good (khair) and protecting environment is viewed as good.

A model for progress of societies based on Islamic Values

It should be noted that the schism between the spiritual and the “scientific” was imported into the Muslim world when the material, industrial culture was introduced, effectively separating the political system from the traditions of the community. This had a devastating effect on the indigenous culture and the environment and its biota.

Despite the fact that Islam’s attitude in the theoretical environmental debate is evident and documented, many parts of the Muslim world are currently witnessing a cultural environmental divergence. This was attributed to the fast introduction of the industrial age to these countries without regard to local value systems. Hence, Islamic values and industrial values need to be re-examined to ensure a value system that fits current realities and contexts that is informed and inspired from Islamic values of justice (adl), excellence (Ihsan), community-values (Arham) and limit of corruption (fassad) as outlined in the model in Figure 1. It is imperative for all Muslim scholars to purposefully apply innovation (ijtihad) and seek sustainable solutions for people and nature that transcend the existing economic model.

The western model of economic development with its free market economies, political, economic and social institutions created a number of externalities and environmental costs. In the name of development, local and indigenous people are deprived of their rights in the developing world. Rights and natural resources of local people are taken away and substituted by needs that are defined by the west. As argued by Sardar (2006), no matter how you define and redefine development, how you rework it and rethink it, it just does not fit non-western countries; and when it is imposed on them, it fragments, dislocates, and destroys societies based on traditional worldviews.

The high cost and irreversible environmental costs of the market-based economic model is evident. It is argued that markets do not tell us the ecological truth and that risks from climate change and global financial crises are evidence of the market failure. Re-defining the basic notion of “what constitutes a good life” and how to pursue happiness are critical in understanding sustainability from an Islamic perspective.

The notion of progress and pursuit of happiness (or Hayyat Tayebah) from an Islamic perspective is about adding value to life through good deeds and knowledge as part of human role in the construction of universe (Imarat al Kawn), helping others, bringing up good children, and also about living lightly on earth (Zohd) and elimination of waste and over-consumption (israf). The Islamic dream is not linked to accumulation of wealth and living in luxury but rather on conserving the human, social and natural capitals which are considered as necessities (darurat).

A key pitfall of the western models of development undermines communal existence by suppressing tradition, breaking up rural communities by promoting urban development, increasing insecurity by displacing traditional agriculture and debt finance. What turns development into sustainable development, is the principle that it should meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and also to ensure inter-generational equity. It is insightful to know that life enhancing tradition has always been about preserving resources. Hence, Islamic values, local knowledge and practices can be viewed as a model for sustainability, progress and good life (Hayat Tayebah). Islam represents the cultural authenticity which means deep respect  for norms, language, beliefs, knowledge systems, and arts and crafts of all people – the very factors which provide richness and meaning to people’s lives.

The following is a brief outline on how Islam looks at progress as manifested in the three pillars of sustainability (environment, social and economic).

A. The environment and spirituality

The most interesting feature of the worldview of Islam is that it presents an interactive and integrated outlook. Therefore, a contemporary understanding of the notion of public interest (maslaha) may lead to a theoretical understanding of sustainability in its broader terms. Islam represents the natural state (fitra) or the intrinsic state of goodness. The natural state (fitra) implies a full harmony with nature, people and the built environment. It also means a full realization and consciousness of the role of the human as a trustee and a witness (khalifa).  It also enables the human to adhere and appreciate all forms of reform and enlightenment that are inspired by and are in conformity with Islam.

Islam offers an eco-cosmic meta-narrative of the origin of universe and human. The story is simple and compelling. The earth is created for the benefit of human beings. Humans are trustees (khalifa) to make sure that all resources are used in a sustainable manner.  Islam views the potential risks of climate change as a problem of absence of human trusteeship which is referred to as mis-chief (fasad). Islam looks at species as nations like humankind. Reading Quran informs the mind and the soul that our natural capital and social capital are interconnected and inter-dependant.

Islam teaches that species including plants and wildlife are in a state of prayers (tasbeeh). The harm of any species means that we are disrupting the symphony of life and silencing worshipers. Qur’an elevates and deepens the notion of aesthetic intelligence, bio-mimicry, and learning from nature. Both Qur’an and nature contain many signs (ayat) that demonstrate and offer insights and guidance to nurture naturalistic intelligence, innovation and learning. The notion of ihsan means the inner beauty, continuous improvement and consciousness. Ihsan is a key concept in Islam which is the driver and fuel for human stewardship, responsibility and excellence. Zohd means living lightly on earth which is an Islamic concept that promotes conservation and rational use of resources. Waqf which is endowment fund resourced by civil society and private sector as an economic tool to ensure socio-economic and environmental security and also as a vehicle to contextualize the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a value-based organization.

B. The social dimension:

Losing the social compass means from an Islamic perspective the lack or absence of embodiment of the teachings of Islam (as a code of reference). This will result in a state of both ecological degradation (fasad) and human and social alienation (taktee arham). The second pillar of sustainability is the realization of the human and social dimension of development. The notion of equity, social justice (adl), public participation (shura) and the deep concern for future generation are cornerstones in Islam.    The role of Ummah as a community of practice is to set standards for ethical codes of conduct and also to create new knowledge based on the values and public interest.

Within the framework of the Islamic way of development, material and spiritual aspects of life are complementary. To be able to live the good life of devotion to God, we have, therefore, to make the best use of the material resources of our world. Talking about development without considering the spiritual side of people is meaningless; development must preserve the essence of our humanity. Among the dynamic principles of social life Islam has particularly emphasized two – firstly the optimal utilization of resources that God has endowed to man, and his physical environment; and secondly their equitable use and distribution and the promotion of all human relationships on the basis of rights and justice – adl.

Care for the poor and the marginalized through sharing resources and financial contribution of Zakat and Waqf a key concept in Islam that need to be harnessed through institutional innovation (ijtihad) and reform of governance.

1. C.     The economic dimension:

The current global financial crisis along with poverty, HIV-AIDS and climate change challenges compel and incite a dire need for a new economic model that address these global challenges. There is a need to critique and rethink the underpinning of the current market economy that looks at human, nature and culture as a commodity.   The main pitfalls of the existing market model are that it discounts the future and is based on compound interest rate and a banking system that encourages loans and over-consumption.  When looking at the benefit-cost analysis of climate change, the interest rate (how much we discount the future) will justify the rationality of taking preventive action. In other words, the more the future was discounted the more it made economic sense for climate change impacts to take place.

Islamic economics prohibits the compound interest which is the basic concept of the western banking system. Also, Islam provides regulatory framework that ensures the development projects are in the interest for the wider community, not for few individuals. Islam also provides a framework for valuing and weighting interest and value that transcends humans to species and natural resources and future generations.

The fundamental concept in Islamic economics is that it prohibits usury (riba) and does not discount the future which implies that fossil oil at the present is not discounted in the future and hence Islam limits over-use of fossil oil and hence contributes to limit CO2 emissions which causes climate change. Unlike the existing banking system which encourages loans and mega-projects that exploits our natural capital. Islam encourages small-scale development which will result in lessening the distance that goods are transported and hence lowering of greenhouse gas emissions and the ecological footprints in the business sector.

Today, while we are witnessing the global financial crisis, Islamic economics in its profit-sharing and absence of usury provides sound constraints to prevent borrowers from running into un-payable debts whilst encouraging wealth to be distributed evenly. This in turn will help to contribute to a greener economy that is reformed and transformed by Islam.

Conclusions:

Islamic civilization and culture redefine the notion of good life (Hayat Tayebah) according to their notions like Zohd which means enoughness and living lightly on earth and Ihsan which means inner beauty and excellence. The western life styles and standard of living and consumption patterns produce high ecological footprints in terms of consumption of food, energy and goods. Through global trade we are outsourcing development and environmental costs across borders to India, China and other parts of the world. The scale and intensity of ecological degradation (which Islam refers to as fasad) in the last five decades is unsurpassed in the history of humanity.

There is a need for a macro-shift in our worldviews; a re-thinking of the fundamentals of the western economic model to ensure a humanistic and sustainable model that resonate with culture and ensures balance (mizan), social equity (adl) and respects harmony between nature, people and markets. Above all, what is needed is a new and fresh look at Islam as a source of both inspiration and restoration of the natural state of humans as referred to in Islam as fitra.

In sum, Islam offers new perspectives for defining progress and sustainable civilisation that is based on social justice and quality of life rather than unlimited individual accumulation of wealth. Hence, what becomes important in the new Islamic vision of the future is personal transformation of a balanced and harmonious human (annafsu al motmaennah) rather than a consumer who strives for material accumulation. Simply said, the Islmic model or paradigm is focused on expanding human empathy not territory.

For Muslims, progress implies that the human is to be free and to have access to rich and diverse relations with others (le taarafu) or what I call socialization of knowledge among all cultures worldwide. The new Islamic model focuses more on attaining a good life (Hayat tayebah), quality of life, and interdependence. It is critical to synthesize and combine all the above Islamic notions so as to develop new metrics beyond GDP, like the Hayat Tayebah Index (HDI)  to measure the progress of societies that include happiness, family values, social learning, universal peace (Rahama le alameen), green and clean economy.

In conclusion, Modern physics and Realtivity theory  informed us with the 4^th dimension, Time, which transcended the classical Newtonian physics. Islam, I believe, can provide the 5^th dimension for seeing new perspectives of life, like progress, justice, peace and sustainability for both humans and nature. We all have a responsibility to evolve and co-create new models for progress of humanity  through purposful efforts that enhance deep undertanding, interpretation and application of culture and ecology.

References

Al-Jayyousi, Odeh. R. (2001). Islamic principles and Dublin statement, Water Management in Islam. Editors: Faruqui et al. 2001. United Nations University Press, IDRC.

Al- Jayyousi, Odeh (2008). The State of Ecosystems and Progress of Societies. Statistics, Knowledge and Policy. Measuring and fostering the progress of societies. OECD.

Ban, E.G. The Constant Feud: Forest vs. Desert. New York, NY: Gefen, 1999.

Castells, M. (1996). Rise of a network society. Oxford, Blackwell.

Foltz, Richard C., Azizan Baharuddin, and Frederick M. Denny, eds. Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2003; Distributed by Harvard University Press.

Erdur, Oguz. “Reappropriating the ‘Green’: Islamist Environmentalism.” New Perspectives on Turkey 17 (fall 1997): 151–66.

Foltz, Richard.  “Is There an Islamic Environmentalism?” Environmental Ethics 22, no. 4 (2000): 63–72.

Hawken, P. and Lovins A. and Lovins L. (1999). Natural Capitalism, Rocky Mountains Institute. CO, USA.

Kiuchi, T. and Shireman (2002). What we learned in the Rainforest: Business lessons from nature. Berrett-Koehler Publications Inc. San Francisco.

Korten D. C., (1995). When Corporations Rule the World. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Kumaian Press.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), (2005). Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing. Synthesis. Island Press. Washington, DC.

Richards, J., 1990. Land transformation. In the Earth as Transformed by Human Action. (Eds. B. Turner, H. Clark., R. Kates., J. Richards., J. Mathews & W. Meyer), pp. 163-78. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Sachs, J. and Reids D. (2006). Investments Towards Sustainable Development. Science, 312 (2776): 1002.

The World Conservation Union – IUCN (2006). The Future of Sustainability. Gland, Switzerland.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein . “Islam and the Environmental Crisis.” In Spirit and Nature, eds. Steven C. Rockefeller and John C. Elder, 83–108.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1992.

Zaidi, Iqtidar H. “On the Ethics of Man’s Interaction with the Environment: An Islamic Approach.” Environmental Ethics 3, no. 1 (spring 1981): 35–47.

To read more, download full article here

By Mohammed Ghaly, M. (2010), HUMAN CLONING THROUGH THE EYES OF MUSLIM SCHOLARS: THE NEW PHENOMENON OF THE ISLAMIC INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOSCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. Zygon, 45: 7–35. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2010.01056.x

Science, or Knowledge more generally, has always had a special status in the Islamic culture. As Abdus Salam, the Physics Nobel Prize winner, often reminded people, some 750 verses of the Qur’an describe the natural world, referring to the Creator and our existence; in contrast, less than 250 verses instruct Muslims about various actions in their lives. During its Golden Age, the Islamic civilization produced countless first-rate thinkers and researchers, leading to seminal scientific developments and contributions over many centuries. Muslims generally insist that no conflict arose then between Islamic theology and Science’s results or methodology.  

This typical, widespread, and instinctive reaction, does not address modern science and the challenges it has brought to the Islamic and, more generally, theistic worldviews. Indeed, modern science imposed new principles (methodological naturalism, in particular) and brought about new theories (biological and human evolution, most notably), which the Muslim culture has found difficult to mesh with its traditional worldview.  

Methodological naturalism is a general philosophical principle that modern science adopts, which stipulates that only natural causes can be admitted as explanations of natural phenomena, in other words that supernatural agents (demons, angels, spirits, or God’s direct intervention) must be left out of any explanatory hypothesis for a natural phenomenon. This is often coupled with Karl Popper’s principle of falsifiability, i.e. that any proposed explanation that does not present ways of getting checked cannot be considered as scientific. This has led some Muslim thinkers to regard modern science as essentially a “materialistic worldview”…  

Indeed, a number of contemporary Muslim thinkers have formulated more or less full-fledged responses to modern science. The main ideas/schools can be succinctly presented as follows:  

1. Sacred Science, Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s version of “Islamic Science”, represents his objection to modern science’s adoption of methodological naturalism, which he regards as a severance of science’s old link to the divine (Nasr, 1989, p. 132). Most notably, he denies any universality to modern science (Nasr & Iqbal, 2007, p. 181) Furthermore, Nasr asserts that modern science fragmented the integrated world-picture of the traditional worlds, debased humans and corrupted nature, which he sees as sacred in Islam, the cosmos being, according to him, a unified realm of material and spiritual beings (Kalin, 2001, p.454).   

2. The “Islamization of Knowledge/Science” school which was launched (independently) by Ismail R. Al-Faruqi and Syed Muhammad Naguib al-Attas and carried forward (after Al-Faruqi’s death) by Taha J. Al-`Alwani (Al-`Alwani, 2004). This school purports to rewrite the whole human corpus of knowledge, including science and technology, in accordance with Islamic bases.  

3. “Islamic” (Ethical) Science: Ziauddin Sardar and his now-defunct Ijmali school/group put strong emphasis on the ethical dimension that he/they saw as missing in Modern Science, hence rendering it unacceptable (Anees, 1984; Sardar, 1989, 2006). Most importantly, he/they put more importance in the social relevance of science than in its epistemological objectives. They insisted that Science be reconstructed – for all of humanity – along Islamic principles, such as: Tawheed (Divine Unity), Khilafa (human trusteeship of Earth), `Adl (Justice), Maslaha (Public Interest), etc.  

4. Universal Science: Abdus Salam, the first Muslim Nobel Prize winner in Physics (1979), a devout and rationalist Muslim, with a few of his disciples, insisted that  

Science is universal, that it does not suffer from the “serious flaws” that Nasr, AlFaruqi, Sardar, and others claim, and that it therefore requires no “Islamization”; only its interpretations and applications can be colored by culture (Abdus Salam, 1987, p. 201). As he simply put it,  “There is only one universal Science; its problems and modalities are international and there is no such thing as Islamic Science just as there is no Hindu Science, no Jewish Science, no Confucian Science, no Christian science” (Hoodbhoy, 1991, p. ix).   

From the brief review of the contemporary Muslim thinkers’ positions w.r.t. modern science that I presented above, the problem – and to some extent the solution – become readily apparent: on the epistemological level, modern science’s methodological naturalism poses difficulties to the traditional Islamic worldview, and on the praxis front modern science’s absence of strong ethical constraints fuels its opponents’ objections. On the other hand, the great successes of modern science in many fields (particularly physics, astronomy, and biology) leaves little choice to the (objective) reviewer but to take its results, and probably much of its methodology, solidly on board.  

Rejections of major scientific theories, such as biological evolution and cosmology’s “big bang” (“theories” here being understood as major agreed-upon frameworks of laws and results that have established themselves), as strongly and openly expressed by Muslim thinkers such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, are not a viable option. The evidence supporting those theories and many others in modern science is much too strong for any such rejection. Of course, any scientific theory remains open to modification and improvement, but the major results in those fields can only remain and be considered as established. No biological theory will be constructed in the future (even centuries from now) that overturns evolution. Likewise, the major elements of modern cosmology (size and age of the universe, its expansion, the interactions of matter and radiation, the evolution of elements and structures, etc.) will remain true, no matter what cosmological theory will dominate in the twenty-first century or in the thirtieth.   

Consequently, the first reaction of Muslims w.r.t. modern science is to accept all its established results and general theories.   

Once this is clear and settled, one can move on to the two issues that are open for review and interpretation, namely first the possibility of adopting a theistic framework or interpretation of the modern scientific enterprise, and secondly a strong affirmation of the ethical principles that must be adopted (or even imposed) to the practice of science, lest it lead to disasters such as those that we have already witnessed (nuclear bombs) or those that may very well occur in the future (e.g. genetic engineering with horrific consequences).  

In formulating a general Islamic framework for dealing with modern scientific and technological developments and the ethical issues that often arise from them, one must first stress that the Qur’an is not a book of science; its objective was/is not to describe the world, nature, and the cosmos, but rather to guide humans to a balanced life (balancing the spiritual with the physical, the psychological, and the social dimensions of humans). There are, of course, hundreds of verses in the Holy Book, which point to nature and its phenomena, but the intention behind these verses goes beyond the descriptive to the meanings and the morals that are to be extracted from them. Furthermore, holy books are texts, and they are hence subject to interpretation; in contrast, science strives to reach objective results and descriptions of nature.  

The second major critique that a number of Muslim thinkers have leveled at modern science is the absence of any strong ethical constraints in the scientific praxis. Following Sardar and the Ijmalis, I urge that stringent ethical standards, like those of Islam, be universally imposed on scientists and the whole scientific enterprise in order to prevent dangerous slips, such as I mentioned earlier. The Quran’s guidance and philosophy of knowledge can help in this regard.  

The Importance of Life and Humans in the Universe  

One of the most important discoveries of modern science (or at least modern physics and cosmology) is the fine-tuned and special disposition of our universe to complex life, intelligence, and consciousness. John Wheeler, the illustrious physicist, put it best: “A lifegiving factor lies at the centre of the whole machinery and design of the world.”1  

Indeed, over the past half century, scientists have discovered that many features of our Universe are astoundingly fine-tuned to our existence, or to the emergence and evolution of life, more generally. Indeed, if the parameters that make up the physical cosmos had been drawn at random, the probability that they would have values allowing for life and intelligence to appear (at some point in time and space) would be ridiculously small, one in billions of billions of billions…  

Many thinkers have recognized this discovery as an extremely important one; it is often referred to as the anthropic principle, although to be more accurate, one should speak of the fine-tuning of the universe, from which an anthropic principle (the universe’s predisposition for life and the human species) can be inferred. Countless articles and books have written about this in recent times; a very clear and complete account of the topic was presented by Paul Davies, the well-known scientist-philosopher2, in “The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the universe just right for life?”3 (2006)  

Now, the idea that the world is well designed and made adequate for humans is both old and ubiquitous among many cultures, including the Islamic one. This “design argument” did suffer serious blows in the wake of the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions, but contrary to the elites, laymen overwhelmingly continued to believe that humans are special and that Earth and perhaps the universe were designed (directly or indirectly) as cradles for humanity.   

And indeed, the discovery of the fine-tuning of the universe, brought back “man” to the center, so to speak. As Wheeler commented on that extraordinary and historic shift in view4: “Man? Pure biochemistry! Mind? Memory modelable by electronic circuitry! Meaning? Why ask after that puzzling and intangible commodity? […] What is man that the universe should be mindful of him?”5 But a few lines further, Wheeler retorts: “No! The philosopher of old was right! Meaning is important, is even central. It is not only that man is adapted to the universe. The universe is adapted to man.” (Emphasis added.)  

Indeed, after Copernicus revolution, which removed Earth and humans from the center of the universe and the formulation of the “principle of mediocrity” (that we must consider Earth and its inhabitants as nothing important at all in the cosmos), it came as a shock to the (western) elites to realize that the universe instead of being completely oblivious to humans, was in fact particularly suited for life, consciousness, and intelligence. Secondly, it was no longer a matter of seeing beauty and harmony in nature, nor even a set of smart observations such as the temperature, pressure, gravity, and environment of Earth being “just right”6 for our existence and activity; it was now a question of the very foundations of the universe, the parameters and physical laws upon which everything was built, all of which were found, time after time, case after case, to be finely tuned to the existence of life in general, and higher intelligence and consciousness as well.   

This fits perfectly well with the Islamic worldview in general. Indeed, in addition to the argument from design that we find ubiquitous in the Islamic culture (that Allah has designed everything perfectly well and for good purpose), the idea of harmony between humans and nature can also be found, as Ibn Rushd for instance notes that: 1) all that exists is in harmony with humans; and 2) this can only be the result of an Agent who wanted it so. He gives examples of heavenly and earthly objects, with their most-appropriate characteristics.6  

In the same line of thought, the contemporary Muslim philosopher Jaafar Sheikh Idrees sees in the harmony that exists between the many creatures of the world one argument for the existence of God. He adopts Al-Kindi’s and Ibn Rushd’s argument of providence or benevolence (dalil al-`inayah)7. He supports his view with the following Qur’anic verses: “Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse? And (set) the mountains as pegs? And (have We not) created you in pairs? And made your sleep for rest? And made the night as a cloak? And made the day as a means of livelihood? And (have We not) built over you the seven strong (heavens)? And placed (therein) a shining lamp? And do We not send down from the clouds water in abundance, That We may bring forth therewith grain and plant, And gardens of luxurious growth?” (78:6-16) Idrees notes and stresses the finalist intentions in these verses, seen most clearly in the pronoun “That” (“That We may…”).  

Modern astronomy has also provided evidence for the special characteristics that Earth displays: having an orbit around the Sun within the “Habitable Zone” (the region of space around a star where life can exist); having an inclined axis that allows seasons to occur and life to prosper through cycles; having a large Moon, which keeps Earth’s axial stable and helps life by raising Earth’s ocean tides, mixing nutrients from the land with the oceans, etc.; having a Sun with just the right size; etc.  

Now, Muslims may insist that since humans were created to worship God, then nature is simply here to facilitate this (physically, emotionally, spiritually) by helping us at least to reflect upon it and perhaps come to know God through it. Muslims may then read these finetuned universe and anthropic principle developments and be tempted to see them as confirmation that we are “evidently” at the center of the universe, and perhaps the universe was indeed created for us. But one must always remember that the universe is much larger than our limited view and perspective, and the purpose of creation as a whole is a divine reason, which will remain largely outside of our understanding…  

For a wider Islamic perspective on life, nature, and science  

This brief review of modern science and its principles and the recent discovery of the finetuning of the universe and its extraordinary predisposition to life, intelligence, and consciousness may (at first sight) seem not very relevant (at least not directly) to the topic of ‘Islam and Biomedical Ethics’.   

But the reason for this review is to help formulate what the CILE document calls “a holistic paradigm” that will (hopefully) allow Muslims to move beyond the “reactionary attitude” that has dominated the field of contemporary Islamic bioethics. Indeed, until we develop a philosophy of nature, life, the cosmos, and humans’ place and relation to it, we will keep on having to react to new developments that will challenge our limited traditional views; indeed, these traditional views were not built on a larger worldview that takes modern scientific discoveries and paradigms fully into consideration.  

If we find difficulties and disagreements in discussing stem-cell research and its applications or genetically modified foods and organisms, how are we to handle much more challenging topics such as “synthetic life”9 (sometimes referred to as “artificial life”), animal “deextinction”10 projects (bringing back dinosaurs and other animals, and perhaps in the future dead humans), technologically modified or “augmented” or “enhanced” humans11 (sometimes referred to as “transhumanism”), and even “immortality”12. The definition of life itself is being seriously impacted, with implications on “beginning of life” and “end of life” issues (from conception, abortion, to euthanasia).  

My main idea is that Muslims must take full consideration of the integrated paradigm of the cosmos that has emerged from modern science: our existence cannot be dissociated from that of the rest of life on Earth and its history, and this cannot be viewed separately from the natural elements that surround us and relate to us. After all, we are made of the same elements as Earth, and our DNA is based on the same biochemistry as that of the rest of life on Earth, including plants and animals. In fact, we now know that many other animals have intelligence (sometimes quite advanced), some of them have language (not nearly as sophisticated as ours, of course), some can make tools and build things, some have family structures and express sadness when one of theirs dies, etc. Clearly this must affect our view of animals, at the very least, and life more generally.  

This also should give a new, grander understanding of the “Preservation of Life” principle of Maqāsid al-Sharī`ah.   

Scholars13 see the theory of Maqāsid as having roots in the Islamic rational theology and law that was produced by the Mu`tazila, since one of the prime principles of this school, namely divine justice (after divine unity) necessarily implies divine goodness in the laws that God would institute for humans. Furthermore, the earlier development and establishment of qiyās (juristic analogy) and istihsān and istislāh (rulings that are based not on sacred texts but rather on some clearly discerned benefit to the individual or community) as principal methods and principles of Islamic jurisprudence paved the way for the development of the Maqāsid theory.   

The principles of the theory of Maqāsid are well known: a) the whole Sharī`ah aims at benefiting mankind (in this world and the next); b) behind all laws are rational principles that can be inducted; c) the laws are not objectives in themselves, they can be transcended in cases where their strict application leads to problems while the objectives can be better fulfilled in other ways.  

I believe that the principles of Maqāsid (including but not limited to “the preservation of life, mental faculties, linage, etc.”), coupled with a renewed and enlarged worldview that is based on a thorough understanding of the universe as revealed by modern science, can help us Muslims formulate a holistic and proactive ethics system that can be applied to or meshed with the emerging and challenging fields of biological and informational technologies. 

By Nidhal Guessoum.

1 John Wheeler, Foreword to John D. Barrow and Frank J. Tipler’s “The Anthropic Cosmological

Principle” Oxford University Press, 1986, p. vii.

2 Paul Davies has published, among many other books, “The Cosmic Blueprint”, “Are We Alone?”, and

“The Mind of God”; in 1995 he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities.

3 Paul Davies, “The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the universe just right for life?”, 2006.

4 Wheeler, op. cit.

5 Ibid.

6 Barrow and Tipler (op. cit., p. 143) make a special reference to the two seminal books by Lawrence J.

Henderson (Harvard professor of biological chemistry), “The Fitness of the Environment” (1913) and “The Order of Nature” (1917); indeed, Henderson had noted the very special regulation of acidity and alkalinity in living organisms; CO2 dissolved in water is the regulator of neutrality, and water is absolutely unique as a regulator and conductor of heat (having a very large specific heat capacity and conductivity), in its surface tension, in dissolving other substances, and in many other properties.

7 Ibn Rushd in “Al-Kashf `an Manahij al-Adillah fi `aqa’id ahl al-milla” (“Uncovering the Demonstrative

Methods in Islamic Doctrine”, translated into English as “Faith & Reason in Islam”), cited by Marc Geoffroy, op. cit., pp. 139-140.

8 Jaafar Sheikh Idrees, “Al-Fizya’ wa wujud al-khaliq” (Physics and the existence of the Creator), 2nd edition, Al-Muntada al-Islamiy, 2001, p. 55.

9 For discussions of “synthetic life” and ethics, see for instance: Cho & Relman, “Synthetic ‘Life,’ Ethics,

National Security, and Public Discourse” Science 329:38-39, 2010; “Unveiling ‘synthetic life’”, Craig

Venter’s TED talk http://www.ted.com/talks/craig_venter_unveils_synthetic_life.html (2010); Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology, a project of the Hastings Center:

http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Research/Archive.aspx?id=1548.

10 See, for instance, the Lazarus Project, which is conducted at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and which was named as one of the Top 25 inventions of 2013 by TIME Magazine.

11 See, for instance, the ‘Augmented Human International Conferences Series’ since 2010:

http://www.augmented-human.com/; Report from the workshop on ‘Human Enhancement and the Future of Work’ of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy, and Royal Academy of Engineering (March 2012): http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/human-enhancement/workshop-report/.

12 See the project on ‘The Science, Philosophy, and Theology of Immortality’ at the University of

California, Riverside: http://www.sptimmortalityproject.com/.

13 Gleave, R. M., “Makāsid”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th.

Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008.

The new rules ban private companies from using human embryonic stem (ES) cells in research or therapies. Such work will be allowed only in government organizations or publicly funded academic institutions in Jordan, which have higher levels of transparency than private firms and are supervised by the health ministry and a specialized committee. The law also bans payment for donations of stem cells and eggs, and says that modified and manipulated cells are not to be used for human reproduction. There is no current research on human ES cells in Jordan; this is a pre-emptive step.

Much of the controversy and disagreement over work on stem cells worldwide arises from the different views of the major religions on the earliest stages of life. Although the use of human ES cells is opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations, it is generally supported by the Jewish community and accepted in many Muslim countries. There is no consensus on when human embryonic life begins, but the majority of Muslim scholars consider it to start 40–120 days after conception and therefore hold the view that a fertilized egg up to 5 days old has no soul — it is not ‘human life’ but ‘biological life’. So for many, there is no ethical problem in the Islamic faith with using an early embryo to produce stem cells.

All our discussions in Jordan have concluded that stem-cell research is permissible in Islam.

Such conclusions are not easy to reach. Many Muslim countries consider legislation and bioethics principles to be based on three pillars of Islamic law. The first is the Quran. The second is Sunnah, or the legislative decisions of the Prophet Muhammad. The third is ijmaa — the consensus of Muslim scholars — and ijtihad, the concept that every adequately qualified scholar has the right to independently solve problems. On the basis of these pillars, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have drawn up guidelines on stem-cell research, but they are not legally binding.

Jordan’s stem-cell law is the product of years of discussions by committees comprising scientists, physicians, Arabic-language experts, lawyers and Muslim and Christian theologians. The issues that arose — confusion between ‘stem cells’ and ‘embryonic stem cells’, for instance — were discussed and resolved. We consulted with both the National Committee for Science and Technology Ethics and the education ministry. The final law was approved by the council of Muslim scholars, the Majlis Al-Iftaa.

The council agreed with a 2003 decision (fatwa) by Muslim scholars that allows the use of human ES cells from permissible sources — including legally produced excess fertilized eggs from in vitro fertilization. The decision to ban private companies from using these cells was driven by concerns that the work would encourage termination of pregnancies, which is illegal in Jordan unless the mother’s life or health is at risk. The council was clear that the new law must forbid human reproductive cloning and should not allow embryos to be created from the sperm and eggs of unmarried couples.

The distinction drawn between the various sources of stem cells earlier in the discussion process allowed the Majlis Al-Iftaa to take a more permissive approach to techniques using stem cells that are not derived from human embryos. For example, somatic-cell nuclear transfer (in which a patient’s DNA is transplanted into an unfertilized human egg that has no nucleus) and induced pluripotent stem cells, which are made from adult cells, can be worked on by the private sector under the new rules.

The therapeutic use of bone-marrow transplantation — including transplants of blood-forming stem cells — is well established in Jordan. Such procedures are already regulated by existing laws on medical practice, so the new law makes a clear distinction between these techniques and human ES-cell therapy.

The legislation not only covers all current aspects of stem-cell research and use, but also leaves room for later modification. It mandates the creation of a national committee that, among other things, will take responsibility for laying out specific regulations for stem-cell banking in accordance with international standards.

All our discussions in Jordan have concluded that stem-cell research is permissible in Islam, as long as it is carried out to improve human health and takes precautions to respect human life. Still, as the field develops, policy-makers must continue to invest in education and raise awareness of the opportunities, challenges and uncertainties of human ES-cell research.

The scientific output of the Islamic Arab region is low compared with that of other regions. Implementation of these laws in Jordan and other Muslim countries could help to encourage research to reach international standards and start to bridge that divide.

Nature 510, 189 (12 June 2014) doi:10.1038/510189a

Rana Dajani is associate professor of molecular cell biology at the Hashemite University in Zarqa, Jordan.

To read more, download full article here

By Mohammed Ghaly.

Not necessarily.

Which is not to say that hostility to evolution isn’t widespread in Muslim countries, even where the education levels are rising quickly. American style creationism is making inroads, even in countries like Turkey where the government and education systems are more liberal about science.

So, it was fascinating to hear from evolutionary biologists like Ehab Abouheif, who runs his own lab at McGill, that doing science and practicing the family’s ancestral faith does not prompt any contradiction.

Abouheif and his team made a splash earlier this year with the discovery that many species of ants retain dormant genes that can be reactivated to generate an entire caste of ‘super-soldiers.’ [His team’s paper was published in the January 6 2012 issue of Science.]

When he came to Boston University last month at the request of Project Nur and the American Islamic Congress, Abouheif not only shared his personal thoughts on religion as a scientist and a practicing Muslim, but he also shared his concerns about the consequences for Islamic countries that fail to embrace the scientific tradition.

“There’s a lot at stake here,” he said, “because it’s well beyond evolution. If it’s not about the evidence, if you reject science, if you reject evolution as a science and you’re not willing to listen to evidence, then that means that for all of science, when it comes into contact with sociological, political conflicts, then you won’t believe it either.”

He cited the keynote presentation delivered that evening by Salman Hameed, an astronomer and science blogger who teaches at Hampshire College (see video below).

“It goes on to a broader scale,” he said, “because, as Salman has also mentioned in his presentation the Saudi Government, when it came time to give the H1N1 vaccine…they weren’t innovating, they were not the ones who produced it. They had to call other countries in the West to innovate it.

“My calling, why I’m speaking today, what got me out of my seat, my lab chair … is my want of the Muslim world to become innovators and to share in being leaders. In technology and innovation, and share in production. And not just be consumers.”

His colleagues on the panel included Hameed, Omar Sultan Haque, a psychologist and author who teaches at Harvard, and Rana Dajani, a molecular biologist at Jordan’s Hashemite University and a visiting Fulbright Scholar this semester at Yale where she is doing research on stem cells.

While they differed on how certain passages of the Qur’an should be interpreted in light of science, they all agreed that there was no fundamental incompatibility between Islam and science.

Below I have posted highlights of the discussion from video I shot during the evening.

What’s interesting from my perspective is –whatever the immediate difficulties facing Muslim countries as they grapple with democracy and technology– in the broader intellectual scheme, I think science does not pose as many challenges to doctrine in Islam as it seems to pose to traditional Christianity.

Or is it soon to tell?

By John Farrell.

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to my Vimeo Channel.

The only problem is that the theory of evolution is the basis of many fields of modern science. Ranging from how bacteria develop resistance to how we raise crops and cattle, it is all interconnected to evolutionary science. But does acceptance of evolution really dictate a disbelief in a higher being or a god?

“For many years I thought that evolution was incompatible with Islam but then I started reading more about the tradition of Islam and about science of evolution and came to believe that there are many areas of compatibility,” said Nidhal Guessoum, professor at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. “If you do not insist on a materialistic interpretation of Darwinism, then it has no problem with Islam.”

In fact, Guessoum quotes several Muslim scientists between the 9^th and the 14^th century who studied natural sciences and adopted various forms of evolution.

But professor John Hedley Brooke of the University of Oxford, UK, thinks that evolution and some faiths cannot be fully reconciled. “I believe that ultimately [faith and evolution] are compatible, but there are problems, and history shows that. And we need to discuss them.”

The problem is that the theory of evolution is often framed as a philosophical issue rather than a scientific issue, especially in Muslim-majority countries. “There is widespread misinformation about theories of evolution among Muslims,” said Salman Hameed, associate professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, US.

New atheism, which strongly associates itself with evolution, is also affecting the general attitude towards evolution in the Muslim world. “But there is no clear doctrinal opposition to evolution in Islam,” he told OnIslam.net (OI). But creationists from the West who associate evolution with atheism actively import those ideas into Muslim states. Due to its intricately religious nature, this part of the world automatically refuses evolution.

During a conference in Alexandria, Egypt commemorating Darwin’s 200^th birthday and 150 years since publication of his pivotal book “On the Origin of Species”, Reverend Michael Roberts, from the University of Lancaster, UK, spoke about the spread of creationism from the US to the world since 1980.

But the US version of creationism, according to him, is totally untrue and unscientific. “If creationism is given support, science will be pushed back.” In fact, he stressed that teaching creationism can snap back and expose religions as being ridiculous and encourage more secularism.

In a survey that Hameed conducted on the acceptance of evolution amongst Muslims, the highest scoring Muslim country was Kazakhstan (which was part of the former Soviet Union) with 35 percent agreeing with the theory. The lowest scoring country was Egypt, where only eight percent of the population accepts Darwinism.

In fact, all Egyptian school teachers surveyed said that, while they had to teach evolution as part of the science curriculum, they explained to the students that the theory was wrong and told them not to believe it. “Teachers need to know about evolution, but also need training on how to bridge the gaps between the students’ worldview and the scientific worldview and how to involve learners in arguments,” said Saouma BouJaoude, professor of science education at the American University of Beirut.

Hameed added that a lot of people in the Muslim world think we should not even be talking about evolution. “We have no shortage of medical students. There are many new biotechnology and biomedicine schools opening up. Why stir the pot?” they ask. “But the question is how far can one go without basic research? Eventually the end result is you maintain a clientele with more developed countries.”

One of the main problems that Hameed sees is who will get to interpret evolution in a religious context for Islam. “Unlike Catholicism, for example, we have a fragmented authority in religion.” For Hameed, it is important to start having informed, serious discussions about the theories of evolution in the Islamic world.

He stressed that in Islam, there is always a focus on the harmony between religion and science. “So the end result we’ll be asking, who is going to shape the evolution debate? An emphasis on science or will it be seen as a threat to religious belief?”

Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, UK, stressed the importance of having these debates within a framework of cultural and religious sensitivities. “A discussion about Darwin that ignores faith will fail, but one that depends solely on it risks the same fate.”

Guessoum added that scientific research in evolution is very important, rather than being fixated on its relationship to faith.

In a discussion that Guessoum had with some students during the conference held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina from 14 to 16 November a couple of years ago, their initial reaction to the idea of human evolution was very hostile. They were not even willing to discuss the possibility of the theory being right. In addition, their scientific discussions were very dated, often citing missing information from the theory of evolution that has long since been discovered.

“I urge you to go back and read about evolution. Educate yourself and learn more of it and then make an informed decision,” he told the students. “If afterwards you still disagree with it, then that’s all right. The important thing is to base your decision on proper science.” But Guessoum’s argument might have fallen on deaf ears. As the students walked away, they did not seem to budge from their initial stance.

“No one will change someone’s opinion in 10 minutes,” Guessoum told OI. “But maybe we’ll meet again in a few years and they would have read and learned more about evolution – enough to make a balanced discussion.”

By Mohammed Yahyia, published in IslamOnline.net, December 30th 2013.

Before I discuss this, I must note that one should be careful not to take sensational stories for a general trend, thus one should ask how many Muslim students in the UK and elsewhere are opposing evolution classes.

Evolution, while largely rejected as a paradigm by Muslims, including highly educated ones, is nonetheless studied in countries like Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and the UAE. No case of students boycotting evolution classes in those countries has ever been reported. There have been occasional reports of students “resisting” the study of evolution in some western universities (in Holland, more specifically), but nothing widespread to make it a general trend. Perhaps Muslim students elsewhere are also rejecting evolution but pragmatically “compartmentalizing” its study as simply part of the curriculum, without turning it into a political issue.

Secondly, one must keep in mind other cultural aspects of this attitude by Muslim students in the west, issues of identity, minority, and law, as in the case of the hijab and niqab debates, for example. Or perhaps Muslim students consider evolution as a purely western theory, one which embodies a materialistic, atheistic philosophy; they then target it as an expression of a very different worldview. The rejection of evolution can perhaps be seen as an insistence on the part of a minority to its right to abide by its religious decrees (assuming this is established) even in educational curricula.

Surveys have shown Muslims almost everywhere largely rejecting the main concepts and results of the theory of evolution, particularly when it applies to humans. Even educated Muslims – and this is where today’s Muslim culture stands out – consider evolution as “only a theory” and refuse to accept that we humans share common ancestors with apes, and that all creatures (animals and plants) came from an original cell.

In my recent book, I reported on surveys that I conducted at my own university among students and professors, where not only did 60 % of the respondents state that “evolution is an unproven theory”, some 80 % of them either did not wish to see it taught or accepted that it be taught “but only as a theory”.

Among physicians, a survey was conducted in 2005, where 29 of the 40 Muslim doctors agreed more with Intelligent Design than with the evolution. Currently, Salman Hameed has been leading a project investigating the views of Muslim physicians and medical students Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey; the preliminary results show that most Malaysian doctors reject the theory of evolution, particularly with regard to humans, though the picture is much more complex than one might infer from such stunning numbers.

Indeed, there is no uniform Islamic position on the theory of evolution. Ever since its earliest formulation by Darwin (and subsequent improvements on it), Muslim scholars have reacted to it with a variety of viewpoints, including sometimes a full acceptance of its scenario on the origin and history of humanity. In such cases, religious scholars insist on a theistic interpretation: God planned that whole evolution, by writing it in the laws of nature, and perhaps even “guided” it.

But there are also strongly creationist positions in today’s Muslim culture, the clearest and strongest one being expressed by Harun Yahya and his group, who for the past decade or more have launched an aggressive campaign targeting Muslims throughout the world, including the UK and France, where lecture tours are organized and books (such as the infamous Atlas of Creation) are massively distributed either freely or in subsidized sales. A full review of the spectrum of Islamic positions can be found in my book, including a detailed critique of the claims made by Harun Yahya.

So if there is a large spectrum of Islamic position vis-a-vis evolution, why do those students claim that “it is against the teachings of the Qur’an”?

First, this attitude is a confusion of genres: the Qur’an should not be a reference against which any scientific theory or result is checked; the Qur’an is a book of spiritual, moral, and social guidance, and while it encourages people to explore the world and derive from it a worldview, one which conforms to its theistic teachings, it does not claim to present descriptions, much less explanations for how the world works.

Secondly, stating that evolution is “against the teachings of the Qur’an” stems from taking certain stories, particularly the creation story of Adam, literally and accepting the interpretations of the Holy Book by old scholars as the definitive meaning of those verses. As I’ve often told people, just as we do not reject the sun-centered model of the solar system just because the Qur’an says “the sun rises” and “the sun sets”, we must not reject evolution just because the Book says “God created Adam from clay”.

The openness of the Qur’an to (re-)interpretation was recently underlined by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, perhaps the most influential Muslim scholar of the past few decades, who stated that: “If Darwin’s theory is proven, we can find Qur’anic verses that will fit with it…”

The rejection of evolution in today’s Muslim culture is then a reflection of the dominance of the literalistic, fundamentalist conceptions of Islam in many parts of the world, including among Muslim minorities in the west. And campaigns by Harun Yahya and the like are counter-productive and do not bode well for Muslims, whether with regard to science or modernity, more generally.

Last but not least, it is very unfortunate that Muslims keep claiming that knowledge and science occupy a high place in Islam but then many of them turn dogmatic, close-minded, and selective when they must at least learn a theory which challenges their old conceptions. How can knowledge and science be upheld and promoted when one insists on sticking to pre-adopted, un-informed positions?

Muslims everywhere must open their minds to all new ideas. They must be confident that their faith and worldview are robust enough to deal with modernity in its various facets; indeed, new viewpoints can help fine-tune beliefs and worldviews. Islam not only does not forbid studying evolution or any other theory; it welcomes new knowledge and deals with it objectively. Muslims are called upon to engage with science, philosophy, and art with confidence and open minds.

By Nidhal Guessoum, published in The Huffington Post, April 1st 2012.