Religion, Culture and Environment

“our house is on fire”

A talk given at Faith for Earth Initiative UN Environment

March 14th, 2019, Nairobi, Kenya.

Professor İbrahim Özdemir

Åbo Akademi University
Turku, Finland
ib60dmr@gmail.com

َ ِ ِ‫الر ْح َٰم ِن‬

ِ‫الر ِح ِيم‬ َ ِ ِ‫بِس ِْم‬
َ ِِِ‫اّلل‬
In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I grew up in a small village as a child of a farmer. I enjoyed the beauty of the natural
environment with all its richness.
When I saw first but unfortunately the last wild wolf in my life, I was almost seven years
old. Then, I could still drink the water of creeks, as it was crystal-clear.
Later, I learned that Rachel Carson was writing her seminal and groundbreaking book
the Silent Spring in the same years. This humble book sparked and triggered many creative
and sensitive minds to look at the emerging environmental problems in a new way.
However, it took us half a century to understand the full implications of Carson’s argument as
indicated and proved by a massive Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, sponsored by the
United Nations, involving over 1,300 experts from almost 100 nations. Like Carson’s book,
this assessment is “a stark warning”.
Now, I have four children, three grandchildren, Dila, Safiye, and Yusuf Taha. I never thought
that my descendants might not enjoy the same kind of life that I had in my childhood.
It seems they live in a different world. They never saw a wild animal in nature, unless in
documentaries and zoo. I have concerns about their future and the world they are going to live
in. Therefore, caring for the environment and generation next is a moral imperative for me.
My concerns regarding future generations echoed in the sixteen-year-old Swedish climate
action leader Greta Thunberg. She declared to the world leaders in Davos that “I want you to
act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. I am here to say, our
house is on fire”.
On Thursday, February 21, 2019, Greta stood alongside European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels. Thus, the European Union has heard the demands of young
people and pledged billions of dollars over the next seven years to address the crisis of a
rapidly heating planet. In the financial period beginning in 2021, Juncker said, the EU will
devote a quarter of its budget to solving the crisis. "Every fourth euro spent within the EU
budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change," Juncker said.

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This amazing young Swedish girl told political and business leaders that “this target is not
sufficient to protect the future for children growing up today. If the EU is to make its fair
contribution to stay within the carbon budget for the 2C limit then it needs a minimum of 80
percent reduction by 2030, and that includes aviation and shipping,”. In short, Greta Thunberg
literally has been changing the world and becoming a beacon of hope for the young
generation across the globe.
When we drafted Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change in 2015, we whole heartily
intended that it to be a wake-up call for our 1.8 billion fellow Muslims around the globe. We
declared that no one is exempt from the caprices of climate change and Muslims have to
accept their share of the responsibility for bringing this on to ourselves.
When we study The Qur’an with an ecological and holistic mentality, we see that it is
inherently conservationist and much of it has to do with how human beings relate to the
natural world and the benefits that ensue from protecting it.
The Qur’an invited its readers to examine and investigate the heavens and the earth, and all
they see in their environment: Birds, sheep, clouds, seas, grapes, dates, olives, flies, the moon,
the sun, fish, camels, bees, mountains, rain, wind, in short, all-natural phenomena. Therefore,
the core of Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change consists of the essence of the body
of ethics and moral values based in the Qur’an.
We are aware of the fact that environmental problems are the root cause of deforestation
erosion, floods, drought, hunger, racism, migration international and domestic terror, human
rights violations, human trafficking, and even nihilism.
When trying to understand the current conflicts in the Middle East, we should also think the
negative and devastating effects of global warming and climate change on the region on the
one hand and the rush of powerful states to control the region for the enormous resources of
fossil fuels.
Every religion and philosophy, explicitly or tacitly propose a world-view to its followers.
Religions, for example, present to their followers how to look at the universe, nature, and
“other” human beings.
When we look at the first chapters and the verses of the Qur'an, which were revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Meccan period in 7th century Arabia, its main purpose was
“to awaken in man the higher consciousness of his manifold relations with God and
universe.” (Iqbal, 1958).
The Qur’an challenged the polytheism of the pagan Arabs by referring to nature as an
assembly of orderly, meaningful, and purposeful phenomena. Moreover, nature “having a
firm and well-knit structure with no gaps, no ruptures, and no dislocations” is regarded
as “one of the grand handiworks of the Almighty” (Rahman, 1980).
Like a mirror, nature reflects the power, beauty, wisdom, and mercy of its Creator. Nature is
seen as a balanced, just, peaceful, unified pattern, created and sustained by God. Moreover,
the Qur’an’s insistence on the order, beauty, and harmony of nature implies that there is no
demarcation between what the Qur’an reveals and what nature manifests.
Camels, cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, monkeys, dogs, pigs, snakes, worms, ants,
bees, spiders, mosquitoes, and flies are minted by name in the Qur’an. (Foltz, 2006). The
Qur’an portrays animals as works of art displaying the Maker’s skill and perfection (16:66).
Therefore, we have been invited to consider camels and how they are created; the sky and
how it is raised high; the mountains and how they are fixed firm; the Earth and how it is

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spread out. (88:17-20). The implications of this worldview for Muslim are that all the
phenomena around us are “full of meaning, high design, and the goodness of God to human
beings” and therefore must be handled with care and responsibility.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), therefore, insisted on the protection of animals and the kind
treatment of them. His concern that they should be well treated, protected, and not abused or
degraded is truly noteworthy.
Briefly, the Qur’an asserts that God created the universe and adorns the skies with the sun, the
moon and the stars, and the face of the earth with flowers, trees, gardens, orchards, and the
various animal species. God causes the rivers and streams to flow, upholds the skies (without
support), causes the rain to fall and places the boundary between night and day.
The role of religion and culture is crucial and vital for sustainable development in both
developed and developing countries. Culture is the knowledge and values shared by a
particular society. Geertz (1973, 44), defines culture as “a set of control mechanisms, plans,
recipes, rules and instruments for the governing of behaviour.” On the other hand, values are
our standards and principles for judging worth (Halstead, 1996).
Providing people with a sense of meaning and purpose is arguably one of the most powerful
but least appreciated assets of religion. A sense of purpose can unify entire societies around
national goals. Ritual communication has a special place in the movement to create
sustainable societies because it has long had the effect of protecting the natural environment.
Islamic culture formed and shaped by the Qur’anic teachings and Exemplary practice of the
Prophet Muhammad (The Sunnah). We have to look at this and their manifestations and
crystallization in the history of Muslim societies, we have to unpack the SDGs, using the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development five (“Five P”) integrated and indivisible areas of
focus that will guide action for sustainable development over the next 15 years: people,
planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. Therefore, we have to study and present the
Muslim legacy of responding to these and relevant questions with creative and critical tools.
Muslims, on these bases should always remember that nature has been entrusted to us, as we
are God’s vicegerents on earth. We are not the lords of nature and the world, however; the
world is not our property, at our disposal to be used haphazardly and irresponsibly. On the
contrary, nature was created by God, and it belongs to Him. So, we are responsible to care for
nature, climate change, and sustainable development. We are responsible and accountable for
our actions here on earth.
“Time to Panic” was an article in NYT (Feb. 16, 2019) by David Wallace-Wells saying that
“the planet is getting warmer in catastrophic ways. And fear may be the only thing that saves
us”. As I said earlier “our house on fire” and it is normal to be alarmed and panic. But let me
also remind you that, our religious traditions teach us to never give up hope and try our best
for the better. The Qur’an gives us a very clear message: “Despair not of God's mercy”
(39:53) and this is also explaining why I am here today.
Thank you.
References
Foltz, R., (2006) Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Culture, (Oxford: Oneworld Publications).
Foltz, R., Denny, F.M., Baharuddin, A. (eds.) (2003). Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Culture: Selected Essays.New York, Basic Books.
Halstead, J.M.- Taylor, M.J. (eds) (1996). Values and Values in Education, The Falmer Press.
Iqbal, M. (1958). The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Lahore: The Ashraf Press).
Rahman, F. (1980). Major Themes of the Qur’an (Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica).