Almost all religions reflect on the creation of the universe, or universes, in different forms and with varying degrees of clarity or detail. Common across most religions is an agreement that “creation” is an act of God and should be treated as such. This rapid literature review collates evidence on the role of faith and belief in environmental engagement and action in MENA region.
The review draws on academic and grey literature and finds an expanding evidence base on the relationship between Islam, Islamic thought and climate change. It also identifies emerging examples of green approaches to pilgrimage and the ‘greening’ of places of worship. Evaluations or assessments of these initiatives are, however, limited and inconclusive and much of the evidence is from a theoretical or philosophical position. Similarly, reflections on the traction of interventions such as the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change are mixed, identifying a lack of traction. The review draws particularly on the work of Skirbekk et al. (2021); Koehrsen (2021) and the UNEP Faith for Earth Initiative.
The evidence base on the connections between religion and climate change is wide-ranging, including social science research into how religious identity figures in attitudes toward climate change; confessional and constructive engagements of religious thought with climate change from various communities and traditions; historical and anthropological analyses of how climate affects religion and religion interprets climate; and theories by which climate change may itself be interpreted as a religious event.
In general, the activities that religious organisations can undertake to further climate change mitigation can be delineated into three categories:
- campaigning publicly to raise greater concern about climate change and lobbying among political decision‐makers (e.g., through public statements, media campaigns, and advocacy work),
- materialising change by undertaking socio-technological measures to reduce carbon emissions (e.g., switching energy consumption of religious buildings to renewables),
- disseminating pro-environmental values and worldviews to their religious constituencies and thereby potentially influencing their lifestyles (e.g., through religious school teachings and messages during religious services).
Muslim environmentalists draw upon the Qur’an and Sunna to generate environmental principles, thereby creating ecological interpretations of Islam and a set of Islamic environmental ethics. The main principles referred to are Tawhid and Khalifa. Their role within Islamic environmentalism is interrelated with other important principles: Mizan and Maslahah.
- Tawhid refers to the Oneness of God and is interpreted as relating to Unity of Creation, including humans and nature
- Mizan refers to Balance and is interpreted as relating to Harmony of all parts of Creation
- Khalifarefers to Humans as God’s vicegerents and is interpreted as relating to Humans as stewards of God’s Creation
- Maslahah refers to Public interest and is interpreted as relating to Care for future generations
Islam teaches its followers to take care of the Earth. Muslims believe that humans should act as guardians, or khalifah, of the planet, and that they will be held accountable by God for their actions. This concept of stewardship is a powerful one, and was used in the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change to propel change in environmental policy in Muslim countries. In the Quran there are approximately 200 verses concerning the environment.
When discussing faith and action, it is important to distinguish between “Islam” as an abstract religious knowledge system and “Muslims” as individual and collective actors (e.g., organisations) who identify with Islam. These actors may interpret the religious knowledge system in different ways. As this review shows, there is no uniform interpretation of climate change among Muslims. Based on their interpretations of Islam, Muslims have generated different approaches to climate change.
Regional traditions of Islam are likely to inform the interpretations of phenomena related to global warming. Therefore, there is a need for more empirical research on regional differences that considers the Islamic interpretations of Muslims living in the given areas.