Islam Ecology

Muslims believe Allah intended humans to be the caretakers of the earth.

There are five general areas taught in Islam about how Allah expects His creation to interact with the environment. The Alliance of Religions and Conservation Web site lists these as Khalifa, Tawheed, Akrah, Avoiding Waste, and Shariah. Khalifa is the concept that Allah trusts people to take care of the environment. Tawheed represents the interdependence between the environment and people. Akrah is Allah's future judgement based on how well people protect the environment. Avoiding waste means although the environment is there for people to use, they are to use it wisely and not overuse it. Shariah is the law created based on the principal of protecting the environment.

The main organization created for serving environmental needs based on Islam beliefs is the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, based in London. The foundation does research, outreach, creates journals and teaching materials, provides training and has projects in several countries.

Several worldwide projects teach environmentalism from an Islamic viewpoint in a modern way. These projects are in Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Yemen and Mexico. One example is in Yemen where the foundation is helping to set up water conservation techniques.

ECO-ISLAM is a journal put out by the foundation that covers all kinds of environmental issues from an Islamic point of view. The August 2007 issue has an article about Iraq's marshes being destroyed by the war.

Future Plans include building a College for Ecology and Environmental Sciences. Right now they're raising funds to build the college.