Paper short abstract:

The Islamic Declaration of Climate Change (2015) was a result of a global awareness among Muslims. Eco-Islam has inspired practicing Muslims to develop more sustainable options within their own tradition. However, not all environmentally engaged Muslims are even interested in nature.

Paper long abstract:

Environmentalism and the conception of nature is an apt example of the transformations of values and beliefs both in religiosity and in the meaning of place. Before the Paris climate conference in 2015, an awareness among intellectuals within the Muslim community concerning the climate change took place. This came in the context of Pope Francis and Buddhist and Hindu monks publishing statements about how their respective religions viewed climate change. This triggered Muslims to reflect on the Muslim perception of environment and climate change during a two-day symposium or conference in Istanbul in 2015, which resulted in the Islamic Declaration of Climate Change.

This presentation focuses on the conception of eco-Islam in relation to the climate crisis and global awareness. The movement of Islamic eco-theology (even called eco-Islam) – based on Islamic-ecological philosophy, environmental jurisprudence grounded in sharia, and Islamic-ecological activism – has inspired practicing Muslims to develop more sustainable options within their own tradition.

However, not all environmentally engaged Muslims are even interested in nature. This can e.g. be seen in the massive entrepreneurship of green technology in the UAE. The ever-increasing awareness of climate change has caused Arab and Muslim governments and organizations to initiate environmental projects and invest in green technology, such as preservation of nature, green businesses, water purification etc. As a result, more and more businesses, whose main field of activity is the environment, have been established. This does not automatically mean that the people involved in these projects appreciate or even show interest towards nature.

Based on ethnographic research in the Middle East and in Turkey, this paper argues that the eco-Islam is gaining ground but simultaneously, it faces great challenges around the Muslim world.