Buffelboeren in Irak die brodeloos zijn geworden vanwege extreme droogte.
Islamic environmental movement: a solution?
Many people in countries predominantly Islamic are feeling the effects of climate change, but are not taking much climate action. Climate measures from outside are experienced as being coerced, while Western climate language does not catch on. Can an 'Islamic environmental movement', based on Islamic principles, offer a way out?
Change is desperately needed. Large parts of the Middle East are expected to become unliveable in the coming decades due to extreme heat or flooding. In Iraq, sixty percent of farmers are struggling with water shortages and reduced harvests due to drought. Afghanistan at the same time is facing floods. The country lost 130 people this year to unusual amounts of rain. Many countries in the region are grappling with shortages of clean drinking water and food.
The region suffers from the consequences of climate change, but many people see no connection between their own actions and climate change, according to anthropologist Hanane Benaddi, who researches the role of religion in tackling climate change. According to her, many Islamic countries are reluctant to impose Western concepts of environmental conservation on themselves, and have difficulty giving in to pressure from countries that are already industrialized. It is the historically accumulated emissions of that industrialization that other countries suffer from.
Green Islam
Using Islamic principles to start a dialogue among Muslims can provide a solution. Nouhad Awwad is a campaigner at Ummah for Earth, a partnership aimed at combating climate change with an approach based on the Islamic faith. She emphasizes that consciously dealing with your environment fits well with Islamic values. As an example, Nouhad quotes the prophet Mohammed: “Do not waste water even if you live next to a river.” The Quran contains about 200 verses about the environment, for example “the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of man”.
“Do not waste water even if you live next to a river.”
Ummah for Earth is a fast-growing alliance with 27 partner organizations that actively call on Islamic leaders to take climate action. For example, they developed a manual for a ‘green Hajj’, a sustainable version of the pilgrimage to Mecca, but they also encourage the use of fatwas. A fatwa is an opinion issued by a competent religious authority. This authority may be an Islamic scholar, such as a mufti, an imam, or an Islamic judge. These opinions are not binding, but have considerable moral weight among the Muslim population.
Nouhad was involved in the preparing of a special fatwa in Indonesia in 2023, by the highest authority in the field of Islamic law in the country. “It is a long process, during which you have to convince the religious leaders and other involved organizations, as well as arrange financing.” It is the first fatwa specifically on climate change. The advice has two main points: all actions that can harm nature and worsen the impact of the climate crisis are ‘haram‘, prohibited. The same goes for large-scale deforestation and causing forest fires and excess emissions. Nouhad says about the effect of the fatwa: “We are now measuring that. Only in a few years will we really be able to say anything about it.”
Climate summit
Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, the organization that issues fatwas in Egypt, also issued a ‘climate fatwa’ in the run-up to the 27th climate summit in Egypt in 2022. At the same time, the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Egypt published a Twitter and Facebook message. The Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb called for serious action against climate change.
These messages have a wide reach, Hanane Benaddi explains. If the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar says something, it is addressed to all Sunni Muslims. But this particular post received a lot of criticism. It is not the greenhouse effect, but the greed of people that leads to natural disasters. God punishes immediately. Twitter (X) is full of messages along these lines.
Other concerns
Hanane is less hopeful about the use of fatwas. “The regular imams of mosques issue a fatwa in response to a question from an ‘ordinary’ Muslim.” This is different from a Grand Imam who responds to broad developments in society. The regular imams she spoke with say they are not asked any questions about climate change. It doesn’t seem to be an issue. Many people have other concerns, for example how to put food on the table, or at most the moral question: “Have I been bad and does that cause droughts or floods?”
“They are not guilty of that carbon footprint”
Many people see no connection between their own behavior and the consequences for the climate. “It has to do with language, the idea that the consequences of climate change could mean the end for humanity is difficult for Muslims to accept. After all, that is in the hands of God.” Terms such as carbon footprint (carbon footprint) also do not appeal to the average Egyptian, who has never flown and does not own a car. The effect of such language is counterproductive. They are not to blame for that footprint, so shouldn’t the West take responsibility for the damage?”
Better connection
Nouhad is more positive about the developments. “In a short period we see more fatwas being produced. Just a month ago, on May 18, a fatwa was issued in the Lebanese city of Tripoli. This imam can place climate change in relation to God and how important it is to guard the earth against damage. Religious leaders have the language that relates better to ordinary people.”
“Religion can play an important role in tackling climate change, but time is needed to ensure it is properly aligned with Islamic values,” says Hanane. “People do not deny climate change, but they do not feel morally responsible. With a good narrative, this moral religious view can change.”
Nienke Edelenbosch works as a freelance journalist and content creator in the Middle East. She is based in Beirut
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