Mishkat Al Moumin*

Background

Preserving the environment is a basic element in Islam, because Islam was first preached in the desert, where ignoring environmental needs may cause death. Verses of the Qur’an and Prophet Mohammed speeches are clear about the need to preserve the environment. For example: “Be kind as God is kind to you, do not try to abuse the land, God does not bless the abusers’’(Chapter28,verse 77); “ they try to abuse the land, God does not bless  the abusers” (Chapter 5, verse 62);  “ We made of water every living thing” (Chapter21verse 30);  Moreover Prophet Mohammad says  “ if you could plant a tree , do it, even if it is the last thing you do”; “ Clearing the road is a charity”   Prophet Mohammed explains the need to preserve water resources by saying “Do not use water streams as restrooms. Remember; that you will use the same water to wash for your prayers.”

 Yet, this face of Islam is never addressed by clerics and scholars. Part of the reason is; environment as a whole is a new concept in Iraq and the Middle East region. The public does not understand the term “environment” and why it is important to protect it. As a result, the environment is marginalized in the Iraq and in the Middle East region. Moreover, clerics think that it is not important to address the environmental issues with the public.

 No Cooperation

Arab Communities do not cooperate with the environmental agencies there. People have no incentive to cooperate, and they lack an awareness of the threats of pollution. People think that it is solely the agencies’ job to preserve the environment, and that they do not have to do anything in that regard. Also, the citizenship relationship between the state and the people has not been established yet. People do not participate in the process of environmental decision-making, because they believe that it is the environmental agency’s field and responsibility.

The civil society movement in the Middle East is very fragile, so it cannot provide a venue for people to participate in protecting the environment. As a result most people think, including those who are very well educated, they do not have the ability or the capacity to play an active role in protecting the environment.

Objectives

Utilizing the Influence of Religion

Islam has a great influence on people’s lives in the Middle East, as it is the religion of the majority of people, and people believe in the words of clerics. There are a group of clerics who are willing to address the link between Islam and environment. They believe that Islam has a lot of peaceful practices that need to be promoted, and people generally think highly of those clerics.

Protecting the environment is an issue that both classic and modern clerics believe that Islam has an acknowledgment of. Both of them believe that that Islam recognizes all modern concepts and knowledge long before the modern science does. Having the clerics educate the people about the environment will greatly help to promote environment values and display a peaceful facet of Islam.

 Usually people in Iraq and all over the Arab Would-- including those who are very well educated, will listen to clerics and believe in them. Thus, the involvement of the clerics is crucial to promoting the environmental ideals.

Both modern and classical clerics believe that Islam recognizes the need to promote and preserve the environment. Yet, they have not addressed the issue since they believe it is not as important as the political issues are

Highlighting Peaceful Values of Islam to Encounter Jihad Ideology

Islam has many peaceful values such as preserving the environment, recognizing animal’s rights, and acknowledging women’s rights in managing water resources. Highlighting these values will lead to encounter Jihad ideology that Islam is all about violence. Moreover, addressing these values among the new generation will lead to stop the Jihadist from recruiting young people through brainwashing.

Starting within the Middle East

 Promoting the link between Islam and environment should start within the Middle East region. If the idea is addressed by the West first, people within the Middle East will see the environment as a western concept. As a result, people will understand it as anti – Islam. Also, it is important to demonstrate the peaceful ideals of Islam in the same region where violent ideals are exhibited. If the link between Islam and environment is established within a country in Middle East region then the idea can be exported to any other country in Middle East or around the world. But, as previously discussed, establishing the link between Islam and environment in any other part of world does not necessary mean that it will get adopted in the Middle East region.

Recommendations

Mobilizing the Clerics

To make an impact on people, the clerics have to address the link between Islam and Environment in one of the Middle Eastern countries. This would be best addressed by holding a conference in one of the universities, starting with University of Baghdad, School of Clerics, Al Azhar in Egypt, School of Shir’a in Jordan, or King Abed Al Aziz University. A Steering Committee will be formed from scholars and professors within the US, Europe and the Arab World. The Steering Committee would announce an assay writing contest for graduate students. The Steering Committee will visit each school and arrange for a workshop where scholars, professors, and clerics will speak to the graduate students, who will write papers highlighting the linkages between Islam and Environment. The top three papers will be rewarded by desktop computers, potentially granted, and a certificate issued by the Steering Committee. A thesis defense committee including professors and the clerics will discuss the papers, and each student will defend his/ her paper in front of that committee. A special reward, which is a laptop computer, will granted to the author of a paper that addresses the role of Muslim women in water management.

 A Regional Approach   

After conducting several workshops around the Arab World  that will portrait a modern picture of Islam as a peaceful religion, the students who will win the top three awards and the special award on the regional level will be invited to the US or to UK to address this issue with their counterparts in the American and European Universities.

The Steering Committee will organize a series of workshops at the American Universities, where students will come and present their papers and ideas. Thus, a better understanding will be achieved between the young generations, which will promote both the environment and peace.

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*Adjunct Professor, George Mason University, Dr. Al Moumin served as the first Minister of the Environment in Iraq. She holds a master and PhD in public international law from the University of Baghdad and earned a masters degree in public administration from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.