The Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change was a faith-based collective call of

Islamic environmentalism Islamic environmentalism is a strand of environmental philosophy as well as an Islamic movement that employs environmental principles derived from Islamic holy books, Islamic scriptures and traditions to the environment and the modern-day Ecologic ...

to combat and tackle

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

addressed to Muslims all over the world. It was a result of a 2015 international symposium of representatives of academics, religious authorities, inter-governmental organisations, and civil society across a broad cross section of Muslim communities ahead of the

Paris Climate Change Conference The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Conv ...

in 2015–2016.

Event of Declaration

The Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change was launched in Istanbul as part of a two-day International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul in 17–18 August 2015. Hosted jointly by

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fr ...

ISESCO The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of educatio ...

and

International Islamic Fiqh Academy International Islamic Fiqh Academy ( ar, مجمع الفقه الإسلامي الدولي) is an international Islamic institution for the advanced study of Islamic jurisprudence and law based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded following a ...

, the symposium was co-organised by

Islamic relief worldwide Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-inspired humanitarian and development agency which is working to support and empower the world’s most vulnerable people. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1984, Islamic Relief has international headquarter ...

, alongside the

Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science (IFEES) is an environmental organization founded in 1993 by Fazlun Khalid in Birmingham, England. The IFEES have produced a range of educational materials aimed at raising Muslims' aware ...

(IFEES), and supported by climate-based civil society network

Climate Action Network Climate Action Network - International (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 environmental non-governmental organisations in over 130 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecolo ...

(CAN). The declaration was endorsed by the grand muftis of Lebanon and Uganda, along with prominent Islamic scholars and teachers hailing from 20 countries all over the Muslim world.

Message of the Declaration

The declaration is based on an environmental framework present within the principles of Islam, and is part of faith-based climate activism. Its core stems from the essence of a body of ethics known as the Knowledge of Creation (Ilm ul khalq), which is based on the Holy Qur’an. It is part of a spiritual fight against

, alongside similar calls by the Catholic Pope and other religious figures. The Islamic Climate Change Declaration iterates a call to reject human greed for natural resources, have respect for “perfect equilibrium” of nature, and focused on the need for recognition of the “moral obligation” towards conservation.

Contents of the Declaration

The focus of the title is on

, and sidelines other ecological concerns. The preamble of the declaration begins with doctrinal affirmation that God created the world. This is connected to the concept of oneness and tied to the unity of creation, giving credence to the idea that the planet is shared by all humanity. The role of human beings as God's ''Khalifah'' on earth, or stewards of God's creation, forms a central tenet of the Islamic declaration on climate change, since human beings have failed to live to their duty of stewardship, and have corrupted and abused the earth instead. The example of Muhammad and his lifestyle is brought forward to highlight practical manifestations of Islamic principles of conservation and eco-friendliness.

References

External links

Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, The Islam and environmentalism

Islamic Declaration The ''Islamic Declaration'' ( bs, Islamska deklaracija) is an essay written by Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003), republished in 1990 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. It presents his views on Islam and modernization. The ...

Climate action plans