Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Islamic Education, Eco-ethics and Community

  • Published:
Studies in Philosophy and Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Amid the growing coalescence between the religion and ecology movements, the voice of Muslims who care for the earth and its people is rising. While the Islamic position on the environment is not well-represented in the ecotheology discourse, it advances an environmental imaginary which shows how faith can be harnessed as a vehicle for social change. This article will draw upon doctoral research which synthesised the Islamic ecological ethic (eco-ethic) from sacred texts, traditions and contemporary thought, and illustrated how this ethic is enlivened in the educational landscape of Islam. Knowledge of the relationship between human beings and the natural world, of the creative order upon which the world was created, and of right living, is essential in this educational project and the global ecoIslamic movement employs a range of institutes, from the masjid to the maktab, to impart the environmental message of Islam. Despite the manifestation of environmental education activities across the educational establishment, much of what passes as Islamic education today is not representative of the holistic, integrated and comprehensive educational philosophy of Islam. Contemporary social concerns, such as the environmental question, can, in my view, act as an impetus to develop a pedagogy which endeavours to be true to the religious traditions, values and ethics of Islam, while also displaying the transformative force of this faith. Muslims, at more than one-fifth of the world population, own a fair share of global concern around the earth’s health and well-being. Across the world, many continue to base their life and lifestyle decisions on the teachings of Islam, and are showing the relevance of traditional resources and institutions in meeting one of the greatest challenges facing humanity—the health of our planet.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdul-Matin, I. (2010). Green deen: What Islam teaches about protecting the planet. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abu-Hola, I. (2009). An Islamic perspective on environmental literacy. Education, 13(2), 195–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aburawa, A. (2010). Cambridge to build Europe’s first eco-mosque. Green Prophet, 12 July 2010. http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/07/eco-mosque-england/. Accessed 26 Sep 2010.

  • Al Zeera, Z. (2001). Wholeness and holiness in education: An Islamic perspective. Verndon: The International Institute of Islamic Thought.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alliance for Religion and Conservation (2010). UK: World’s first Centre for Islam and Ecologyannounced for Welsh University. ARC News and Resources. http://www.arcworld.org/projects.asp?projectID=176. Accessed 20 Dec 2010.

  • Al-Naki, K. (2004). How do we communicate environmental ethics? Reflections on environmental ethics from a Kuwaiti perspective. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 13(2), 128–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ana, S. (2010). Love Allah—Recycle. Story and follow-up materials. Waqf Sunni Book. http://islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/kids/recycle.pdf. Accessed 1 Oct 2013.

  • Anzar, U. (2003) Islamic education: A brief history of madrassas with comments on curricula and current pedagogical practices. http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog/madrassah/madrassah-history.pdf. Accessed 9 Sep 2009.

  • Arensberg, A. (2005). A guidebook for environmental conservationists in the Muslim world: How to use Islam to increase a project’s effectiveness. Unpublished Honours Dissertation. University of Florida: Environmental Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Awqaf South Africa. (2010). Awqaf SA/Association of Muslim Schools (AMS) Greening Project. http://www.awqafsa.org.za/schools_&_communities.htm. Accessed 20 Dec 2010.

  • Bagader, A.A., El-Sabbagh, A.T.E., Al-Glayand, M.A., Izzi-Deen Samarrai, M. & Llewellyn, O.A. (1994) Environmental protection in Islam. 2nd ed. IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper 20. Gland: IUCN.

  • Barclay, E. (2007). An experiment in Tanzania is emerging as an Islamic model for spreading environmental ideas. The Christian Science Monitor, 31 October 2007. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1031/p01s04-woaf.html. Accessed 7 Dec 2007.

  • Castelli, M., & Trevathan, A. (2005). The English public space: Developing spirituality in English Muslim schools. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 10(2), 123–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Entrusted Environment (2011) The Islamic environmental health guidebook. Coral Gables: University of Miami. https://umshare.miami.edu/web/wda/ethics/Proposals/Year3/Deliverables/Eco-Islam-Guidebook.pdf. Accessed 1 Oct 2013.

  • Fathi, A. (1981). The Islamic pulpit as a medium of political communication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 20(2), 163–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foltz, R. C. (2000). Is there an Islamic environmentalism? Environmental Ethics, 22(1), 63–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foltz, R. C. (2005). Environmentalism in the Muslim world. New York: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelling, P. (2009). Indonesia: The home of green Islam. Globalpost, 16 November 2009. http://www.globalpost.com/print/4570966. Accessed 26 Dec 2009.

  • Gottlieb, R. S. (2003). Liberating faith: Religious voices for justice, peace, and ecological wisdom. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, M. (2006). An Islamic approach towards environmental education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 11, 57–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haron, M., & Mohamed, Y. (1991). Introduction. In Y. Mohamed, S. E. Dangor, & A. M. Mahomed (Eds.), Perspectives on Islamic education (pp. 4–28). Johannesburg: Muslim World League.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashim, R. (2005). Rethinking Islamic education in facing the challenges of the twenty-first century. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 22(4), 133–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossain-Rhaman, P. (2006). Education for sustainability by way of values education—Bangladesh Context. In S. Woolterton & D. Marinova (Eds.), Sharing wisdom for our future: environmental education in action (pp. 93–99). Proceedings of the Australian Association of Environmental Education. http://www.aaee.org.au/2006conference/11_Hossain-Rhaman.pdf. Accessed 20 Dec 2010.

  • Husain, S. S., & Ashraf, S. A. (1979). Crisis in Muslim education. Jeddah: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim Shah, F. (n.d.). Zaynab and Zakariyya learn to recycle. London: Smart Ark.

  • Islam & Citizenship Education (ICE) Project. (2009). Islam and citizenship education project: Developing a citizenship curriculum for madrasahs. Lesson Title Islam and Environment. Key Stage 2: Lesson 16. http://www.theiceproject.sdsa.net/training-materials-key-stage-2. Accessed 3 June 2010.

  • Islamedia (2009/2010). Annual Student Magazine. Cape Town: Islamia College.

  • Izutsu, T. (2007). Ethico-religious concepts in the Qur’an. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izzi Dien, M. Y. (1997). Islam and the environment: Theory and practice. Journal of Belief and Values, 18(1), 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jafri, A. (2003). The path that Allah made. New Delhi: Goodword Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, W. (2005). Islamic law and environmental ethics: How jurisprudence (Usul Al-Fiqh) mobilizes practical reform. Worldviews, 9(3), 338–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazmi, Y. (1999). The notion of murabbī in Islam: An Islamic critique of trends in contemporary education. Islamic Studies, 38(2), 209–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazmi, Y. (2000). Historical consciousness and the notion of the authentic self in the Qur’an: Towards an Islamic critical theory. Islamic Studies, 39(3), 375–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khalid, F. (2005). Applying Islamic Environmental Ethics. In R. C. Foltz (Ed.), Environmentalism in the Muslim world (pp. 87–111). New York: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khalid, F. (2010). Islam and the environment—ethics and practice: An assessment. Religion Compass, 4(11), 707–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khalid, F., & Thani, A. (2008). Teachers guide book for Islamic environmental education. Birmingham: The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kula, E. (2001). Islam and environmental conservation. Environmental Conservation, 28(1), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latour, B. (2009). Will Non-humans be saved? An argument in ecotheology. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 15, 459–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llewellyn, O. A. (2003). The basis for a discipline of Islamic environmental law. In R. C. Foltz, F. M. Denny, & A. Baharuddin (Eds.), Islam and ecology: A bestowed trust (pp. 185–247). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makdisi, G. (1981). The rise of colleges: Institutions of learning in Islam and the west. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangunjaya, F. (2009) Indonesian Islamic school revives shari’ah conservation model. EcoIslam 6, 4. http://www.ifees.org.uk/newsletter_EcoIslam_Issue6.pdf. Accessed 18 Aug 2009.

  • Manzoor, S. P. (2005). Islamic conceptual framework. Islam Online. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah/LSELayout&cid=1158658510729. Accessed 4 June 2010.

  • Merry, M. S., & Driessen, G. (2005). Islamic schools in three Western countries: Policy and procedure. Comparative Education, 41(4), 411–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mogra, I. (2007). Moral education in the makātib of Britain: A review of curriculum materials. Journal of Moral Education, 36(3), 387–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohamed, Y. (1991). Knowledge in Islam and the crisis in Muslim education. Muslim Educational Quarterly, 8(4), 13–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murad, K., & Gamiet, A. (1981). Love all creatures. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muslim Hands (2009). Towards a greener curriculum. Muslim Hands Ramadan feedback 2009.

  • Nasr, S. H. (1997). Islam and the environmental crisis. al’Ilm, 17, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ooko, S. A. (2008). Green fishing according to Islam. EcoWordly, 10 April 2008. http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/10/green-fishing-according-to-islam/. Accessed 21 Aug 2009.

  • Ouis, S. P. (1998). Islamic ecotheology based on the Qur’an. Islamic Studies, 37(2), 151–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özdemir, I. (2003). Toward an understanding of environmental ethics from a Qur’anic perspective. In R. C. Foltz, F. M. Denny, & A. Baharuddin (Eds.), Islam and ecology: A bestowed trust (pp. 1–37). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özdemir, I. (2005). Turkey. In R. C. Foltz (Ed.), Environmentalism in the Muslim world (pp. 17–36). New York: Nova Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, K. P. (1998). Environmental ethics in interreligious perspective. In S. B. Twiss & B. Grelle (Eds.), Explorations in global ethics: Comparative religious ethics and interreligious dialogue (pp. 253–290). Boulder: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramadan, T. (2007a). In the footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the life of Muhammad. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramadan, T. (2007b). What the West can learn from Islam. http://www.tariqramadan.com/What-the-West-Can-Learn-From-Islam.html. Accessed 23 Sep 2010.

  • Ramadan, T. (2009). Radical reform: Islamic ethics and liberation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sardar, Z. (1985). Islamic futures: The shape of ideas to come. London: Mansell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwenke, A. (2012). Globalised eco-Islam: A survey of global Islamic environmentalism. Leiden Institute of Religious Studies: Leiden University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddiq, M. Y. (2003). An ecological journey in Muslim Bengal. In R. C. Foltz, F. M. Denny, & A. Baharuddin (Eds.), Islam and ecology: A bestowed trust (pp. 451–462). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ten Veen, R. C. (2009). 199 ways to please God: how to (re-)align your daily life with your duty of care for creation. New York: FastPrint.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, M. E., & Grim, J. (2001). Introduction: The emerging alliance of world religions and ecology. Daedalus, 130(4), 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waghid, Y. (2010). Towards a philosophy of Islamic education. In B. McGraw, E. Baker, & P. Petersen (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education, philosophy of education (pp. 241–246). Oxford: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan Daud, W. M. N. (1989). The concept of knowledge in Islam and its implications for education in a developing country. London: Mansell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Wildlife Fund (2009). Eco-Islam: Malaysia’s imams to preach against poaching. WWF News & Stories, 14 April 2009. http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?162082/Eco-Islam-Malaysias-Imams-to-preach-against-poaching. Accessed 20 Dec 2010.

  • Zaimeche, S. (2002). Education in Islam: The role of the mosque. Manchester: Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Stellenbosch University (SU) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF or SU.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Education Policy Studies and Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Najma Mohamed

Authors
  1. Najma Mohamed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Najma Mohamed.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mohamed, N. Islamic Education, Eco-ethics and Community. Stud Philos Educ 33, 315–328 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-013-9387-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-013-9387-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation