University life has taken its toll on me, and I write this from the comfort of my home with all the discomfort of an inflamed throat and an aching body. Fortunately, the religion we are discussing this week has plenty of resources on its relationship with the environment, making research for this post a little less intensive…

Assalamualaikum! This week, we are going to take a look at Islam and the environment. However, this post will be a little different from the others. After re-reading one of my BES senior’s – Afiq’s – blog, I thought that it would be waste to give the same amount of attention to Islamic environmental theology when it was so extensively addressed in his blog. Do check it out here!

Hence, I will be placing more focus on how local Islamic groups or individual Muslims have lived out environmentally sustainable lives in concordance with their religion.

As the second-largest religion in the world, it is heartening to read that environmental conservation is, in fact, one of the basic tenets of Islam. Similar to Christianity, Islam defines the role of humans as stewards – khalifah fil ardh – of their environment, and that the current environmental crisis is a result of humankind. For Muslims, Allah is the Creator – Al-Khāliq – of all things and is their Lord and Sustainer (Rabb).

 

Corruption has appeared in both land and sea
Because of what people’s own hands have brought
So that they may taste something of what they have done
So that hopefully they will turn back

Qur’an 30: 41

 

One thing that sets the Islamic view apart from the other 3 main religions in Singapore is its emphasis on cleanliness. 33.3% of Muslim respondents in the survey I conducted talked about the need to keep their environment clean, with one respondent even going so far as to say that cleanliness was of “utmost important [sic]”. This is also in conjunction with the Islamic teaching of civic-mindedness which call for Muslims to care for others, of which maintaining a clean environment is a part of. Commendably, the Sheffield Islamic Network for the Environment (ShINE), an Islamic environmental group in the United Kingdom, organised litter-picking activities for its members for 5 years from 2006-2011.

Locally, the Muslim environmental group FiTree runs several programmes aimed at encouraging greater environmental awareness and the appreciation of nature among Muslims as well as more sustainable practices in mosques around Singapore. In line with Islamic teachings against wastage, they hope to reduce water, food and disposable plastic use.

Interestingly, as of June 2019, the Office of the Mufti (OM) in the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), Singapore’s Islamic religious authority, has issued 8 sermons that either address environmental issues directly or where the environment is part of a larger theme. However, MUIS hasn’t issued any religious rulings on the environment – unlike its counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia – which is odd, because even though these rulings aren’t legally binding, they do function as better signals of Muslims’ obligations under Islamic environmental law, and may be more symbolic than having sermons alone.

Considering that Islam has a strong, explicit emphasis on the obligations that Muslims have to take care of nature, it is a pity that MUIS has not been more vocal on environmental issues in Singapore. Perhaps it is due to the ties it has with the government that may cause any stronger stance to come off as political? What do you think?

And that marks the end of this week’s post! Hopefully, I’ll recover soon to bring you more content. 🙂

-Dennis

(Cover photo by Felix Mittermeier from Pexels)