Publications
Islam View of Environment & Ecology
About the Author
Fazlun Khalid is of Sri Lankan origin. He traces his ancestry to the Hadramut in Yemen and is a descendent of the intrepid sailors who pioneered the spice routes to the Far East in times gone by. Accompanied by a colleague of what was then known as the Ceylon Air Academy, he landed in New Haven on the south coast of England in 1953, from Dieppe in France. Fazlun Khalid has a worldwide reputation as an advocate of environmental protection rooted in religious traditions and is now recognised as one of fifteen leading eco-theologians in the world. He appeared on the Independent on Sunday list of the top 100 environmentalists in the UK in 2008 and is also listed amongst the “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan. He founded the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES) which is now established as the world’s leading Islamic environmental NGO.
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SNIPPET
“The Muslim contribution to this alliance for human survival can be
profound. Islam has in its teachings both an ethical perspective and a method
of practical application that can at least begin to meet the challenges that we
face. The Qur’an is inherently environmental and the basis of its eco theology
is now being used to educate people in many parts of the world. Islamic
jurisprudence contains a body of practical applications which can provide
positive solutions and it has been proven to change attitudes almost overnight
as in the case of the fishermen in Zanzibar. To multiply these activities to the
desired levels to produce lasting and successful solutions is a priority
Muslims should now be addressing. I shall be devoting the rest of this chapter
to the contribution Islamic teachings can make to the success of this
endeavour.”
