Environment, Sustainability and Islam

This article argues that this inaction stems from two factors. First is the reluctance to critically engage with modern concepts of environmentalism due to a climate of suspicion and fear towards the West. Second is the Islamisation phenomenon that hides behind a veneer of ‘Islamicity’ with little care for ethics, and disengaged from the inequities produced by abusive economic systems. This article further argues that such approaches are counterproductive and will elaborate on the importance of connecting with the larger picture by analysing some of these ideas using Seaspiracy as an example. It will then conclude by outlining three recommendations that Muslims can refer to in addressing major contemporary environmental issues.

Deficiency of Muslim Contribution

Siege Mentality

According to Fadl, in the age of postcolonialism, Muslims have had to confront social and political realities that have inevitably pushed them to be preoccupied with attempts to remedy a collective feeling of powerlessness by engaging in what he calls a ‘theology of power’⁵. This theology largely relies on unfounded claims about the particularities of a specific set of values and proceeds to classify it as either ‘Islamic’ or ‘Western’. As a result, this theology engages in a civilisational bifurcation to identify ‘One’ against the ‘Other’. Fadl maintains that this has more to do with one’s anxieties rather than an accurate account of the ‘Other’. By constructing the ‘Other’ as the antithesis, it gives one control within his circle to shape normative beliefs that are seemingly pure, Islamic and devoid of the dangerous Other⁶. In this case, the Other is the West or the global North. This defensive mode of thinking is disassociated from the Islamic civilisational experience that is rich and diverse⁷. Unsurprisingly, it reduces Islam to a single facet, which is, power.

What prevails is an aggravated siege mentality, which leaves no room for analytical and creative thought, and impoverishes the Islamic intellectual tradition⁸. Concerning environmentalism, many Muslim countries and societies are reluctant to bow to pressures from Western groups for fear that it is interlinked with the ongoing process of colonialism, inspired by secular Western values that are insensitive to indigenous cultures. Though there is weight to this concern, which we will explain later, it should not stop Muslims from critically engaging with modern environmental concepts.

Islamisation

What followed from the siege mentality were efforts to make Islam a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to every problem. A key factor of this Islamisation phenomenon was the growing attachment of Muslims to Islam which emerged in the late 20^th Common Era (CE) that was rooted in the pursuit of power as a response to Western modernity⁹. What ensued was the total rejection of any systems from the West by creating Islamic alternatives to re-strengthen the wounded Ummatic (or Muslim community) identity. It is during this period that we see the exponential growth of Islamic economic and political systems. Similarly, we see attempts to Islamise environmental concepts by sprinkling Islam on development models as an antidote to our ecological crisis¹⁰. However, it is in the interest of this article to argue that such attempts will be counterproductive as it does not engage and critically question the development models forced on both industrialised and more impoverished developing societies. It is not to say that Islamisation efforts are categorically uncritical of Western models that promote consumerism and radical individualism. Still, one can hardly find a deep engagement of these models from within the Islamic tradition in the name of the higher ethical goals such as justice, solidarity and dignity. This ethical commitment is not an outright rejection of these systems to save Muslims only. Instead, it lies in questioning structures related to development projects and models for human flourishing at large. In short, the Islamisation project is simply an effort to Islamise modernity that aims to set up systems that maintain the rationalism of the West clothed in an ‘Islamic’ paradigm. Moreover, efforts that are disengaged from these structures will always remain insular and marginal, which makes them counterproductive.

Why is it important to engage deeply with these structures? It allows us to understand the philosophical underpinnings objectively without blindly demonising the West. Using Seaspiracy as an example, although it has its advantages which we have briefly highlighted earlier, a deep engagement of the series tells us of a few things that are antithetical to Islam and religion in general, but we will only highlight two.

Environmentalism and Eurocentrism

White Veganism

It somewhat alludes to the idea of veganism that intersects with a certain ‘whiteness’. We are not referring to biological traits or geographical location but a particular form of mentality that perpetuates superiority and entitlement that is insensitive towards indigenous cultures and apathetic towards power structures that are causing these inequities in the first place – namely capitalism. Capitalism is a powerful force that influences the production of cultural commodities but also determines who benefits from them¹¹. The fact that documentaries such as Seaspiracy offer no alternatives to the numerous communities across the globe that depend on fishing for survival is problematic. Giving up seafood is a privilege and would not solve the issue. Instead, we should channel our energy on transforming policies to uplift these fishing communities.

Uncivilised Natives

Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising to see an unfair representation of Asians and indigenous communities in the documentary. They are depicted as vicious, uncivilised and requiring a White man/woman to save them from their ‘backwardness’. Referring to Edward Said's notion of Orientalism, the West is always the actor, and the Orient is a passive reactor¹². It is a discourse created by European culture and political power that forces the world into binaries. According to Arjana, for the longest time, people in the global North have thought of themselves as modern humans and everyone else as different or unmodern¹³. This attitude has enabled Europeans to control the Orient culturally, politically, and ideologically¹⁴. Thus, any Muslim efforts concerning Western development models must first engage with this discourse on a philosophical level to decolonise and re-sacralise man’s relationship with the natural world. Not much will change unless a serious attempt is made to address capitalism and its underlying utilitarian philosophy, equating happiness with material satisfaction. In order to satiate this gratification, it commodifies everything and alters our value system that profits on inequalities and exploitation.

Recommended Approaches

Reconnect with Our Morality

The late German sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (d. 2017) characterised the liquid modern society as constantly pursuing a goal but lacking a clear final destination. Due to this, it compels individuals to consume and turn them into objects of consumption to escape the insecurity and fulfil fleeting satisfaction¹⁵. As Muslims, this end goal represents death as the culmination of life. The idea of death would urge us to be good. Unfortunately, today, death is a distanced reality. It is easier for us to forget death and harder for us to be reminded of our mortality. We tend to isolate and conceal death in unfamiliar spaces such as hospitals and hospices¹⁶. The historian Richard Bulliet has blamed this on the social shift from domesticity to post-domesticity¹⁷. Domesticity refers to communities’ social, economic and intellectual characteristics in which its members are in close contact with animals other than pets. Unlike a post-domestic society where its members live far away from the animals that provide them with food, they consume them in abundance yet psychologically feel guilt when they think about the industrial processes of the meat industry¹⁸. It best describes the current condition of how we see our meat: a pound of flesh, tightly packed with its calculated worth. We are far removed from the metaphysical element of the sacrifice to an extent that we fail to recognise that a life was taken at all. It has theological implications that need to be discussed further but is beyond the scope of this article¹⁹.

Ethical Consumption Based on The Purpose of Creation (Maqasid Al-Khalq)

Our relationship with the natural world is not human-centric, where humans are at the top of the food chain and everything else is subservient. But the Quranic vision of man’s position in the natural world is a symbiotic relationship, in harmony with nature. According to Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani (d. 502), this Quranic vision outlines three main tasks that inform how a man should act and behave ethically²⁰:

i. Cultivation of the earth (‘imãrat al-ard) to benefit man and the environment. There is an element of reciprocity. One of the pioneers of environmental ethics, Aldo Leopold, coined the term ‘land ethic’ in which we have to respect the land and protect it from being exploited.

ii. Acting as a vicegerent or trustee on earth (khilãfa) with a vicegerental vision that is theocentric not anthropocentric.

iii. Religious obligations and rituals (‘ibãda).

Thus, the closer one gets to fulfilling these tasks, the more moral one becomes. Success (falah) is interlinked with the fulfilment of these tasks. Furthermore, as Muslims, we need to rethink our relationship with the environment through a Tawhidic (or Oneness of God) paradigm. Tawhid is not just an abstract concept but is also a guide for social action. The Quran has underlined our duty to establish and maintain God's moral and social order to preserve Tawhid ²¹. Therefore, any effort that supports the well-being of His creations is critical for a Tawhidic society²². Thus, in the name of Tawhid, we need to ensure that our consumption habits are not causing harm to the environment, and we need to challenge power structures that allow our lands and seas to be exploited.

Interdisciplinary Thinking

The economist Amartya Sen argues that development cannot be divorced from ecological and environmental concerns. He further adds that essential components of human freedom, including the quality of life, are thoroughly dependent on the integrity of the environment²³. Thus concepts such as sustainable development must be critically analysed to ensure that it promotes the common good of humankind and the environment. Perhaps moving forward, what is required is an interdisciplinary approach to the environment that brings together Muslim scholars, food scientists and experts working on theoretical and practical frameworks to solve contemporary food issues, food safety, sustainability, security, fair trade, alternative farming and modern technologies that can help to build a better future²⁴. In short, we need a transformative Islamic ecology that combines fields such as Islamic eco-theology, political ecology, behavioural sciences and social sciences. It is vastly different from a literalist theology of the environment that is apathetic towards modern scientific ecology.²⁵

These alternative ecologically-minded solutions and methods must challenge the deadly confluence of capitalism and consumerism that has made sustainable development a reality for the rich but remains an unfulfilled dream for the poor and marginalised. An Islam that uses human agency not to usher in exploitation, but to make goodness a reality for all, is the culmination of human dignity and flourishing.