Islam and environmental conservation

Over thirty years ago a debate began as to whether religion in general, or the Judaeo-Christian faith in particular, were in some sense responsible fo r the present environmental predicament. Islam, as a major world religion w hich shares the same Abrahamic roots as the Judaeo-Christian tradition, has been largely absent from this debate. Most conservationists now believe th at it is essential that there be comprehensive discussion not only of envir onmental policies, but also of the ethics underlying environmental protecti on. This paper looks at the importance of the environment in the main sourc es of Islamic instruction, namely the Koran and Prophet's Hadiths (teaching s). These texts turn out to be on the side of conservation, the emphasis be ing on respect for creation, the protection of the natural order and avoida nce of all wasteful activities which may cause injury to the environment. T hese positions are contrasted with views expressed by political Islam, whic h has become influential in a large part of the Muslim world and rejects th e conservation measures advocated by Western writers.