Are British Muslims 'Green'? An Overview of Environmental Activism among Muslims in Britain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v5i3.284Keywords:
Islam, Muslims, Britain, gardening, conservation, environmentalismAbstract
An eight-month research project conducted between 2009 and 2010 examined whether and how the building of gardens reflecting Islamic traditions could promote environmental awareness and the appreciation of Islamic gardening heritage among both Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain. The study found that British Muslims are engaged in a range of projects involving the promotion of environmental conservation and sustainable horticulture. By documenting the formation and activities of Islamic environmental action groups in Britain, as well as a range of initiatives centred on mosques and community centres, it is possible to demonstrate some of the ways in which British Muslims have been engaged in grassroots pro-environmental activity. Such efforts are indicative of an important new sense of agency, belonging, and ownership of local spaces among Muslims in Britain, and they provide a marker for evaluating the growing institutionalisation of Islam in Britain.References
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Sheikh, K. 2006. ‘Involving Religious Leaders in Conservation Education in the Western Karakorum, Pakistan’, Mountain Research and Development 26.4: 319-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2006)26[319:IRLICE]2.0.CO;2.
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Wersel, L. 1995. ‘Islam and Environmental Ethics: Tradition Responds to Contemporary Challenges’, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 30.3: 451-59.
Ammar, N. 2001. ‘Islam and Deep Ecology’, in D. Barnhill and S. Gottlieb (eds.), Deep Ecology and World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Ground (New York: State University of New York Press): 193-212.
Ansari, H. 2004. The ‘Infidel’ within: Muslims in Britain, 1800 to the Present (London: Hurst).
Ball, L. 2008. ‘Green Deen vs Gloom and Doom: Environmental Activism Islamic Style’. Online: http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/journals/articles_0809/ball_long.pdf.
Beckford, J., R. Gale, D. Owen, C. Peach, and P. Weller. 2006. ‘Review of the Evidence Base on Faith Communities’ (London: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).
Chambers English Dictionary. 1998. (Edinburgh: W&R Chambers Ltd; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Clark, E. 2004. The Art of the Islamic Garden: An Introduction to the Design, Symbolism and Making of an Islamic Garden (Marlborough: Crowood Press).
DeHanas, D.N. 2010. ‘Broadcasting Green: Grassroots Environmentalism on Muslim Women’s Radio’, Sociological Review 57.2: 141-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2010.01890.x.
Fetzer, J., and J.C. Soper. 2004. Muslims and the State in Britain, France and Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790973.
Foltz, R.C. (ed.). 2003. Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust (Cambridge: Harvard University Press).
Forest Research. 2009. The ‘Faith Woodland’ Project in Maulden Woods: An Evaluation (Luton: Forestry Commission England).
Gilliat-Ray, S. 2010. Muslims in Britain: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Haleem, M.A.S. (trans.). 2004. The Qur’an: A New Translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (World Classics Series; Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Hamed, S. 1993. ‘Seeing the Environment through Islamic Eyes: Application of Shariah to Natural Resources Planning and Management ‘, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 6.2: 145-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01965481.
Hand, K. 2007. ‘Faith Woodlands: Dec 2006–March 2007—The First Phase’ (Luton: Forestry Commission England).
Hussain, M. 2009. ‘History of Wisdom in Nature and Islamic Environmentalism in the UK’. Online: http://www.wisdominnature.org.uk/About%20Us/About_Us_docs/history.htm.
Hussain, S. 2008. Muslims on the Map: A National Survey of Social Trends in Britain (London: I.B. Tauris).
Inter Faith Network. 2000. Inter Faith Co-operation, Local Government and the Regions: Councils of Faith as a Resource for the 21st Century (London: Inter Faith Network).
Islam, M.M. 2004. ‘Towards a Green Earth: An Islamic Perspective’, Asian Affairs 26.4: 44-89.
Izzi Dien, M. 1997. ‘Islam and the Environment: Theory and Practice’, Journal of Beliefs and Values 18.1: 45-57.
Jones, R.D. 2010. ‘Islam and the Rural Landscale: Discourses of Absence in West Wales’, Social and Cultural Geography 11.8: 751-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2010.521853.
Kalra, V. 2000. From Textile Mills to Taxi Ranks: Experiences of Migration, Labour and Social Change (Aldershot: Ashgate).
Khalid, F. 2002. ‘Islam and the Environment’, in P. Timmerman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Global Environmental Change (Chichester: John Wiley): 332-39.
Kula, E. 2001. ‘Islam and Environmental Conservation’, Environmental Conservation 28.1: 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0376892901000017.
Matar, N. 1997. ‘Muslims in Seventeenth-Century England’, Journal of Islamic Studies 8.1: 63-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jis/8.1.63.
Mohamed, N. 2007. ‘Islamic Ecoethics: From Theory to Practice’, paper presented at the World Environmental Education Congress, Durban, 4 July 2007. Online: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=7192390478&topic=3246.
———. 2010. ‘Muslim Eco-Warriors: Raising the Green Banner of Islam’. Online: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1262372382567&pagename=Zone-English-HealthScience%2FHSELayout.
Nasr, S.H. 1996. Religion and the Order of Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
———. 2003. ‘Islam, the Contemporary Islamic World, and the Environmental Crisis’, in Foltz 2003: 85-105.
Natural England. 2005. ‘What About Us?’ Diversity Review Evidence CRN 94 (Sheffield: Natural England).
Özdemir, I. 2003. ‘Toward an Understanding of Environmental Ethics from a Qur’anic Perspective’, in Foltz 2003: 3-37.
Reynolds, M. 2007. ‘South Woodford: Mosque Shows its Green Credentials’. Online: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/1934919.south_woodford_mosque_shows_its_green_credentials/.
Rice, G. 2006. ‘Pro-environmental Behaviour in Egypt: Is there a Role for Islamic Environmental Ethics?’, Journal of Business Ethics 65.4: 373-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-0010-9.
Rishbeth, C. 2001. ‘Ethnic Minority Groups and Design of Public Open Space: An Inclusive Landscape?’, Landscape Research 26.4: 351-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01426390120090148.
Sardar, Z. 2008. ‘Welcome to the EcoMosque’. Online: http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2008/06/ecomosque-mosques-british.
Sheikh, K. 2006. ‘Involving Religious Leaders in Conservation Education in the Western Karakorum, Pakistan’, Mountain Research and Development 26.4: 319-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2006)26[319:IRLICE]2.0.CO;2.
Vidal, J. 2005. ‘The Greening of Islam’, The Guardian, 30 November.
Wersel, L. 1995. ‘Islam and Environmental Ethics: Tradition Responds to Contemporary Challenges’, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 30.3: 451-59.
Published
2011-10-18
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Gilliat-Ray, S., & Bryant, M. (2011). Are British Muslims ’Green’? An Overview of Environmental Activism among Muslims in Britain. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 5(3), 284-306. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v5i3.284
