Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change

Faith communities increasingly recognise that the climate crisis is also a moral crisis. The adverse impacts of climate change that we have witnessed so far, present a clear case for people of faith to examine the underlying moral causes of this phenomenon. It prompts faith communities to take action to halt the desecration of nature that leads to destruction of creation, human and otherwise. Furthermore this is an opportunity for faith communities to provide a vision, inspire others and lead the way in building a fairer, safer, cleaner world built on renewable energy – leading the way on a journey to an economic system that meets development goals and is also spiritually fulfilling.

The Islamic faith community represents a significant section of the global population and certainly, can be influential in the discourse on climate change. A group of top academics has been engaged during a Islamic Climate Change Symposium held in Istambul, 17-18 August 2015, drafting an “Islamic Declaration on Climate Change” which was formally adopted. The first of its kind, the international event brought together 80 carefully selected representatives of academics, religious authorities, inter-governmental organisations, civil society, practitioners and mobilisers across a broad cross section of Muslim communities.

The Istanbul Symposium was co-organised by Islamic Relief Worldwide – the world’s largest Muslim international humanitarian and development non-governmental organisation – alongside the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science (IFEES/EcoIslam), which is the foremost global think-tank on study and action on eco-Islam and GreenFaith – the leading interfaith network on the environment. It was also supported by the largest global network of civil society groups working on climate change, Climate Action Network (CAN). It was delivered in collaboration with the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the inter-governmental body comprising 57 Muslim member states, and two of its specialised bodies: the Islamic Scienti c, Educational, Social & Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and the body in charge of Islamic jurisprudence, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA).