ECOLOGICAL LITERACY, ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

AND CONTEXTUAL CONCEPTIONS OF EDUCATION:

THE CASE OF SHIA PEOPLE OF FASHAPOOYEH VILLAGE, TEHRAN COUNTY,

IRAN

by

Mahtab Eskandari

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

(Curriculum Studies)

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

(Vancouver)

April, 2020

© Mahtab Eskandari, 2020

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The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled:

Ecological Literacy, Environmental Ethics And Contextual Conceptions Of Education: The Case Of Shia People Of Fashapooyeh Village, Tehran County, Iran.

Submitted by Mahtab Eskandari in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies.

Examining Committee:

Dr. Samson M. Nashon, Professor, Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of British Columbia.

Research Supervisor

Dr. Tracy Friedel, Associate Professor, Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC.

Research Committee Member

Dr. Sayyed Mohsen Fatemi, Adjunct Faculty, Psychology, York University.

Research Committee Member

Dr. Hartej Gill, Associate Professor, Educational Studies, UBC.

University Examiner

Dr. Susan Gerofsky, Associate Professor, Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC.

University Examiner

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Abstract

The main questions addressed in this study are in the domains of ecological literacy, environmental ethics and contextual conceptions of education. Hence the study uses the case of

Shia people of Iran and their environmental ethics to investigate the trans-historical realities in conceptualizing science-humanism in association with dominant notions of nature, the environment and ecology. In particular, special focus is directed at understandings and practices associated with environmental education in the context of local Shia people in Fashapooyeh, a traditional village in the county of Tehran in Iran. Major cultural ways of education existing in this context were explored, and their relation to contextual ontologies were examined. Thus, methodologically, the study employed articulation of dis-orientalising strategies in order to avoid oriental dogmas with respect to the particular context of the study. In this way, interpretive analytic case study methods, which drew heavily on critical ethnographic methods of field observations and interviews, were used in data collection. Revelations from the analysis of the data corpus include 1) among Shia people, actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by ethics of religion, and they are governed by the Shia conception of humanism; 2) Everyday life schedules are interestingly governed by key calendar markers where contemporary discourses are a function of interaction between Indigeneity and modernity; 3) The Shia understanding of life is in close relation with understanding the order of nature, and that Shia identity and environmental health practices are not mutually exclusive. The findings challenge the current dominant concept of ecological literacy and its foundational preoccupation of nature, the environment, cosmos citizenship, balance and specifically the notion of literacy.

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These findings or revelations suggest new perspectives on conceptualizing ecological literacy in relation to ontological approaches to contemporary cultures. The outcomes challenge current dominant approaches to the concept of sustainability, and offer insight into how we might re- conceptualize and teach sustainability as a way of life grounded in their relative contextual ontologies. In the realm of Indigenous studies, the findings suggest processes of theorizing and analyzing research in respect to their particular contextual ethics and ontologies.

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Lay Summary

Being a traveling teacher with a background in science, education and social studies, I have designed this research study as an opportunity to investigate environmental ethics in relation to the culture in which they are situated. The definition of culture, here, adopts a broad meaning in relation to understanding life, the meaning of being, and also the practices that emerge from these understandings. The selected participants are a group of marginalized people who voluntarily identify themselves as practicing Shia Moslems. Their understanding of definitions of nature, the environment and ecology are investigated. On the other hand, their rituals and practices are examined in association with environmental ethics. In the realm of education, Shia peoples’ ways of knowing and learning about their version of environmental ethics are explored.

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Preface

This dissertation is an original intellectual product of the author, Mahtab Eskandari. The fieldwork reported in the Appendices was covered by UBC Ethics Certificate number H16-

01815.

The author has identified and designed the research study. The author has performed data collection, interview design and interview conduct, translation, transcription and analysis of the research data.

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Table of Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….iii

Lay Summary…………………………………………………………………………...………..v

Preface…………………………………………………………………………………...……….vi

Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………….vii

Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………...….xvi

Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………...…xvii

1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION...……………………………...….……………..1

1.1 Domain of Education………………………………………………………………..3

1.2 Contextual Approaches in the Domain of Education...…………………...…..…..4

1.3 Researcher’s Background…………………………………………………………..5

1.4 Particularities of the Research Context………………..…………………………..8

1.5 Purpose of the Research……...………………………………………..…………..10

1.6 Significance of the Study...…………………………………………………..……17

2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………..…………20

2.1 Pragmatics of the Concept of Ecology……..………………………………….….21

2.2 Humanism and Ecology……………………………………………………………22

2.3 Contemporary Conceptions of Ecological Literacy……………..…………….…24

2.4 Situating Contemporary Concepts of Ecological Literacy………………………26

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2.5 Ontological Discourses on Ecology...……………………………………………...28

2.5.1 Eco-criticism…………………………………….…………………………29

2.5.1.1 Bateson’s Critique……………….……………………..……...…29

2.5.1.2 Nasr’s Critique…………...…………………………………..…..33

2.6 Ecological Literacy and Sustainability Discourses………….………………..….33

2.7 Sustainability in Political Discourses of Globalization………..……………..…..34

2.8 Corporate Sustainability and Discourses of Power…………………………....…36

2.9 Corporate Sustainability in Iranian Context………………..……………………36

2.10 Context-based Research Against Corporate Sustainability………………...…..37

2.5.2 Drawing on Eco-theology in Re-conceptualizing Eco-literacy………….38

2.5.2.1 Shia Islamic Conception of Ecological Literacy………….....…38

2.5.2.2 Ontological Discourses and Environmental Crisis………...….38

2.5.2.3 Religious Historicism………………..…………………………..39

2.5.2.4 Environmental Crisis and Religions………….……………..…41

2.11 Educational Theories and Contextually Situated Worldviews………………….45

2.12 Education in Context of Iran…………………………………...………………....47

2.12.1 Pre-Islamic Era in Iran…………………………………………...……….47

2.12.1.1 Conceptualization of Education in Pre-Islamic Iran……….....47

2.12.1.2 Modes of Education in Pre-Islamic Iran………………...….....48

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2.12.1.2.1 The State-centered Paradigm……………….……..48

2.12.1.2.2 The Community-centered Paradigm………………49

2.12.2 The Islamic Era in Iran……………………………………...……...….50

2.12.2.1 Conceptualization of Education in Islamic Iran…………...50

2.12.2.1.1 Islamic Thought…………………………..….....52

2.12.2.1.2 Defining Shia in the Domain of Education……52

2.12.2.1.3 Shia Islamic Literacy…………..……….………55

2.12.2.1.4 Islamic Teaching…………………………...…..56

2.12.2.2 Modes of Education in Islamic Iran…………………….…...58

2.12.3 The Recent era in Iran……………...……………………………..…..59

2.12.3.1 Conceptualization and Modes of Education in Recent Iran………59

2.13. Education and New Imperialism………………...………………………….....61

2.13.1 Conceptualization of Modern Ontology-rooted Education in Iran…..63

2.13.2 Modern Education in Iran……………...………...……………….…..63

2.14. Indigenous Approaches to the Concept of Knowledge Construction………..64

2.15. Ecological Education in Contemporary Islamic Contexts……………….…...64

3 CHATER THREE: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………….68

3.1. Introduction to the Methodology…………………………………………...…….68

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3.1.1 Methodological Approach………………………………...……...…...….69

3.2. Ontological Appropriation……………………………...……………...……….69

3.2.1 Progressiveness……………………………………………………………72

3.2.2 Essentialism……………………………….……………….……………….72

3.3. Avoiding Oriental Methodology……………………………………………….75

3.4. Modern Orientalism……………………………………………………...……..76

3.4.1 Ecological Orientalism……………………….………………………...….77

3.4.2 Geographical Orientalism………….……………………………………...77

3.4.3 Topological Orientalism……….……………………………………….….78

3.5. Oriental Methodological Dogmas……………………………………...…...…..78

3.6. Decolonizing Strategies in Methodological Approach………………..…….…79

3.7. Methods of Approach…………………………………...………………...…….80

3.8. Critical Self-reflexivity……………………...……………………………….….83

3.9. Narrativity……………………………………………………………………….84

3.10. Narrative Analysis……………...…………………………………….………..85

3.11. Methods of Decolonization………...…………………………………..………86

3.12. Language as Discourse……………………………...………………..………..95

3.13. Data Collection………………………………………………...……………….96

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4. CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS…………………..……………………..….100

4.1. Data Construction……………………………………………...……………..…100

4.1.1 Codes and Index Categories…………………….……...……………..…...100

4.1.1.1 Index Code 1: Green circles: Holy Names and Holy Places…....101

4.1.1.2 Index Code 2: Green Triangles and Blue Circles: Shia Cocepts101

4.1.1.3 Green Line: Explanation, Reasoning, Emerging Practices…….103

4.1.2 The Process of Constructing Result Themes From Data…….……….…120

4.1.2.1 Themes…………………………………...…………………...……121

4.1.2.1.1 Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed

by Ethics of religion…………………………...………121

4.1.2.1.1.1 Hijab………………………………………..123

4.1.2.1.1.2 Eftar………………………….………….…123

4.1.2.1.1.3 Moraghebeh………………………………..125

4.1.2.1.1.4 Esraaf……….……………………….……..125

4.1.2.1.1.5 Ghena-at…………….…………………..….127

4.1.2.1.1.6 Ethical farming……….…………….….…..127

4.1.2.1.1.7 Namaaz………………….…………….……128

4.1.2.1.1.8 Takreem ….…………………………….….129

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4.1.2.1.1.9 Halal…………...…………………………....131

4.1.2.1.1.10 Sawaab………………………………….…..131

4.1.2.1.1.11 Hagh………………………………………...133

4.1.2.1.1.12 Reza………………………………...…….....134

4.1.2.1.1.13 Beit-al-maal………………………….…..…135

4.1.2.1.1.14 Raoufat……………………………………...136

4.1.2.1.1.15 Nazri………………………………….……..136

4.1.2.1.2 Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by

Shia conception of Humanism……………..……....……137

4.1.2.1.2.1 Reverse Theories of Otherness and Anti-

-Narcissism in Islam……………………………..……...138

4.1.2.1.2.2 High Sense of Cosmos Citizenship………....138

4.1.2.1.2.3 Taw-heed…………….………………….……138

4.1.2.1.2.4 Rastakheez………..…………………….……140

4.1.2.1.2.5 Human verses Adam……………...…………140

4.1.2.1.2.6 Hasti verses Zendegi…………………...……141

4.1.2.1.2.7 Living in the Angelic World…………...……142

4.1.2.1.2.8 Ashraf…………………..……………….……143

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4.1.2.1.3 Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by

following standards of Islamic spiritual wellbeing….…144

4.1.2.1.3.1 Tawakkol …………………………...…….…144

4.1.2.1.3.2 Taghwa………………………………….……145

4.1.2.1.3.3 Needlessness………………………….………146

4.1.2.1.3.4 Hope because of Hozour and Zohour…....…147

4.1.2.1.4 Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by

agendas of maintaining balance………..………….…....148

4.1.2.1.4.1 Taw-heed…………………………………..…148

4.1.2.1.4.2 Nabowat ………………………………..……148

4.1.2.1.4.3 Ma-ad………………...…………….……...…149

4.1.2.1.4.4 Adle ……………………………………..……149

4.1.2.1.4.5 Imamat ………………………………………149

4.1.2.1.5 Everyday life schedules are governed by key calendar

markers ………...…………………………………..….149

4.1.2.1.5.1 Annual Nowruz ………………………...……150

4.1.2.1.5.2 Annual Rose Extraction Ritual ……………..151

4.1.2.1.5.3 Annual Yalda ……………………………...…152

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4.1.2.1.5.4 Annual Ramadan……………………………153

4.1.2.1.5.5 Annual Ashura………………………………153

4.1.2.1.5.6 Daily Time Remarks………….....………..…155

4.1.2.1.6 Contemporary discourses are a function of interaction

between Indigeneity and modernity…………...……..157

5. CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION……………..…………………………...………160

5.1. Frameworks for the Research Approach……………………..……………...162

5.2. Design of Semi Structured Interviews……………………..……………….…163

5.3. Construction of Field Notes…………………..…………………………….….164

5.6. Process of Analysis………………………………..……………………….…...165

5.7. Ethical Considerations……………………………………..………….………182

5.7.1 Context-based Ethical Frameworks………………………….....….…...182

5.7.2 Language Structure Frameworks………..……………………….…….183

5.7.3 Post-colonial Ethical Frameworks……………………..…………….….186

6. CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS …………...…....…192

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………. .198

APPENDICES…..…………………………………………………………………..221

Appenddix 1: Field Notes……………………………………………...………...221

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Appendix 2: Interview Questions………………………...……………………...231

Appendix 3: Interview Answers in Farsi………..………………………….…233

Appendix 4: Interview Translations from Farsi to English……………...... …256

Appendix 5: Figures………………………………………………………….….293

Appendix 6: Index……………………………………………………………….300

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List of Figures

Figure 1. The study’s theoretical approaches to ontological discourses on ecology…………...292 Figure 2. The guiding concepts for methodology………………………………………………293 Figure 3. The stages of data construction……………………………………………………... 294 Figure 4. Constructed themes…………………………………………………………………..295

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Acknowledgements

I acknowledge that this study has been guided by encounters and learnings that occurred on the unceded land of the Musqueam people of Point Grey, the Indigenous people of this place.

I offer my enduring gratitude to the late supervisor and professor Don H. Krug, may God rest him in peace, whose pedagogy liberated my educational journey.

I send my particular thanks to Professor Samson Madera Nashon, whose guidance supported me throughout this journey.

I thank Professor Sayyed Mohsen Fatemi, who taught me the ethics of writing and being through writing.

I am grateful to Dr. Tracy Friedel, whose education evolved my vision of being in an unceded place as a guest of the land, the people and nature.

Special thanks are owed to my dear parents, Effat and Manouchehr, my dear husband, Kourosh, and my darling daughter, Mahneshan, who stood by me throughout this journey.

My sincere gratitude is offered to the village people of Fashapooyeh, visitors to the Bibi-

Shahrbanu temple, and the extraordinary guardians of temples across Ray.

Sincere thanks are owed to the Musqueam people of Point Grey.

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Dedication

To my Mother, Effat

for her unique sacrifice and love

To my daughter, Mahneshan

for the healing she gifted me

for the future that is hers

To my grandfather, Ali

for his eternal faith in hope

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

As contemporary examinations of environmentalism and ecological literacy from cultural positions are growing in societal discourses, place-based understandings and practices associated with nature remain underrepresented (Mohamed, 2013; Cengage, 2012; Barry 2009). On another note, environmental crisis, developing along with the modern version of human existence, has a spiritual crisis at its core (Nasr 2014; Mohammed 2013; Ramadan 2009; Tucker & Grim 2001;

Foltz 2000). Therefore, towards restructuring environmental ethics and actions, contemporary environmental scholars and activists suggest examining the ontological and metaphysical roots of these movements, which shape ecological and environmental understandings in order to identify the practices in relation to their particular cultural contexts (Tucker & Grim, 2001;

Gottlieb, 2003; Latour, 2009). Critics of modern civilization blame the dominant modern order for disturbing traditional orders such as the order of nature and religion in marginalized contexts

(Crossby, 2004; Chittick, 2001; Escobar, 2001; Egbert, 1998). They blame the new order as being constructed by modern ontologies and for producing disturbing consequences in relation to the order of nature. Scholars in environmental ethics call for investigations of cultural practices associated with nature and the environment in marginalized contexts (Gruenewald, 2003;

Escobar, 2001; Hall, 1976). In many such contexts, religious practices and rituals are central to practices associated with nature, and their roles are remarkable in shaping understandings about the order of nature among their practitioners (Apffel-Marglin, 1998). On the one hand, some eco- criticists claim that environmental crisis originated in the human collective attempt to marginalize traditional knowledge and religions in the era of modern civilization (Cengage,

1

2012; Freeman, 1992). Such critiques situate the current condition of nature in the midst of ontological forces of modernity (Nkurmah, 1965; Nasr, 1968; Nasr, 1987; Nasr, 1976; Swimme,

1996; Hakimi, 1998). These ontological forces of modernity include greed and secularism, which go against the grain of nature’s sacredness (Nasr, 2014; Nasr, 2007; Hinchman, 2004; Hakimi,

1998; Egbert, 1998; Mutahhari, 1982). On the other hand, dominant discourses of environmental ethics are structured from the secularist points of view of studying the environment and nature.

Environmental historians claim that after medieval historicism, which separated nature from its sacredness, the consciousness of the environmental movement started to take shape in relation to alternative ontologies which provided space for loving nature (Nasr, 2014; Fatemi, 2012; Moore,

2008; Nasr, 2007; Crosby, 2004; Najam, 2003; Freeman, 1992; White, 1967). In the quest for returning to sentimental sympathy with nature, the post-medieval movements in the environmental realm refuged traditional ontologies such as Indigenous, Buddhist and Hindu cultures (Nasr, 2014). Related, religion gradually grew back into environmental discourses

(Nasr, 2014).

Scholars and activists (Nasr, 2014; Vaillant, 2008; Hakimi 1998; Hope, 1994; Subbarini, 1993;

Rahim, 1991; Chittick, 1981), who argue that such refuge to traditional ontologies, such as contemporary religions with their intact connections to traditional spiritualities, still have a broader opportunity to solve environmental crises, call for investigation of traditional paradigms for understanding nature. They also call for examination of traditional practices and their relationship with nature. Eco-critics advocate for investigation of traditional forms and understandings of the concept of nature, in order to identify their underlying environmental values. Nasr (2007) mentions religion as a major traditional cultural extension in many contexts.

Moreover, eco-theologists (Nasr, 2014; Cengage, 2012; Saniotis, 2012; Chittick, 2001; Hakimi

2

1998; Egbert, 1998) call for the study of natural philosophy and its ontologies from the perspectives of contemporary religions.

1.1 Domain of Education

In the realm of education, Kahn (2010), Nehru (1935) and Mutahhari (1982) critically analyse dominant theories of education. Nehru and Mutahhari draw on the critical analysis of modern theories of education by emphasizing that the cross-contextual transfer of such education systems is at odds with Eastern ontologies salient in Eastern traditional modes of education. Their critiques discuss in detail the fundamental characteristics of dominant education theories in

Western contexts, arguing that they stem from Western historicism and modern ontological grounds (Nasr, 2007; Hakimi, 1998). The critics of modern education call for contextual approaches to redefine education in relation to context. Tikly (2004) discusses the dominant education theories which are developing at the global level, and which give rise to education policies mainly governed by global multilateral agencies that are grounded in imperialistic structures of governmentality (Rose & Miller, 1992; Harris, 1999; Tikly, 2004). Tikly calls for identification of “technologies of government” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188) in the realm of education. In defining such technologies, Tikly draws on techniques, policies, procedures and strategies which are used cross-contextually to integrate imperialistic political rationalities into education theories and into conceptualizations of education in particular contexts. Tikly further points to the prominent role of colonial education as the basis for a new imperialism (Tikly, 2004, p. 188).

Modern forms of education, which are rooted in modern ontologies, are described as the technologies of “colonization of the mind” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188; Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, 1981;

Nandy, 1997). In interpreting associated conceptualizations of education in modern ontologies,

Tikly places emphasis on” the Western episteme based on Eurocentric conceptions of human

3 nature and of social reality” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188). Tikly thus further discusses the spread of such conceptualizations, modes and structures of education as an essential “precondition for the subsequent spread of global governmentality” (Tikly, 2004, p. 189). Tikly (2004) critically analyzes such promotion of modernization through the development of human capital theory by the means of education between the 1960s and 1970s in the target contexts of new imperialism.

Tikly underscores the means through which modern education became a severe reinforcement of new imperialism through limiting the capacities of identification and implementation of contextual educational forms and contextual conceptualizations of education.

1.2 Contextual Approaches in the Domain of Education

In Constructive philosophical approaches towards defining education, the importance of contextual approaches is raised to redefine education. Tikly (2004) emphasizes the potentiality of education as the realm of knowledge construction towards anti-imperialism. Anti-imperialist scholars call for contextual approaches to re-conceptualize education in order to go beyond the existing order of knowledge being reinforced by the current dominant modern conceptualization of education (Said, 1979; Tuhiwai Smith, 1999; Santos, 1999; Tikly, 2004; Grande, 2004; Stoler,

2008). Contextualizing education provides space for contextualizing knowledge production away from a new hegemonic order which marginalizes and dominates other orders and ways of knowing and meaning making (Crossley & Watson; Tikly, 2004). Tikly (2004) indicates that identification and establishment of contextual curriculum and pedagogy can foster critical thought and social transformation as a new anti-imperialistic politics.

In the education domain, the leading question in this study addresses the importance of examining contextual notions of education and how they contribute to constructive approaches in teaching and learning. There is an emergent call to redefine education in relation to context and

4 its specific dynamics of social engagement and cultural life (Nehru, 1935; Chambers, 1999;

Laird, 2004; Mackler, 2009). In educational philosophy, all conflicting yet dominant approaches define education as an institutional entity, and for the most part disregard the integrated notion of education as a cross generational cultural entity in relation to diverse ontologies of life and ontologies of being in contemporary worldviews (Nehru, 1935; Grande, 2004). In a Constructive philosophy of education, knowledge is constructed at the intersection of social actions and entities of context (Bruner, 1960; Smith, 1999; Grande, 2004). It is essential to redefine education as a function of context and to consider the contemporary forms in which education resides within contextual structures of culture and their entities (Nehru, 1935; Agyeman, 2003).

Culture in the context of living is constantly in dialogue with contextual values and meanings in accordance with contextual ontologies. Culture regulates social action in relation to the constant refreshing of emerging values within the context (Hall, 1992).

Towards addressing the gaps in examining contextual approaches to construct a definition of education relevant to people of a context, I drew on place-based approaches in designing the study; however, having the research context situated in a traditional village in the county of

Tehran in Iran, with all its particularities, I decided to use the term “contextual education” rather that “place-based education”. I learned that place-based education has its origins in the strategic plans of Orion Society situated in a modern context; therefore, the concepts of community and organization drastically differ from the concept of community in a non-modern traditional context like Fashapooyeh in Iran.

1.3 Researcher’s Background

My own experience as a Moslem educator from Iran situated in a modern context has led me to this research study in relation to wanting to understand the gaps identified by contemporary eco-

5 critical scholars in the realms of education and environmental ethics. I underwent an intellectual and spiritual crisis when I became situated in the midst of scientific education in the modern context of West. I decided to leave my fields of Genetics, Evolution and Ecology, since their scientific approach in the new context was based on ontological foundations, which did not provide space for other ontologies and ways of knowing in my background. I decided to conduct my self-explorative studies by entering the field of Humanities, while I was hoping to find perspectives and approaches which embrace or, at least provide space for understandings different from the dominant modern ontologies. Drawing on eco-critical approaches which situate current invironmental crisis in the midst of ontological forces of modernity, I started to explore other ontological approaches to contemporary natural philosophies. Drawing on Freire’s eco-pedagogy calling for the examination of contemporary cultures in relation to nature and environmenta from the perspective of people living those cultures, I learned that Islamic critics draw our attention to recent ecological discourses in relation to the process of historicism in the making of modern science and the transformation of humanism in dominant modern literature.

Islamic scholars emphasize the inclusion of discourses of metaphysics and cosmology within the paradigm of pre-modern science in comparison to modern science, raising critical questions about how humans view themselves in the cosmos, and how these understandings regulate their attitudes towards nature (Nasr, 2014; Chittick, 2001; Fatemi, 2001; Hakimi, 1998; Muttahari,

1982; Shariati, 1972).

To my despair, I found out that contemporary fields of humanities, including education, are dominantly impacted by European historicism, which excludes contemporary ways of meaning making kown and lived among the majority of people across contexts. Through my struggles, I learned that such designed ignorance, in current modern global approaches to education and

6 policy-making, has led to the accelerated marginalization of other ways of knowing and meaning making routed in other ontologies in dominant literary discourses. These other ontologies include traditional ontologies in their contemporary forms, such as Indigenous ontologies and religious ontologies. Being a traveling teacher across contemporary Islamic contexts, I have realized the gap in examination of such traditional ontologies in addressing the intellectual and spiritual crisis in natural sciences has significantly contributed to the environmental crisis (Mohamed, 2012;

Hakimi, 2010; Muttahari, 1982; Nasr, 2007), so I decided to centralize the focus of this study on eco-criticism from the perspective of Islamic natural philosophy in a context-based approach located in a Shia community. Drawing on Hall’s (1992) approach to the notion of traditional knowledge as a cultural extension in high contexts like Iran, I decided to choose a traditional context with particular Shia culture characteristics. Contexts with such characteristics were numerous in vast Iran. Therefore, I had to focus on central Shia temples which were also sites of traditional agriculture, where people still live in close interaction with nature. Fashapooyeh, in the county of Tehran, had all the characteristics as well as being close and accessible to Tehran, where I had access to temporary residence. As the visiting researcher in the context under study,

I shared the language, Moslem identity and major nostalgic and real past experiences. My past experience of living in rural places as a teacher also assisted me during my visits and meetings with the participants. While being an outsider, I could also be considered an insider to the participants, and this position could provide me with opportunities of acceptance towards collecting data (Kanuha, 2000). On the other hand, having an association with a Western foreign institution constantly influenced my insider position. Therefore, I was lingering in the space between a positionality of insider and an outsider. Acknowledging the warnings of Alder (1994) and Watson (1999) regarding the preoccupations biasing a research insider’s approach to her

7 study, I am aware that my insider position might have had an influence on the interview design as well as the processes of analysis.

1.4 Particularities of the Research Context:

In my own experience as an educator, I have traveled to contemporary communities across

Iranian contexts where the ecological understanding of life has its main foundations in the religious ontologies of people who live in close relation with nature. People in some of these communities complain that, in recent decades, global sustainability initiatives have continuously impacted these contexts through development projects which have no inter-relativity with the living cultures of people in these contexts. Based on eco-critical studies conducted across several contemporary contexts in Iran, the problem arose when several ecological initiatives were structured (Rahim, 1991). Such movement was in response to international progressive projects when the Department of the Environment published a national strategy draft in conjunction with the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank in 1994, in which the second strategic item called for the promotion of ecological NGOs (Rahim,1991). The Center for

Sustainable Development in Iran, called Cenesta, was one of these major NGOs and it adopts a sustainable development approach through joint actions in urban and rural areas. Cenesta is a founding member of the ICCA Consortium, which is the international organization dedicated to conservation by Indigenous peoples and traditional communities (Mutahhari,1982). Cenesta is the local body of the IIED institute of “Wiser.org”, a Switzerland-based global sustainability hub constructing world summits on sustainability research (Rahim,1991). On the other hand, The

Green Front of Iran establishes regional policy according to the United Nations Environmental

Program, with no research relativity to the local and Indigenous contexts (Mutahhari,1982). The

Iranian Society of Environmentalists is a research initiative which adopts a management

8 methodology approach based on the online Geographical Information Systems of Assessment.

On the other hand, emerging from modern higher education theories, the Iranian Association of

Environmental Health is a quarterly scientific research publication by Tehran University of

Medical Sciences, whose submissions are to be in a modern scientific paradigm excluding contextual cultures and ontologies (Rahim,1991).

From policy making stakeholders to community agencies and publication agencies in the context of Iran, there exists a gap in addressing ecological and environmental concepts in relation to the contexts in which they are situated, and in relation to the cultures of people living in these contexts (Mutahhari,1982; Rahim,1991).

Moreover, this study has relevance beyond its local context as it situates environmental discourses against global forces in education. In the current era, integrating dominant paradigms of environmental and social engagement with the context are important strategies for “corporate sustainability” to sustain a long-term shareholder value (Vlachou, 2004). Saniotis (2012) and

Subbarini (1993) call for an examination of contemporary aspects of Islamic literacies and

Islamic environmental ethics practiced by Iranian people based on one of their major shared value systems, which is Islamic natural philosophy. Nasr (1994) emphasizes the importance of studies aimed at understanding the ecological knowledge and pedagogies of the Shia Islamic worldview as a rich complex of contemporary Indigenous traditional knowledge and Islamic natural philosophy.

My approach is to understand Islamic philosophy in the realm of defining life in relation with nature. There have been significant studies examining Islamic tradition, arts, gardens and designs in relation with nature in Persian contexts including Iran (Shirvani, 1985). Most of the findings in the realm of Islamic natural philosophy approach the concept of nature from the perspective of

9

Sufism. There exists a gap in literature with respect to bottom up approaches to investigating the relationality between nature and Moslem people’s daily life (Nasr, 2014). This case study examines the daily activities of Moslem people in relation to nature. The examined activities include daily life routines and rituals. Few people are involved in this study due to limited access to volunteer participants. Drawing on participants’ knowledge of nature, their meaning making, and tracking their ontological backgrounds have formed the central focus in this study. There have been multiple studies in the realm of Islamic philosophy which claim that Islamic Sufism is based on the three concepts of Law, the Way and Truth. The Law consists of the Qur’an and

Hadith (Refer to Index number 45), and it defines the rules of living. The Way, Tarighat, is the pathway on which a Moslem person chooses to journey in search for reaching the ultimate Truth,

Haghighat. The ultimate Truth is the realization that answers all of one’s questions about one’s living, being and becoming. According to Islamic philosophy, nature is identified as one remarkable pathway towards reaching the Truth. In the same vein, multiple literatures have focused on the concept of nature from the perspective of Islamic Sufism, such as studies of Rumi and Hafiz. There exists a gap in the investigation of the concepts of nature from the perspectives of Moslem people, particularly the Shia minority.

1.5 Purpose of the Research

The main questions addressed in this study are in the domains of ecological literacy, environmental ethics and contextual conceptions of education.

Tracking the roots of peoples’ beliefs in their ontological foundations, this study also explored

Shia concepts of science and humanism. The importance of the investigation of trans-historical realities in conceptualizing science-humanism in this approach calls for the identification of

10 possible relationships between dominant conceptualizations of science-humanism and environmental crisis.

In the realm of education, I discuss educational theories that draw upon the articulation of contextually situated worldviews. In the context of this study, Shia Islamic philosophy is at the center of contextual worldviews. In this study, I looked for relationalities between ontologies in context, and the definitions and forms of education in the context.

On another note, this study examines Shia attitudes toward nature; therefore, the study findings identified Shia practices interacting with nature.

In the realm of education, this study examines Shia conceptions of education about nature. The concept of ecological literacy is investigated in relation to Islamic natural philosophy. Another focus of this study is to understand people’s ontological knowledge associated with ecological and environmental practices. When looking at people’s routine practices that affect the ecology of their places, it is important to examine the ontological foundations of those routine practices.

In this study, I examined why it is important to identify the ontological knowledge of ecological literacy and its etiology. I also investigated how ontological knowledge regulates Shia daily practices towards nature and the environment. As an essential part of this investigation, I identified directions and practices in the context that have been led by Islamic ontological perspectives in relation to ecological literacy. This study provides implications to help understand how different ontological perspectives may direct different pedagogical frameworks within cultural contexts. I explored understandings and practices associated with environmental education in relation to the contexts in which they are situated. I explored major cultural ways of education existing in the context, and how they are related to the contextual ontologies. As a critical segment of this investigation, I explored contextual definitions of literacy and education.

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In this study, one main concept which required scrutiny and understanding was the concept of literacy and education in the view of Islamic philosophy, including two folds of Islamic original text as well as the Islamic authentic view through Shia Hadith and the perspective of Shia people living these concepts. It is important to examine the education system in the context of Shia as a system based on curriculum as lived (Jafari, 1995).

In constructing an interview-based systematic approach to constructing knowledge in relation to the particular context of this study, and in reference to the context’s literary references, and in order to examine the notion of nature and environmental education as a function of contextual culture, I explored how ecological literacy is taught through culture in contemporary Shia

Islamic contexts.

The main questions addressed in this research include the following:

1- What are Shia Islamic conceptions of nature, environment and ecology?

2- In what ways are these conceptions manifestations of Shia Ontologies, and how do

they influence their overall attitudes towards nature?

3- How are these conceptions impacted in the trans-historical scientific and humanistic

ontologies of nature and the environment?

4- What do these conceptions reveal about the Shia understanding of education and its

modes of influence in their local socio-cultural context?

5- What do the modes of education mean in terms of how ecological literacy is taught and

learned in the Shia context where this study took place?

To investigate these questions, I approached the study through the following lenses:

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1) Ontological perspectives:

This study heavily focuses upon Islamic Shia ontologies, which is a marginalized

approach in mainstream literature. On the other hand, as ontological foundations are

some of the main segments of the investigation in this study, I have tried to remain open

to other emerging ontologies throughout the process of this study. I have included two

main approaches in this regard. The first one is a critical analysis of the ontological

foundations of the Western philosophy of nature in relation to global control and

development. This study draws on critical analyses from neocolonial and postcolonial

perspectives. Relatively, the issues of ecological imperialism (Crosby, 2004) and

knowledge production in relation to colonial power (Escobar, 1995) are addressed. The

second approach is the study of ontologies related to Islamic natural philosophy as a

marginalized discourse in mainstream literature.

Here, mainstream literature is defined as the literature produced and located within

structures of power in order to sustain that structure (Wales, 2010; Mutahhari, 1982;

Kuhn, 2000). Within contemporary mainstream literature, there have been multiple

worldviews involved in the process of defining the concept of ecological literacy. The

dominant extension of ecological literacy in theory is the notion of sustainability in

practice. The totality of the concept of sustainability has been approached from multiple

degrees of conformity, ranging from advocacy to exclusive criticality. The critique of the

notion of sustainability situated in dominant Western ontologies associates it with

dominant conceptions of nature, the environment and ecology founded on ontological

pillars of modernity. Therefore, sustainability is criticized as an ecological restructuring

of capitalism which calls for a decolonizing approach to the concept of ecological literacy

13 as the foundation of the notion of sustainability. There is a call for locating discourses of ecological literacy away from de-contextualized approaches in institutionalized structures of knowledge construction (Wales, 2010), including higher education, top-down non- governmental organizations and transnational bodies of power (Vlachou, 2004). These institutional structures of knowledge construction have more accessibility chances to practice and educate about sustainability; therefore, their situated approach to agencies of practice and education dominates ecological literacy discourses specifically in mainstream literature. A majority of their research and policy making approaches disregard the complexities of contemporary contexts, their worldviews and cultures

(Zizek, 2008; Nehru, 1935; Bowers, 2006; Laird, 2004).

In the realm of education’s current era of modern schooling, movements replacing contemporary thought on education and conceptions of literacy are losing their relation to local contexts (Foltz, 2000; Kula, 2001; Ramadan, 2009). An exploration of contemporary meanings and understanding associated with ecological literacy requires an investigation of social-ecological and contextual ontologies (Mohamed, 2013). This study explores contemporary meanings and practices of ecological literacy in one Shia case study in Iran. Throughout this approach, I have scrutinized ecological literacy discourses and investigated relational environmental values. For example, how are nature and place associated with what Barry (2009) calls “situated knowledge”? I have included an eco- theological exploration of contemporary philosophical worldviews of nature and place

(Fatemi, 2012). Eco-Theology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of nature and religion, particularly in relation to environmental concerns (Brown, 2012; Cengage, 2012; Freeman, 2012). Islamic philosophers call for

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the philosophical study of nature in contemporary Islamic contexts (Nasr, 2007). The

findings from this study may provide alternative understandings of nature and emergent

global discourses inclusive of non-Western perspectives.

2) Theoretical frameworks:

The guiding question in this study explores the environmental understanding of life from

the perspective of Shia Islamic people, and their emerging ecological practices with the

goal of constructing a systematic understanding of contemporary meanings of ecological

literacy. In an attempt to situate particular worldviews of ecological literacy within

ontological, social, cultural, economic, political and religious contextual meanings and

values, I have mainly focused on the examination of concepts of “environmental

understanding of life” and “ecological practices in context” in the context of this study

among accessible Shia people.

The main theoretical lenses which guided me through all stages of perception, design,

arrival, encounter, exploration, and analysis have been decolonial and dis-orientalising

frameworks which address methodological concerns as being as important as theoretical

ones. Therefore, I have heavily employed such strategies in conceptualizing the study and

constructing methods of data collection and analysis.

On the other hand, as contemporary examinations of concepts of environmental ethics

from the positions of religions are growing in environmental discourses, Islamic positions

on the understandings and practices are not well represented (Mohamed, 2013). Towards

reconstructing environmental ethics in relation to context, ecological scholars and

environmental activists suggest examing the ontological and metaphysical roots which

shape environmental understandings, and their relevant ecological practices, in relation to

15 their particular contexts from the positions of religions (Tucker & Grim, 2001; Gottlieb,

2003; Latour, 2009). On the other hand, with current schooling movements replacing concepts of education across contemporary contexts, the concept of literacy is losing its relation with context (Foltz, 2000; Kula, 2001; Ramadan, 2009). The exploration of contemporary meanings and understandings associated with the term ecological literacy requires a thorough investigation of contextual ontologies (Mohamed, 2013). In situating various concepts of ecological literacy into their relative contexts, we should note that labels such as economic, social, political and scientific contexts are not phenomena present in a cultural context, but are stances and points of view which we adopt in studying a context (Bateson, 1974). Such labels are not classes or categories of phenomena but are abstract aspects.

In response to this call, there have emerged two main domains of approach in reconceptualising environmental ethics in relation to context as follow:

 An Ecocritical study of ecological literacies and the contemporary forms in which

they reside within contexts. Ecocriticism is the study of the environment and

literature from an interdisciplinary point of view (Moore, 2008). Ecocriticism

investigates underlying ecological values, what is meant by the word nature, and

whether the examination of "place" should be a distinctive category in defining

situated knowledge (Barry, 2009).

I have heavily employed eco-critical approaches in conceptualizing nature, the

environment and ecology in relation to Shia Islamic literary literature from

contemporary scientific and humanistic points of view.

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 The other suggested approach is drawing on conceptions of eco-literacy in

relation to the study of contemporary natural philosophy worldviews in the

context in which they are situated. This approach calls for ontological studies of

contextual worldviews (Fatemi, 2012). Borrowing from the realm of eco-

theology, this approach is a constructing attempt that focuses on the

interrelationships of nature and religion, particularly in relation to environmental

concerns (Brown, 2012; Cengage, 2012; Freeman, 2012). This approach has been

suggested as a response to Islamic philosophers’ calls for the study of natural

philosophy in contemporary contexts with an Islamic paradigm, and a re-

evaluation of the dominant Western relationship to nature.

This study draws on eco-literacy approaches to investigate Shia peoples’

ecological practices, and to situate Shia ontologies in their social and cultural

contexts.

3) Methodological frameworks:

The main leading methodological consideration underlaying this study has been the

articulation of dis-orientalising strategies in order to avoid oriental dogmas in respect to

the context of this research. This consideration has been expanded beyond the theoretical

frameworks and has been articulated also as a segment of the methodological approach.

The guiding methodological approach is interpretive analytic case study, which here

draws heavily on critical ethnographic methods of field observations, detailed

descriptions and interview analysis.

1.6 Significance of the Study

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In this study, I looked for contemporary conceptions of nature, ecology and the environment as an examination of ecological literacies in the designated contexts. I looked for the emerging practices and attitudes towards nature in order to identify environmental ethics from the position of the context’s people, in a search for strategies which may contribute to the restructuring and revision of the human relationship with nature and non human beings.

In the domain of education, I explored other modes of education from the position of learning and teaching ecological literacy within the context’s cultural community, in a search for conceptions which may contribute to the reconceptualization of education in close relationality with contextual ontologies.

I anticipated the outcomes of this research to challenge current dominant conceptions of ecological literacy and education. For me as a traveling teacher, the meanings conversed and the findings which emerged from this research empower me in a constructive manner. Investigating the constructed fact that these Shia people live with no boundaries between their religion, their environment, their education and their experience of learning is one main significance of my findings.

In this dissertation, Chapter 1 describes prominent commentaries on environmentalism which call for cultural positions on the conceptualization of the notion of ecological-literacy. This chapter addresses the need for the examination of ontological foundations of cultural practices which interact with nature. This chapter draws on critiques of the modern order of life, which conflicts with the order of nature. Consequently, traditional orders of life such as contemporary religions are suggested for investigation of their ontologies, which may provide or may have provided an order of life which aligns with the order of nature. In this chapter, the

18 reason for choosing Islam and Islamic natural philosophy is explained in relation to the literature calls, the positionality of the researcher and the particularity of the context under study. In this chapter, the literary emergence of a dominant Western version of contemporary notions of nature, the environment and ecology are described. In the realm of education, this chapter draws on critiques of dominant education theories. These critiques call for contextual approaches to redefine education in relation to the context in which it is situated. In this dissertation Chapter 2 describes and situates the concept of ecological-literacy. The impact of Renaissance humanism on the conceptualization of notions of nature, the environment and ecology are described. It is also explained how such historicism shaped ontologies in modern Western literature. The theoretical frameworks of the study are explained, and I have heavily drawn on eco-criticism in constructing implications of transhistoricism in the realms of science and humanism. In this chapter, the emergence of sustainability from the dominant notion of ecological-literacy is pointed out and explained. This chapter also constructs the inquiry for examining other ontologies. Chapter 3 starts with addressing the guiding considerations which have led to the methodological approaches used in this study. This chapter explains the applied methods and the reasons for selecting those methods to use in data collection. Chapter 4 describes the processes of data construction in detail. This chapter conveys the results that have emerged from the data and the constructed themes based on the codes emerging from the data. Chapter 5 explains thorough analysis of the data in relation to literature. This chapter also draws on ethical considerations associated wth data analysis, and a brief implication of issues concerned with language structures in the translation process. Chapter 6 describes the results and implications.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

In response to the history of neo-colonisation (Nkrumah, 1965) functioning as a capital force towards economically and environmentally exploitative industrialization in industrially underdeveloped countries (Najam, 2003), and to address the problematic power composition of the United Nations membership beings dominated by western and colonial nations, the Non-

Aligned Movement was organized and founded in 1961 in Belgrade, as a middle course for states to negotiate between capitalist and under-developed blocs of power (NAM, 2012; NAM, 1988).

According to the Non Aligned summit of 2012, more than one third of the NAM members are countries with contemporary Moslem worldviews. NAM identifies the composition of these contexts as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples (NAM, 2012). In order to address the neo- colonial (Nkrumah, 1965) restructuring of capitalism through sustainability discourses within the contexts of these countries and their communities, NAM (2012) calls for a reconceptualization of sustainability discourses in relation to contextual natural philosophies and eco-pedagogies

(Freire, 1970).

Saniotis (2012) and Subbarini (1993) identify a gap in the literature associated with the conceptualization of ecological literacies in the realm of environmental ethics. They call for an examination of contemporary aspects of Islamic literacies and Islamic environmental ethics within their context specific articulations. Nasr (1994) emphasizes the importance of studies aiming at understanding ecological knowledge and pedagogies emerging from the Shia Islamic

20 worldview as a rich complex of contemporary Indigenous traditional knowledge, practical environmental ethics and Islamic natural philosophy.

This study aims at understanding the ontological perspective of Islamic philosophy in the context of defining life in relation with nature, and how this undertstanding pertains to education. In order to maintain an appropriate approach to Islamic ontologies, I start with the direct words, instructions and Hadith, the references to the direct words of the Prophet and his Household, and the Quran (Fatemi, 2012). Being beyond the scope of this study to understand ontologies of

Islamic natural philosophy, it is also required to study Islamic authentic views of nature, the environment, ecological networks and the cosmos in works of Shia Islamic scholars in relation to their particular historical and cultural contexts.

2.1 Pragmatics of the Concept of Ecology

The term ecology has been used broadly in relation to the social and cultural diversity of contexts

(Wertsch, 1985). Wertsch (1985) emphasizes that in pragmatics of the tern ecology, it is essential to consider contemporary understandings associated with this term. For instance, Vygotsky has used the term ecology to indicate the particular complexities of a context as an intertwined product of social and cultural processes (Wertsch, 1985). Capra has used the term ecology in relation to the modern scientific conceptualization of life cycles emphasizing energy flows among living organisms (Capra, 2007). Nasr (2007) discusses how the pragmatics of the term ecology in English language have been mainly morphed by the process of historicism which has shaped modern science. Nasr (2007) explains how the conceptualization of nature has deviated from the Cartesian dualism and how the conceptualization of environmentalism has emerged as a social movement. Nasr explains that pragmatics of the term ecology in Persian language are mainly associated with the conceptualization of life, which is in close relation to religious

21 ontologies (Nasr, 2007). Nasr emphasizes that understanding the process of historicism and the transformation of the concept of humanism in relation to Western science is critical to understand the separate concepts of ecology, nature and the environment in modern contexts.

2.2 Humanism and Ecology

Nasr (2007) critically analyzes the ontological basis of the concept of nature in relation to

“Renaissance humanism” (Nasr, 2007, p. 139), which was influenced by philosophical currents of the era when the concept of humans started to be conceived as no longer integrated into the holism of cosmos, and was redefined on the basis of a mere subjectivism. Nasr (2007) emphasizes that such humanism led to the separation of philosophy and revelation, while this current did not happen to Islamic humanism. Therefore, it is inappropriate to implement the remedies administered by one context onto another context. Nasr (2007) discusses how the

Renaissance humanism led to the seventeenth-century rationalistic philosophy of Descartes. In

Cartesian philosophy, rationality was defined as the mind separated from the intellect, which

“was rooted in the profound transformation of the meaning of human during the Renaissance”

(Nasr, 2007, p.141). Cartesian philosophy sought after “the skepticism introduced during the

Renaissance as the beginning of modern philosophy” (Nasr, 2007, p.141). Nasr (2007) critically analyzes the historicism through which the redefinition of science, as the realm of meaning making for the notion of ecology, has occurred. Nasr discusses that the Renaissance skepticism schools of thought, such as Pyrrhonism, led to Hume’s empiricism. Although Hume’s empiricism opened horizons for the methodology of critical analysis, on the other hand the movement invoked Kant’s attempts to provide ground to knowledge in the empirical sciences.

Kant’s conceptualization of science excluded metaphysical aspects and led to the disqualification of any other way of making meaning in constructing knowledge (Nasr, 2007). Kant’s movement

22 initiated Popper’s philosophy of science (Nasr, 2007). In the realm of humanism, which was then separated from the empiricists’ science, Nasr (2007) emphasizes that the rise of the Western dominant conceptualization of the mind as the only means of meaning making is rooted in

Hegel’s attempts at raising self-consciousness against Kant’s empiricism. Hegel’s movement led to more separation between so called scientific meaning making and the humanities (Nasr,

2007). Consequently, being was conceptualized “as merely two types of humanity which both exclude any meaning of sacredness” (Nasr, 2007, p.142). Such philosophic movement, especially in the realm of humanism, became dominant in Western contexts except for some esoteric cosmologies followed only by a few, conceptualized naturalism as unrelated to its metaphysical principles and raised the notion of pleasure instead of spiritual significance (Nasr, 2007).

Therefore, pleasure became the goal of existence for humans as bodies and for nature as a macro-body. Such naturalism aligned with the Cartesian dualism, as it advocated the importance of gratification of bodily senses excluding the conceptualization of “the body as an integral aspect of the human macrocosm” (Nasr, 2007, p.143). Simultaneously, stemming conceptualizations in the realm of humanities constructed a new understanding of consciousness in association with the new human living in the midst of such nature (Nasr, 2007). Therefore, such an understanding of humans positioned them in a history which was redefined as a secular flow of time as a result of the “secularization of the Christian doctrine of the march of time”

(Nasr, 2007, p.143). In raising the importance of addressing the destructive consequences of practices towards nature resulting from modern ontologies, Nasr (2007) emphasizes that “it was this very inception of historicism that was led to the idea of indefinite material progress, evolution, social Darwinism,…, the negation of trans-historical realities, and many other developments that had and continue to have the most profound consequences for the relation

23 between human and the order of nature” (Nasr, 2007, p. 143). The modern perception of the order of nature became merely quantitative and an object of the human mind whose science was

“founded upon the exercise of power over nature” (Nasr, 2007, p.148). Nasr (2007) states that despite the different realms and aspects of studies in Western contexts, the prevailing dominant ontologies are more similar than different among philosophers. There is a radical difference between Islamic Theo-Centrism and Western dominant modern ontologies (Nasr, 2007). Nasr

(2007) shows how in the Middle Ages Western philosophy had to draw a sharp distinction between nature and grace in its dominant theology, but Islam did not go through the same historicism; therefore, “human being, in Islam, is a natural being yet without being deprived from grace” (Nasr, 2007, p.46). In Islam humans are natural beings without being reduced to the

Renaissance conception of a natural man. In Islam, humans, due to their primordial nature -al- fitrah- , are the channel of grace for nature, which brings sustained harmony to nature and preserves nature from decay (Nasr, 2007; Mohamed, 2013). The loss of conscious al-fitrah and spirituality in humans leads to the destruction of nature. Nasr (2007) explains that rejection of the

Creator leads to rejection of one’s own transcendent origin. Nasr emphasizes that this conception of being especially advocated by modernity, that of thriving to negate God, results in the negation of oneself as a countenance of God -wajih Allah. Nasr (2007) indicates that the negation of such a conception of being leads to the loss of true care for nature.

2.3 Contemporary Conceptions of Ecological Literacy

It is noteworthy that the phrase “ecological literacy” became dominantly used in English language by Orr and Capra in the 1990s. Orr and Capra define ecological literacy as an ecological understanding of life and its emergent practices in contexts (Capra, 2007). They claim that the main notions of ecological literacy introduce a new understanding of life and

24 sustainability in the context of ecology (Capra, 2007). Capra and Orr propose that their concept of ecological literacy is a critique of Cartesian dualism and the Darwinian survival theory of evolution (Capra, 2007). In the same vein, ecological literacy rejects competition as the basic regulation of evolution, and states that the members of the whole cognitive system creatively and aesthetically cooperate in harmony (Capra, 2007). Paradoxically, they state that ecological literacy has its basis in sustainability discourses (Orr, 1996) and that their version of sustainability has emerged from Brown's definition of sustainably development (Capra, 2007).

While investigating contemporary conceptions of ecological literacy, this research draws on two of the main critical approaches to the concept of sustainability as "sustainable development"

(Brown, 1970), the neocolonial and ontological analytic critiques. In neocolonial theories, some of the major critical approaches to the concept of sustainability, as sustainable development, have associated this concept with the world view of ecological restructuring of Capitalism

(Vlachou, 2004) and the structuring of an ecological power bloc (Vlachou, 2004, NAM, 2012).

In ontological analysis, some major critical approaches to sustainability are the analytic discourses stemming from the concept of "The Ecological Complaint" (White, 1967). According to this concept, peoples’ practices towards their ecology are a function of their worldview and how they locate themselves in relation to their environment (White, 1967). Swimme (1996) identifies the roots of ecological crisis as ontological ones. Swimme (1996) addresses the crisis of meaning making in modern mainstream science as the ontological basis of environmental crisis. Swimme calls for urgency in redefining the dominant conception of science in relation to cosmology towards providing space for the analysis of religious ethics in a search for practical environmental ethics. In critiquing modern positivist and reductionist views of science, Spariosu indicates that "entrapment within a biological and psychological interpretation of humanity

25 imposes a one-sided perspective that impedes the process of understanding any cultural view outside the Western, secular hegemonic discourse" (Fatemi, 2012, p.99). The ontological critiques of environmental crisis address the paradoxical characterization of Western philosophy

(Swimme, 1996). Swimme states that this paradoxical prescription of sustainability situated in modern philosophy is an inappropriate approach towards addressing environmental crisis, which itself is a consequence of Western modern philosophy as both the malady and the proposed remedy arise from the same ontological perspectives. Relatively, a broader preview of contemporary conceptions of ecological literacy is required outside the Western dominant realm of meaning making (Swimme, 1996). The Ecotheological approach is suggested in order to examine contemporary worldviews about how people locate themselves in relation to their environments (Nasr, 1996).

2.4 Situating Contemporary Concepts of Ecological Literacy

Capra (2007) applied the concepts of Holism and System Thinking as the main fundamental notions of ecological understanding of life at the core of his relative ontology (Capra, 2007).

Capra and Orr propose that their concept of ecological literacy is a critique of Cartesian dualism and the Darwinian survival theory of evolution (Capra, 2007). In the same vein, ecological literacy rejects competition as the basic regulation of evolution, and states that the members of the whole cognitive system creatively and aesthetically cooperate in harmony (Capra, 2007).

Paradoxically, they see the basis of this concept in sustainability discourses (Orr, 1996) and

Brown’s definition of sustainability development (Capra, 2007). Capra emphasizes that ecological literacy fosters an understanding of nature’s principles through exploration by the mind, hands and heart (Capra, 2007). Capra’s definition of ecological literacy emphasizes understanding “the principles of organization that have evolved in ecosystems” (Capra, 2007,

26 p.6). Capra situates his definition of ecological literacy in organismic biology, gestalt psychology, general systems theory and complexity theory (Capra, 2007). Nasr discusses that, in conceptualizing ecological literacy, while Capra draws on Bateson’s (1979) definition of cognition in Bateson’s systems theory, Capra’s definition of ecological literacy is limited to understanding nature and life through the mind, hands and heart. In the critical analysis of

Capra’s definition of ecological literacy, Nasr explains that Bateson’s definition of cognition as the process of life (Nasr, 2007) includes metaphysical aspects of life which call for the inclusion of understanding life through spirituality and religion in defining ecological literacy. Orr (1996) defines ecological literacy as understanding ecological perspectives in contemporary subjects.

Orr discusses that the beginning point towards such understanding is a sense of kinship with life and a dialogue with place (Orr, 1996). Orr emphasizes on centralizing earth towards constructing a sense of kinship with life. Orr explains that a dialogue with place occurs through situating place in the story of evolution. Nasr (2007) situates Orr’s conceptualizations of life and place in the roots of modern science, which excludes broader understandings associated with the sense of kinship with life and the dialogue with place. Nasr (2007) emphasizes the shared ontological roots of Capra and Orr’s definition of ecological literacy. Nasr (2007) explains that self- regulation is at the center of Capra and Orr’s conceptualization of life, nature and ecology. Nasr

(2007) explains that such a perspective is at odds with contemporary religious ontologies in which the Creator is at the center of life, nature and ecology. Nasr (2007) discusses that one of the leading questions in making meaning of ecological literacy, according to Capra and Orr, is how human communities interact with non-human communities. Nasr indicates that such leading questions might be a good start from which to explore contemporary conceptualizations of ecological literacy from the position of contemporary religions (Nasr, 2007).

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2.5 Ontological Discourses on Ecology

Swimme (1996) identifies the roots of ecological crisis as ontological ones. Swimme (1996) addresses the crisis of meaning making in Western mainstream modern science as the ontological basis of ecological crisis. Swimme (1996) calls for urgency in redefining Western science in relation to cosmology with a view towards providing space for the analysis of religious ethics in a search for environmental ethics. In critiquing Western modern positivist and reductionist views of science, Spariosu indicates that "entrapment within a biological and psychological interpretation of humanity imposes a one-sided perspective that impedes the process of understanding any cultural view outside the Western, secular hegemonic discourse"

(Fatemi, 2012, p.99). The ontological critiques of ecological crisis address the paradoxical characterization of Western modern philosophy (Swimme, 1996). Swimme states that this paradoxical prescription of sustainability situated in Western philosophy is an inappropriate approach towards addressing ecological crisis, which itself is a consequence of Western philosophy as both the malady and the proposed remedy arise from the same ontological perspectives. In response to the major critiques of sustainability, there is a call for two main domains of approach in reconceptualising environmental ethics in relation to context. This includes an Eco-critical study of ecological literacies and the contemporary forms in which they reside within contexts. Ecocriticism is the study of the environment and literature from an interdisciplinary point of view (Moore, 2008). Ecocriticism investigates the underlying ecological values, what is meant by the word nature, and whether the examination of "place" should be a distinctive category in defining situated knowledge (Barry, 2009). The other suggested approach is an Eco-theological study of contemporary natural philosophy worldviews

28 in the context which calls for ontological studies of contextual worldviews (Fatemi, 2012). Eco- theology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of nature and religion, particularly in relation to environmental concerns (Brown, 2012; Cengage, 2012;

Freeman, 1992). Islamic philosophers call for the study of natural philosophy in contemporary contexts with Islamic paradigm (Nasr, 2007).

2.5.1 Eco-criticism

In the Eco-critical analysis of the concept of ecology, Nasr (2007) and Bateson (1972) draw on the critical analysis of Cartesian and Darwinian approaches to the conceptualization of so-called

Western science:

2.5.1.1 Bateson’s Critique

Bateson (1972) raises the issue of subjectivity in production of scientific knowledge where making meaning of the experiment is embedded in deeper levels of the mind. Bateson draws attention to the unknown ontologies that guide one’s scientific approach in production of knowledge and the designation of meaning to observations (1972). In such a process of meaning making, the observer’s position guides data selection and its consequent interpretation. Bateson emphasizes that unknown ontologies blur the boundaries between a tautological argument and an empirical one, as well as the differences between an inductive and a deductive approach

(Bateson, 1972, p. xxi). Bateson describes that the emerging explanations from one’s observation may become a mapping of data onto the fundamentals of one’s ontologies. Bateson emphasizes the prominence of attention to the pragmatic constructions of ontologies in situating a concept, what Bateson calls “authorities of knowing” (Bateson, 1972, p. xxiii). In the critical analysis of the mainstream concepts of dualism and evolution, Bateson draws on “the authorities of

29 knowing” (Bateson, 1972, p. xx) such as pragmatic constructs of scientific knowledge in their related eras in seventeenth and nineteenth century Europe. In examining the dominant ontologies which guided scientific knowledge under the name of inductive approach in production of such bodies of knowledge, Bateson emphasizes the inter-relativities among scientific and philosophical thought in those eras, specifically at the intersection of science, philosophy and medieval European religions (Bateson, 1972, p. xxvi). Bateson (1972) emphasizes that identification of relations between ecological patterns –homologies - and processes – analogies - as one of the main ecological approaches in construction of a general system theory, requires the inclusion of holistic stances in describing life and being as ontological concepts specific in situating Cartesianism. Bateson (1972) states that the post-Cartesian approach to making meaning of scientific knowledge has been mainly a mapping of new data onto the dual conceptualization of life and being which follows the Cartesian ontology. Bateson describes how the “loose” – based on theory (Bateson 1972, p.75) - conceptualization of life as a psyche bounded within the mind emerged in the post-Cartesian pragmatics of meaning making. In chasing this historical process to the present, Bateson explains how the “strict”– based on experiment (Bateson, 1972, p.75) - conceptualization of life as a material experience bounded within the body has dominated the mainstream scientific approach in the current era. In the realm of ecology, Bateson (1972) critically analyzes the dominant Cartesian approach for its false replacement of uniformity with regularity. In the critical analysis of post-Cartesian authorities of knowledge, Bateson describes how an ontology of dualism has dominantly imposed a binary pattern to the homologies and analogies that are not dual in their nature. In situating the post-

Cartesian discourses into their political contexts, Bateson identifies the bipolar construction of habits of the mind and habits of the body as the dominant patterns and processes in Western

30 mainstream political contexts. Bateson applies “the psychological theory of alcoholism”

(Bateson, 1972, p.309) in mapping the dual ontology of post-Cartesianism in situating the conceptualization of life and knowing in Western dominant contexts. Bateson explains that such bipolar enslavements shape the “constantly reinforced materialistic ideals” (Bateson, 1972, p.

311) of the Western dominant structures in Western contexts. Bateson emphasizes that the ontological division between the concept of self and the remainder of the personality, and between self and others, are derivatives emerging from the post-Cartesian dualism. Bateson explains how such Cartesian dualism has shaped Western epistemologies of knowing solely bounded within a conceptualization of the mind or solely bounded within a conceptualization of the body. Bateson’s application of the theory of alcoholism in interpreting the post-Cartesian ontologies indicates that the conceptualization of self in such contexts is constantly accompanied by construction of an “other” who is symmetrical, complementary or at odds with the self.

Bateson elaborates on the notions of social sadism and social masochism as derivatives of mind habits and material reinforcements in such Western contexts at their regulatory layers (Bateson,

1972, p.323). Bateson applies the concept of “Occidental errors” (Bateson, 1972, p.315) when he associates post-Cartesian ontologies and epistemologies of knowing with dominant conceptualizations of self and humanism in Western contexts. In critically analyzing such

Occidental errors in relation to the concept of ecology, Bateson draws on theories of cybernetics in system thinking. Bateson emphasizes that situating the notion of ecology in the holistic cognitive structure of life in system thinking requires the conceptualization of ecology as an internally interactive system, in which no parts are inseparable and no parts can have unilateral control over the other/others. In such a system, all characteristics, including the mental and matter ones, are in the ensemble as a whole (Bateson, 1972, p. 315). Bateson emphasizes that the

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Cartesian dualistic separation between mind and matter does not comply with the holistic conceptualization of life as a conscious system. Bateson explains that the Cartesian ontology and epistemology do not allow for the conceptualization of ecology in its internally interactive sense with its “deterministic memory” (Bateson, 1972, p.316), which constantly evolves in pattern and process at the timeless intersection of past behaviors and present potentials. In critiquing the dominant social Darwinism in Western contexts, Bateson problematizes the core concepts of

Darwinism theories such as natural selection and survival of the fittest. In problematizing the

Darwinian theory of survival in a self-directing evolution, Bateson draws on the notion of

“deterministic memory” (Bateson, 1972, p.316) in life as a conscious structure which does not allow for any hierarchical, self-benefitting, competition-oriented, and unilateral control by one organism/species onto the other/others. Bateson explains that deterministic memory operates at a universal ecological level – system - which is of such a holistic scale that it cannot be conceptualized at any abstract contextual level – subsystem. Bateson emphasizes that any attempt at theorizing such a holistic system falls into the “double blind” (Bateson, 1972, p. 339) pitfalls of human experiment. Bateson concludes that the consequence of a Cartesian-based ontology in Western contexts will be “continuing to see the world in terms of God versus man, elite versus people, chosen race versus others, nations versus nations, and man versus environment” (Bateson, 1972, p.337). In the domain of ecology, Bateson (1972) historically analyzes the Western philosophical conceptualization of the mind in relation to the Cartesian interpretation of God. Bateson explains that the Cartesian ontological conceptualization of God as an external and non-immanent agent controlling the order of the universal system has morphed into the post-Cartesian ontological replacement of the mind as the explanatory principle in Western philosophy. Bateson explains that the explanatory agent remained separate as the

32 secularization process developed modern sciences, including definitions of self within Western modern humanism. In order to approach the notion of ecology and system thinking from other points of view, Bateson emphasizes the inclusion of other diverse ontologies and their associated pragmatics. Bateson suggests exploring other philosophical conceptualizations of God, the mind and the self in such ontologies.

2.5.1.2 Nasr’s Critique

Descartes’ reductionist conception of one’s being captured in a scattered mind and a mechanical body defined as a biological machine results in the modern conception of nature as an ecological machine with integrated parts (Nasr, 2007). In Islam “the concept of integration is dependent on the concept of Oneness (Tawhid) on all levels of reality which comes ultimately from the

Supreme Principle, which is one” (Nasr, 2007, p.74). It is important to differentiate between the

Islamic conception of the intellect and the modern interpretation of the intellect and mind. The concept of intellect plays a prominent role in conceptualizing integration, the cosmos, nature and ecology (Nasr, 2007). Nasr indicates that “The one creator, known by the Persian name, Khoda, and the Arabic name, Allah, is the central reality in Islam and the belief in the creator’s oneness is called Tawhid. Allah is the source and the end of existence and is beyond all duality and relationality” (Nasr, 2007, p.43). The first of the two testifications by which a person bears witness to being a Muslim is the expression of this oneness, La ilaha illa’Llah, “There is no god but God” (Nasr, 2007, p.43). Islam emphasizes that all religions are speaking of the same God, who is One and not some other deity. For Muslims, the harmony of the cosmos is derived from this Oneness, and nature is the manifestation of Allah’s Names such as Perfection –Kamal,

Beauty –Jamal, and Greatness –Jalal.

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2.6 Ecological Literacy and Sustainability Discourses

One of the important outcomes of the current dominant conceptualization of ecological literacy, based on foundations of Western dominant ontologies, is the structuring of sustainability discourses and the practical aspects of sustainability policy making machinery. The concept of sustainability was officially taken into a centralized management network at global spectrum in

1983 (Mohamed, 2013). The Prime Minister of Norway, Brundtland, was appointed by the

United Nations Secretary to establish a management structure focussed on identifying sustainability problems and implementing solutions worldwide. The new organization was the

Brundtland Commission, then renamed as the World Commission on Environment and

Development (WCED). A decade of publications and established institutions stemming from

WCED managed to influence the Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992 and the third UN Conference on Environment and Development in South Africa in 2002, both of which crafted the most dominant definition of sustainability in mainstream literature (Mohamed, 2013).

In situating such a definition of sustainability in the political and economic domains, it is critical to note that the Brundtland Commission, which became the regulating and policy making center- structure for a global sustainability development project, was the initiative of the Norway Prime

Minister in 1986-1996 (Vlachou, 2004). Waage critically analyzes such initiatives in relation to

Bruntland’s situation in the Norwegian progressive and neo-liberal Labour party, which was influenced by the British New Labour policies (Vlachou, 2004). De-Shalita (1995) situates the dominant definition of sustainability, in its triple pillar sense, in relation to political conceptions of environment. De-Shalita (1995) explains that the triple pillars of such a definition, including economy, society and environment, are situated in the political discourses of capitalist expansions towards globalization (Vlachou, 2004).

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2.7 Sustainability in Political Discourses of Globalization

In the domain of sustainability analysis, in discourse analysis of the concept of globalization,

Hay (2014) emphasizes the relevance between political analysis and the ontological roots of the context. Jessop (2003) identifies social relations as the navigating forces which structure the capital state in its global sense. In the sustainability domain, Vlachou (2004) examines the social forces invoked by globalization forces in so-called developing countries. In the realm of sustainability development, Vlachou (2004) discusses such globalization forces as ecological capitalism in the context of developing countries. Vlachou situates current sustainability forces in the domain of social forces which are imposed by globalization in such contexts. In her critical analysis, Waage (2004) situates the leading ontologies associated with dominant forces of globalization in the political and economic context of neo-colonisation (Nkrumah, 1965). Waage emphasizes the association of the politics and economics of neo-colonisation with the restructuring of neo-capitalism. Vlachou (2004) critically analyses dominant global sustainability policies as an ecological restructuring of capitalism. Vlachou situates the policies related to the triple pillars of sustainability concept in the economical, political and social contexts of globalization’s leading forces. Vlachou examines ontologies related to the concept of environment that are invoked by the globalization forces. Vlachou (2004) discusses how sustainability has its ontological roots in sustainable development. The critical analysis (De-

Shalita, 1995; Vlachou, 2004; Waage, 2004; Nasr, 2007) of the concept of sustainable development situates the organizing principles of this concept in the economics of social

Darwinism and Neo-Freudianism. Nasr (2007) indicates that imposing the dominant ontologies of sustainability on other contexts can lead to the implementation of the concept of survival of the fittest into society, politics and economics, which emerges as ecological social Darwinism. In

35 defining ecological social Darwinism, the critical analysis of the concept of sustainability situates its dominant ontologies in the concept of competition for the exploitative management of natural resources (Nasr, 2007; Vlachou, 2004). Nasr (2007) indicates that the leading ontologies of the concept of sustainability have roots in Neo-Freudianism. Marcuse elaborately discusses the process of extending Freud’s psychiatric theories into realms of social and cultural theories by positivist-minded revisionists (Elliot & Ray, 2003). Marcuse explains that Neo-Freudianists extended biology-based theories into ontological discourses. Nasr discusses how such ontological discourses emerging from Neo-Freudianism-based secular ontologies in the conceptualization of ecology; therefore, the policies emerging from such a concept with roots in secular ontologies cannot help religious contexts with their different ontologies and policy structures.

2.8 Corporate Sustainability and Discourses of Power

Many groups have defined the concept of sustainability in the last 25 years in mainstream literature. Mainstream literature is defined as the literature produced and located within structures of power in order to sustain those structures (Kuhn, 1974). Within contemporary mainstream literature, there have been multiple worldviews involved in the discourses of defining sustainability. In each worldview, there have been multiple degrees of approaches, ranging from advocacy to criticality. The critique of sustainability as an ecological restructuring of capitalism calls for a decolonizing approach to the concept of sustainability, a critical approach that situates sustainability discourses away from de-contextualized approaches in institutionalized structures of knowledge construction (Wals, 2010). The majority of institutional sustainability approaches disregard the complexities of contemporary contexts, their worldviews and cultures (Zizek, 2008; Nehru, 1935; Bowers, 2006; Laird, 2004).

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2.9 Corporate Sustainability in the Iranian Context

Vlachou (2004) and NAM (2012) identify several sustainability structures and ecological initiatives in Iranian public and private sectors as practicing bodies of corporate sustainability.

Nasr (2007) discusses the Ramsar Ecological Symposium, whose Convention entered into force in December 1975 upon receipt by UNESCO, and established Caspian resources as the initial source of funds to conserve European wetlands. NAM (2012) discusses the Caspian Bio-

Resources Network, the corporate sustainability project funded by grants from the World

Bank/Japanese Government Trust Fund, the UNDP/Global Environment Fund (GEFII), UNDP and the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative and working towards development of geopolitical policies over the Caspian ecological communities. Nasr (2007) goes on to state that the

Boomiran NGO and CENESTA follow the same strategies in contemporary contexts of Iran.

2.10 Context-based Research Against Corporate Sustainability

Agyeman (2003) identifies a gap in research approaches to environmental ethics and ecological literacy, and calls for a culturally-centered approach towards redefining environmental ethics and ecological literacy in relation to context. Blake (1999), Caro and Ewert (1995), Caron (1989),

Dolin (1988), James (1993), Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002), Schultz, Unipan, and Gamba

(2000), Sheppard (1995), and Taylor (1989) have raised important questions about cultural variations in perceptions of ecology and the environment, and their related practices and attitudes. Taylor (1989) and others have suggested that there are fundamental variations and that research approaches should reflect these differences in the face of corporate sustainability.

Agyeman (2003) identifies very little research being centered around understanding cultural diversity in the realm of ecological literacy. Kreger (1973), Van Ardsol, Sabagh, and Alexander

(1965), and Washington (1976) are among the few who have conducted research with main

37 methodological approaches centered around contextual cultures in the realm of environmental ethics and education. Considering Indigenous cultural knowledge and practices as central approaches in constructing methodology has been conducted by Stanfield (1994), in Chicana and

Chicano contexts by González (2001), in Maori contexts by Bishop (1998) and by Tuhiwai

Smith (1999) and Indigenous researchers such as Cajete (1994) and Lomawaima (2000).

Agyeman (2003) calls for creating Indigenous and context-specific paradigms rooted in the contextual experiences of people and their fundamental cultural ways that shape their interpretations of realities.

2.5.2 Drawing on Eco-Theology in Re-Conceptualizing Eco-Literacy

2.5.2.1 The Shia Islamic Conception of Ecological Literacy

Saniotis (2012) and Subbarini (1993) call for including an examination of contemporary aspects of Islamic ecological literacies and Islamic environmental ethics within their context-specific articulations. Nasr (1994) emphasizes the importance of studies aimed at understanding the ecological knowledge and pedagogies of the Shia Islamic worldview as a rich complex of contemporary Indigenous traditional knowledge, sustained environmental technologies and

Islamic natural philosophy. In Islamic natural philosophy, all notions of essence and existence are at the center of cosmology, including the understanding of the metaphysical unity of the cosmos as well as the spatial, corporeal, contingent and contextual understandings of being and living in relation to the cosmos (Jafari, 1998, Mutahhari, 1982; Nasr, 1976; Morewedge, 1973:

Avicenna, 1025). Mohamed (2013) and Saniotis (2012) identify a gap in studies reflecting the contemporary understandings of the concept of ecological literacy and their emerging practices

38 in Islamic contexts. Nasr (2015, 2007) in particular calls for environmental research studies in

Shia Islamic contexts.

2.5.2.2 Ontological Discourses and Environmental Crisis

Nasr (2015, 2007) raises the importance of addressing the intellectual and spiritual crisis in natural sciences, which has significantly contributed to the environmental crisis. Nasr (2007) emphasizes the inclusion of discourses of metaphysics and cosmology within the paradigm of pre-modern science in comparison to modern science. Nasr (2007) raises critical questions about how humans view themselves in the cosmos, and how these understandings regulate their attitude towards nature. It is essential to note that ecological and environmental understandings of life and the cosmos have fundamental religious characteristics in many traditions (Mohamed,

2013).

Exclusion of the metaphysical dimension from humanism and its dependent ecological understanding of life can be traced to the nineteenth century legacy of rationalism and then the logical positivism of the twentieth century and its emerging existentialism (Nasr, 2007;

Mohamed, 2013). One main foundation to approach the religious characteristics of ecological understanding is to consider the absolutism of the origin through contemporary voices in a multiplicity of religions (Mohamed, 2013). Towards conceptualizing this absolutism, it is necessary to critically analyze discourses of historicism and subjectivism in relation to the definition of religion. Nasr (2007) suggests that the term “din”, in Arabic and Persian, is derived from the root meaning “to obey, and humble oneself before the creator. In Islam, religion is conceptualized as the way of living grounded in teachings of the creator. The teachings reach humanity through revelation, not to be confused by inspiration, Ilham (Nasr, 2007, p.53).

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2.5.2.3 Religious Historicism

In Europe, religious historicism and religious subjectivism gradually led to “an evolutionary and positivist interpretation of religion that attempted to deal with entire religious phenomenon from the point of view of a gradual evolutionary growth” (Nasr, 2007, p.17). Nasr emphasizes that the journeys which Christianity and Islam have gone through are quite separate and not alike. It is important to note that in Islam the traditional approach is still salient. This approach also embraces social and psychological manifestations while it does not reduce religion to its components (Nasr, 2007). Nasr emphasizes that this traditional approach, based on the Quran, defines religion beyond its terrestrial manifestations, saying that it comes from the convergence of a divine reality and a human collective at the receipt of the imprint of that divine reality.

Therefore, due to a multiplicity of convergences, multiple religions are seen among different cultures and people. It means each religion is a unique and essential manifestation of the sacred reality (Nasr, 2008). In Islam, the transcendent unity underlying all diverse religions and multiple manifestations is the one, al-tawhid wahid. When studying Islamic concepts, it is important to consider the Islamic philosophical approach to reality. In Islam, the reality of hierarchy in its metaphysical sense is beyond external and formal manifestations and necessitates essential and super-formal manifestations. The hierarchy of approaches to the reality fall into contemporary modes such as love, al-mahabbah, and knowledge, al-ma`rifah, with their own levels. In Islam, the Quran and Hadith are emphasized as the main references in obtaining knowledge about manifestations of reality. Islam introduces the Quran and Hadith as sources of seeking knowledge away from historicism and subjectivism. It is also essential to refer to Shari’ah, the

Divine Law in Islam, in approaching Islamic conceptions of nature and the environment.

Shari’ah conveys laws of nature in their Islamic sense where “there is not a sharp distinction

40 between laws governing humans and laws governing nature” (Nasr, 2007, p.194). The sacred geography known as geosophy, salient in Persian gardens and Islamic ritual places as centers of the grace, barakah, flow, is an example of such laws of nature (Nasr, 2007, p. 201). The concept of evolution, for instance, follows the hierarchal characteristic of reality in Islam, and conveys a horizontal and vertical axis, while in modern science, evolution is merely horizontal following a linear stream moving forward. In the Islamic conception of reality, the science of reality includes metaphysics in interpreting the cosmos and nature. Such notion of science includes empirical ways of making meaning of experiments and observations, known as knowledge of manifestations and multiplicity, as well as knowledge from Shari’ah which includes knowledge of the One Principal (Nasr, 2007, p.134). Nasr explains that in Islam the sacred knowledge includes a knowledge of “cosmos as theophany” (Nasr, 2007, p. 189), which is not simply empirical or a mere sensibility towards nature, but is a holistic conception based on metaphysical principles about contemporary domains of cosmic reality beyond a particular order of reality in a closed system of thought. Islam raises the importance of learning from nature as the grand book of the Creator, which calls the Quran and Torah revealed books compared to the grand book of knowledge. In raising the importance of nature in Islam, Nasr indicates that “the correspondence between human, the cosmos, and the sacred book is central to the whole religion” (Nasr, 2007, p.

191). In Islam, nature manifests as theophany and each phenomenon in nature is at the level of ayat, which are verses of the Quran. Nature itself as a revelation guides humans in making meaning of themselves.

2.5.2.4 Environmental crisis and religions

Nasr (1972, 2007) emphasizes that in addressing environmental crisis, it is important to include the study of religion and spirituality in relation to this crisis. Towards this approach, Nasr

41 indicates that it is essential to use both the terms religion and spirituality in this era for multiple reasons. Nasr describes that current usage of the term spirituality, especially in Western literature, conveys the forgotten concepts that were excluded in nineteenth century conceptions of religion (Nasr, 2007, p.29). Nasr emphasizes that the pragmatic implications of the term religion provide a different interpretation and understanding of the concept of religion, compared to the term –din- in the Persian language (Nasr, 2007, p.29). Religion in its integral sense, including the Islamic conception of religion and the Persian term –din-, provides knowledge of the divine, the human state and the world of nature as intertwined realms. Nasr discusses how the current Western projects that address environmental crises, such as sustainability policies, follow a secular philosophy (Nasr, 2007, p.30). Nasr explains that the majority of people in the world still live with religious views; therefore, in diverse contexts across the world, it is inappropriate to apply environmental ethics and policies rooted in a hegemonic secular modern science (Nasr,

2007, p.30). Nasr states that current dominant environmental ethics in sustainability discourses are rooted in secular ontologies of modernity. Nasr explains that such a conception is based upon the emergence of modernity in the realms of modern science and modern humanism. Nasr indicates that there are three grand revelations in Islamic thought which are believed as books of knowledge. They are the cosmos and nature, the human state, and religions (Nasr, 2007, p.51).

The sacred scripture of Islam is the Quran - the Recitation. Nasr emphasizes that the “Quran is the central theophany of Islam, the fundamental source of its metaphysics, cosmology, theology, law, ethics, sacred history, and general world view” (Nasr, 2007, p.57). Nasr indicates that for

Sunni and Shia Moslems, there is a single text of the Quran, consisting of 114 chapters - Surah- and over 6,000 verses –ayah- which were revealed to the Prophet of Islam over the twenty-three years of his prophetic mission (Nasr, 2007, p.58). For Moslems the Quran is guidance to the

42 nature of reality as well as making meaning of the natural world. The Quran has many levels of outward and inward meaning. Therefore, the Prophet’s household –ahlebeit- assists Moslems in constructing understandings of meanings through interpretation of the outward meanings –

Tafsir- and interpretation of the inward meanings –Ta’wil. Nasr emphasizes the prominence of centralizing the Quran in making meaning of the Islamic view of any concept including nature and the environment. Nasr explains that every movement in Islamic history has sought legitimization in the Quran (Nasr, 2007, p.60). In understanding the concept of the environment in Islamic ontologies, it is essential to situate the discourse within the concept of Taw-heed

(Refer to Index number 54). Taw -hid is central in Islamic self-realization. In Islam, understanding self is not simply an extension of physicality. Nasr emphasizes that the modern conceptualization of self is one of the main leading ontologies of social forces on modern consumerism (Nasr, 2007, p. 32).

The concept of the human, Ensan in Persian and Arabic languages, is addressed as an essential reality in Islam, as a being still carrying its primordial nature within his/her existential states of being. The very name of the religion, “Islam comes from the Arabic word al-islam which means surrender as well as the peace that issues from one’s surrender to the creator” (Nasr, 2007, p.46).

Nasr discusses that such surrender is not concerned merely with one’s will, but involves the whole being. The Oneness of the Creator involves multiplicity in creations and revelations associated with the cosmos and nature, humans and religions. Nasr emphasizes that Moslems do not believe in temporality and historicity of such multiplicity in revelations including prophecy

(Nasr, 2007, p. 54). It is essential to note that Islam sees Oneness at the origin of all multiplicity in the cosmos (Nasr, 2007, p.73). One of the manifestations of such originality is the conceptualization of Islamic life as Tarigah, which means the path to the highest level of

43 meaning, and to the ultimate truth – Hagigah- that is the Creator. (Nasr, 2007, p.76). The concept of Tarigah as ultimate meaning making is rooted in the Hadith of the Prophet of Islam when he states, “The number of paths to God is equal to the number of children of Adam” (Nasr, 2007, p.76). Nasr discusses the concept of self-realization in relation to holism from the perspective of

Islam. In Islamic ontologies, harmony with higher states of being is dependent on the sharmony of humans with nature, where “nature is not conceived as being purely material but includes … spiritual and angelic levels of reality” (Nasr, 2007, p.34). In such a conceptualization, nature stands as manifestation of cosmic realities. Moslems understand the cosmos as the Creator’s primordial revelation and the cosmos has” come into being through the creator’s Name al-

Rahman, merciful” (Nasr, 2007, p.48). In studying religious philosophies, it is essential to consider rituals in their religious conceptualizations. In Islam, the rituals descend from and of divine origin, and they are revealed to the prophets by God. Nasr emphasizes that in all

Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions, the rites link humans to an understanding of the principles of nature. Nasr discusses how apart from their social effects, “rituals re-establish balance with the cosmic order” (Nasr, 2007, p.35). Towards studying rituals, Nasr suggests considering context-specific ritual places such as mosques, temples and nature in the center of conceptualizing rituals. It is also important to include symbols as part of the ontological reality of nature away from merely psychological and subjectivized conceptions (Nasr, 2007, p.38). Nasr explains that Islamic rites are in harmony with nature. Nasr emphasizes that recent approaches to conceptualizing nature within a holistic paradigm, such as the ecological discourses discussed by

Capra, formulate the cosmos within a modern scientific approach which excludes religious ontologies of nature (Nasr, 2007, p.38). Nasr emphasizes “that much of the Quran is devoted to the cosmos and the world of nature” (Nasr, 2007, p.48). According to the Quran the

44 responsibility of a human is towards his soul, other humans, other beings and the Creator. In

Islam ethics are in association with God, and the order of nature is basically metaphysical. Nasr

(2007) suggests studying Islamic traditional art as the gateway to investigating ecological understanding of life, self and the cosmos in Islamic conceptualizations. Nasr (2007) and

Mohamed (2013) identify a gap in the identification of ecological practices in relation to Islamic ontologies in contemporary Islamic contexts. Nasr (2007) particularly calls for such examinations in Shia Islamic contexts.

In order to examine educational theories that draw upon contextually situated worldviews, conduction of a literature review to identify Shia Islamic systems of education emerged. While constructing such an examination, I looked for relationships between various systems of education in the context of the study, and analyzed definitions and forms of education in relation to their historical and cultural foundations.

In Figure 1 (Refer to Appendices, Appendix 7), the study’s theoretical approaches to ontological discourses on ecology are illustrated.

2.11 Educational Theories and Contextually Situated Worldview

Nehru (1935) critically analyzes dominant modern educational theories. Nehru (1935) emphasizes that cross-contextual transfer of such Western-rooted education systems is at odds with contemporary ontologies salient in contemporary modes of education across contexts.

Nehru discusses in detail that particular characteristics of Western-rooted education theories stem from Western historicism and its ontological grounds. Drawing on different dominant theories of education in modern contexts, Nehru criticises Idealism as a human-centered and activity-based philosophy of education. Nehru (1935) indicates that the Idealist emphasis on human history is grounded in Western historicism, which has resulted in the separation into two

45 categories of humanities and science. Nehru mentions that it is important to note that although the cultural implications of Idealism for education provide space for consideration of context, the division between humanism and science does not allow for inclusion of non Western-rooted ontologies in the realm of Idealistic knowledge. Nehru draws on Islamic ontologies as an example of such non-Western-rooted ontologies where the Idealistic concept of knowledge for self-realization is only one of the many aspects of Islamic conceptualization of knowledge. On another note, in a comparative analysis of educational Naturalism, Nehru (1935) shows that although education systems based on such an ideology are entirely based on a child’s experience, dominant theories of Western-rooted psychology play an important role in their scientific posture and conceptualization of their Naturalism way of meaning making. In Naturalism, analysis is rooted in Darwin’s theory of evolution. Nehru (1935) indicates that despite Huxley’s emphasis on the centralization of culture in a Naturalistic curriculum, the concept of culture is poorly defined as it is conceptualized as a set of practices passed on through generations in order to preserve an astatic body of knowledge. Continuing on critical analysis of education theories in modern contexts, Nehru draws on Pragmatism, Realism and Existentialism schools of thought.

Nehru identifies the grounds of centrality of utilization, objectivism and secularity as shared ontological grounds of such schools of thought in education theory.

Mentioning that multiple diverse systems exist within each and across contemporary realms of education, and that they follow Western education theories, Nehru (1935) emphasizes that despite their diversity, they are still founded on similar modern ontologies.

In response to the current ontologically hegemonic approaches to both the conceptualization and articulation of education, Nehru calls for education research in non-Western-rooted contexts.

Nehru (1935) explains that education is fundamentally conceptualized based on ontological

46 understandings of life, being and becoming; therefore, in order to examine non-Western-rooted education systems, it can be helpful to start with contexts with prominent ontological differences from modern contexts. Therefore, such exploration includes contexts with prominent religious cultural extensions.

This study is a research response to the critical call for examination of non-Western contexts with outstanding religious cultural extensions, such as Shia Islamic contexts in Iran. Toward conducting a thorough literature review of such contexts, Nehru (1935) suggests that such exploration may hold a state-centered paradigm and/or a community-centered paradigm. It is important to note that education organizations fall into contemporary social modes in the course of time, and there is no context independent of implicit and explicit modes of education (Farhang et.al, 2012). The conceptualization and modes of education are variable and indefinite in association with variable social circumstances (Golshan Foomani, 1994).

In the contemporary and vast context of Iran, modes of education have varied diversely but most prominently at the critical social transformation points during time, while dominant conceptualizations of education have stemmed from the few major philosophical turns following major religious ontologies such as Zoroastrianism and Islam (Farhang, 2012). In investigation of contemporary modes of education, Farhang et.al (2012) suggest exploration of the main social transformation eras consisting of pre-Islamic, Islamic, and the recent neo-colonial eras. Such investigation may obtain a state-centered paradigm while the community-centered paradigm may remain more associated with the major religious ontologies widespread among the public

(Farhang, 2012; Golshan Foomani, 1994).

As the necessary foundation of this study, a thorough literature review about the concepts and modes of education in Iran was conducted as follows:

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2.12 Education in the Context of Iran

2.12.1 The Pre-Islamic Era in Iran

2.12.1.1 Conceptualization of Education in Pre-Islamic Iran

Education was conceptualized as a trend from cradle to grave through multiple layers of social context with various interpretations (Almasi, 1991). The interpretations of the concept of education were dominantly associated with the meaning of life and the goal of life. The meaning and goal of life were associated with one’s position in the social order in particular, while in the collective realm they fell into the religious ontologies passed on and practiced by generation after generation (Farhang et al.,2012). Farhang et. al (2012) discuss how despite the emergence of other religious beliefs in the context of Iran, Zoroastrianism remained the dominant ontology in the pre-Islamic era, as it was closely linked to nationality in multiple layers of public literature from community oral narratives to scholarly literature. Almasi (1991) emphasizes that literature in this era was not limited to mere textual forms, but also conveyed diverse forms of communicating meaning such as arts, for instance poetics, Persian miniature imaging, performance and music, and crafts, for example fabric and rugs. Farhang et. al indicate that believing in one Creator revealing meanings to humans through the holy book of Avesta was the center of Zoroastrian ontologies. According to the Avesta, in a simple and abstract sense morality and purification of the mind and conscience, good thoughts, good will and acts, and articulation of thought in good speech were considered the meaning and goal of life. Further details about the notion of education stemming from Zoroastrian ontologies requires a focused literature review on Zoroastrian ontologies, which is beyond the scope of this approach. It is noteworthy to consider minority ontologies in the pre-Islamic era in depicting a fair reflection of the notions in education associated with this era.

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2.12.1.2 Modes of Education in Pre-Islamic Iran

2.12.1.2.1 The State-Centered Paradigm

Almasi (1991) identifies three main states, Achamenian, Ashkanian and Sassanian, at the center of the most social transformative movements in pre-Islamic Iran. In the Achamenian era, religious ritual places, mainly fire temples, were the centers providing formal education to a diverse range of contemporary students belonging to anything from farming communities to religious trainees (Sediq, 1975), where the mogs, the clergymen of temples, were teachers.

Besides religious places, there were royal courts providing education to military trainees where the goal of education was duty to society and country (Zamiri, 1988). In the Ashkanian era, due to the continuity of stable economics, vocational and economic aims emerged in formal education. In the Sassanian era, due to the continuity of Zoroastrianism at the state and community layers of contexts across Iran, there emerged many branches of Zoroastrian philosophy including in the sciences, arts and economics. It was in this era when the system of education and the study of contemporary branches of philosophy emerged as higher education.

Such a system was specifically structured in the University of Jandishapoor (Almasi, 1999;

Farhang et al, 2012). Almasi (1991) emphasizes that in Jandishapoor, the concept of education gained a more formal interpretation where knowledge and practice of the technical, vocational, medical, and branches of philosophy including arts, astronomy and science, were studied and taught. After the arrival of Islam in Iran, Jandishapoor remained an evolving education structure which supported Islamic civilization (Motahari, 1998).

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2.12.1.2.2 The Community-Centered Paradigm

Bruner (1996) discusses how the interpretation of the notion of education, like any other concept, needs to be situated in its broader living context. Bruner (1996) emphasizes that such contexts associated with making meaning of education is mainly the domain of culture. In investigating meanings and modes of education in a cultural context, it is important to include an exploration of the folk theories (Bruner, 1996, p.46) relative to the notion of education. Bruner discusses how inclusion of folk theories assists in providing a cultural account of the concept of education in relation to the context, as the folk pedagogy (Bruner, 1996, p.46) assists in the investigation of contemporary modes of education in a context. Nasr and Dabashi (1990) criticize the dominant theories arising from Western research, which assumes universality to its concepts. Nasr and

Dabashi (1990) encourage investigation of contemporary theories of culture arising, and more importantly in relation to their own contexts. Towards a community-centered paradigm in a search for modes of education in the contemporary contexts of Iran, Morewedge (1976) suggests inclusion of Nomads’ modes of education, as well as people of arts and crafts, or artisans.

Morewedge (1976) indicates that there exists a lack of research on the pre-Islamic modes of education in the contemporary contexts of Iran. Although the focus of this study is not the pre-

Islamic era with Zoroastrian ontologies, it is required to include such conceptions as the foundational contexts from which the Islamic modes of education emerged. Morewedge (1976) discusses that it may not be possible to draw sharp lines in associating modes of education with solely Islamic ontologies or merely Zoroastrian ontologies. In Iranian contexts, Morewedge

(1976) situates Islamic modes of education in the process of the gradual replacement of

Zoroastrian ontologies with Islamic ontologies. Morewedge (1976) states that during this process

50 religious centers remained major educational structures, whereas fire temples transformed to mosques in the majority of cases.

2.12.2 The Islamic Era in Iran

2.12.2.1 Conceptualization of Education in Islamic Iran

Mutahhari (2002) discusses that with the start of the Islamic era, the conceptualization of education gained new meanings in all contemporary layers of society. As the conceptualization of life, being, becoming and the goal of life changed in ontological senses, making meaning of education also changed within a broad range, from vocational to philosophical modes of education. Mutahhari (2002) indicates that philosophy, hikmah, gained a more rational-oriented meaning in its Islamic nuance with two main branches, theoretical and practical, which overall embraced rational sciences including “theology, mathematics, the natural sciences, politics, ethics and domestic economy” (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 13). Theoretical philosophy was threefold, including theology as high philosophy, mathematics as middle philosophy, and natural sciences as low philosophy. Theology included comprehension of general phenomenology and specified theology. Mathematics included understanding of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music.

Natural sciences included comprehension of plant sciences, animal sciences, mineralogy, geology and environmental sciences. On the other hand, practical philosophy was threefold, including ethics, domestic economy and civics. The Islamic conceptualization of philosophy and its impacts on the redefinition of education was a gradual process of meaning making which occurred over decades and centuries after the encounter of Islam and the contemporary contexts of Iran (Morewedge, 1976). According to Islamic ontologies, knowledge was categorized into two main domains of making meaning of determinations -ahkam- and accidents -awarid- in all realms of philosophy (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 14). Mutahhari (2002) emphasizes noting the

51 pragmatics of the terms philosophy and science. Mutahhari (2002) discusses how a prevalent bias of today’s era, which arose in Western literature and spread widely in Eastern initiators of

Western thought, pertains to a linguistic change in the usage and apprehension of the terms philosophy and science. In the traditional West, before the beginning of the sixteenth Christian century, the term philosophy was used to mean all rational and intellectual realms of knowledge.

In the modern West, the usage of the word became “restricted to metaphysics, logic, and aesthetics when mathematics and natural sciences were divorced from philosophy” (Mutahhari,

2002, p. 19). Gradually but consistently, the natural sciences departed the domain of syllogistic reasoning and entered that of the experimental method. Therefore, scientists called syllogistic reasoning groundless and the metaphysics and the relative realms, which indeed addressed the most important ontological questions about being, becoming and the goal of life, were declared non-existent by scientists in Western thought, as they were non-experimental (Mutahhari, 2002).

Mutahhari (2002) emphasizes that such historicism did not happen to the Islamic conception of philosophy, and that the sscience as the pragmatics of these meanings are different in Islamic intellectualism.

2.12.2.1.1 Islamic Thought

In Islamic Iran, the schools of philosophy and educational centers played an essential role in the development of Islamic culture. In Islamic thought in contemporary Iranian contexts, two main domains of philosophy evolved and dominated the remnants of the pre-Islamic philosophy

(Mutahhari, 2002). The pre-Islamic philosophy, which had a lot of integrated thought from ancient Greek philosophy and ancient Zoroastrian ontologies, was replaced by an Islamic philosophy which evolved two main domains of gnosis, Irfan, and scholastic Theology, Kalam,

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(Mutahhari, 2002). The two Islamic methods of meaning making opened new horizons for philosophy in general.

2.12.2.1.2 Defining Shia in the Domain of Education

Towards identifying contextual modes of education, Tuan (1975) suggests considering place as a unique artifact which stands in between the abstract systematic knowledge remote from experience and the particular localities. Tuan discusses how a place-centered meaning making may provide space for understanding sensitivities associated with ontologies. Towards identifying places as centers of meaning, Tuan (1975) suggests looking for places with non- explicit recognition and seeking human experiences towards human contemporary meaning making. There is an emergent call to redefine education in relation to context and its specific dynamics of social engagement and cultural life (Nehru, 1935; Chambers, 1999; Laird, 2004;

Mackler, 2009). In educational philosophy, all conflicting yet dominant approaches defining education as an institutional entity for the most part disregard the integrated notion of education as a cross generational cultural entity in relation to diverse ontologies of life and being in contemporary worldviews (Nehru, 1935; Grande, 2004). In a Constructive philosophy of education, knowledge is constructed at the intersection of social actions and entities of context

(Bruner, 1960; Smith, 1999; Grande, 2004). It is essential to redefine education as a function of context and to consider the contemporary forms in which education resides within contextual structures of culture and their entities (Nehru, 1935; Agyeman, 2003). Culture in the context of living is constantly in dialogue with contextual values and meanings according to contextual ontologies. Culture regulates social action in relation to emerging values within the context

(Hall, 1992). It is critical to note the contextual definition of literacy and education. In this study, one main concept which requires scrutiny and understanding is the concept of literacy and

53 education in the view of Islamic philosophy, including two folds of Islamic original text as well as an Islamic authentic view through Islamic scholarly literature. It is important to examine the education system in the context of Shia as a system based on curriculum as lived (Jafari, 1995).

In Islamic education, the Quran and Hadith have been the central source of making meaning of various phenomena in contemporary contexts with Islamic ontologies in and out of Iran (Nasr and Dabashi, 1996; Hakimi and Hakimi, 1998; Mutahhari, 2002). In the broadly scattered

Islamic contexts in Iran, there have emerged four main methods of education in Islamic thought

(Mutahhari, 2002). The first is the Islamic peripatetic method, used by numerous philosophers such as Ibn Sina. This method relies on rational deduction and demonstration (Mutahhari, 2002).

Second, the Islamic illuminationist method was mainly received by Suhrawardi. In this method of education, purification of the soul plays an essential role beside rationality. Third, the Islamic gnosis, Irfan, method relies on purification of the soul but rejects deduction and, instead of discovering reality, the learner of this method seeks to attain reality (Mutahhari, 2002). The fourth method of education in Islamic thought is the deductive method of kalam, which relies on polemical wisdom while the learner is committed to the bounds of Islam (Mutahhari, 2002). The method of kalam is subdivided into three systems of thought, including the Mu’tazilite, the

Ash’arite and the Shiite or Shia. Imam Ja’far Sadiq, the sixth successor of the messenger of

Islam, is the leader and teacher of Shia thought in Islamic philosophy (Mutahhari, 2002). Shia is a philosophy of thought from which the Shi’i method of logical and rational argument, kalam, has emerged. The Shiite method of kalam is rooted in the Shia Hadith, which conveys

“numerous traditions in which profound metaphysical and social problems have been dealt with logically and analyzed rationally” (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 75) in a discursive manner. Mutahhari identifies the Shia method of learning as one of the main origins of rational speculation and

54 debate, while reminding us that Imam Ali was the initiator of such a method in Islamic thought and education. Imam Ali initiated profound discussions “on the subjects of Divine Essence

Attributes… temporality (huduth), unity (wahdah) and plurality (kathrah)…” (Mutahhari, 2002, p.76). The collection of his teachings is Nahj al-balaghah, considered the Islamic literary source of meaning making of life in relation to a broad range of topics. In further explanation of the

Shia method of education, Mutahhari (2002) indicates that the critical debate and discursive construction of meaning in this method are apart from dialectical philosophization. The doctrinal basis for the Shia method of education is rooted in the Qur’anic revelations and Hadith, which means the guiding principles of Shia spiritual leaders, Imams (Nasr and Dabashi, 1996; Hakimi and Hakimi, 1998; Mutahhari, 2002). The Hadith is the Islamic system of literature referencing to Imams as Islamic intellectuals and original teachers whose oral, written and lived principles are at the center of Islamic education. There are five concepts at the center of Shia philosophy according to Shiite scholars (Mutahhari, 2002). The central concepts are “Taw-heed, Adle,

Nabuwah, Imamah and Ma ’ad” (Mutahhari, 2002, p.79). Mutahhari (2002) indicates that taw- heed, the belief in Oneness of the Creator, and Nabuwah, the belief in the prophethood of all prophets and the last Prophet, Hazrat Mohammad, are central among all the various doctrines of contemporary groups of Moslems all around the world. In a brief description of the concept of

Adle, justice at the cosmos scale, Mutahhari (2002) explains that in Shia philosophy, justice is defined and determined in accordance with the particular order of Divine origin. The concept of justice has a multi-dimensional meaning which includes individual, social and cosmic balance

(Mutahhari, 2002). Mutahhari (2002) emphasizes that it is essential for any discussion of Islamic education to consider the main concepts central to Islamic literacy.

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2.12.2.1.3 Shia Islamic Literacy

Mutahhari exemplifies the study of Islamic literacy in the realm of evolution while he draws on the notions of humanity and animality (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 208). Mutahhari discusses these notions starting from a sociological point within a modern scientific paradigm where all human and animal differences are considered evolutionary infrastructures under the superstructure of the economy of the cosmos. Mutahhari explains that such a conceptualization of humanity defines the concepts of philosophy, arts, literature, morals, culture and religion as manifestations of economic realities without any substantive reality. Mutahhari (2002) concludes that such an approach leads to a psychological, and ultimately an ontological argument, which asserts that humanity has no substantive reality except its animality. Therefore, only similarities between humans and animals are of value in this paradigm. Mutahhari emphasizes that such a conception of humanity and evolution is at odds with the Islamic conception of such notions. In discussing

Islamic literacy in the realm of evolution, Mutahhari (2002) explains that humanity is a substantive and substantial superstructure whose animality is to become minimized during the evolutionary process of spiritual becoming. Such an evolutionary process liberates humans from the captivities of nature and self as they become more dependent on faith and belief. Mutahhari emphasizes that such “spiritual evolution” (Mutahhari, 2002, p.210) is not a reflection of the human evolution of tools and/or means of governing nature or material production. Mutahhari

(2002) indicates that Islamic education is a system of thought, structuring its particular modes of education, which aligns with such a philosophy of being and becoming in all realms of knowledge making.

2.12.2.1.4 Islamic Teaching

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The Islamic conceptualization of teaching is in direct association with Islamic ontologies and contemporary topics related to the conceptualization of education, such as classification of pedagogies, belief in the insufficiency of reason, the critical analysis of dominant ideologies in defining education, the conceptualization of temporality and specificity, and the definition of culture in relation to notions of unity and diversity (Mutahhari, 2002). Mutahhari indicates that, according to Islamic ontologies, pedagogies fall into the category of pleasure-orientation or goal- orientation. Nasr discusses the historicism through which pleasure occupied ontologies in

Western thought (Nasr, 2007). Mutahhari (2002) explains that the pragmatics of both terms, pleasure and goal, are far different across contexts as they are embedded in contextual ontologies. Mutahhari (2002) discusses that in Islamic ontologies, a goal-oriented pedagogy, holistically or particularly, “served the more sublime aptitudes of humanity” (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 226). In asserting the necessity of serving such aptitudes of humanity, Mutahhari describes that “the satanic designs of imperialism” (Mutahhari, 2002, p. 226), the most criminal of human acts, is an example of an organized and goal-oriented design of pedagogy which is divorced from such aptitudes of humanity, and which serves material and abominable ends, nukran. Mutahhari

(2002) asserts that according to the Islamic philosophy of education, the design of a true pedagogy is beyond the power of human individuals and collective intelligence and, as Ibn-Sina wrote in his chapter on Islamic theories of education in kitab al-Najat, the revealed law is required to be learned and lived with (Mutahhari, 2002, p.228). In defining Islamic ideologies in conceptualizing education, Mutahhari indicates that belief in a human’s primordial nature is shared by all such ideologies in the realm of education. In Islamic thought, a human’s primordial nature is shared among all ethnicities, nations, races, genders and classes. Mutahhari (2002) discusses that such a conception depowers all criteria which have caused human discrimination

57 and marginalization throughout contemporary social histories. In the Islamic philosophy of education, social justice is the institute of religion and all human beings have an equal right to education. In Shia philosophy, social justice is an assertion of believing in the Creator’s Oneness,

Taw-heed, so in judgment and institution of justice, every Moslem ought to avoid categorizing human beings along criteria of race, nation, class and gender. In the Islamic conceptualization of teaching, culture is defined in relation to the primordial nature of human beings. Culture means the living conditions of humans, with two dimensions in existence and essence, as human life is defined in the same way. Diversity and fragmentation are characteristics of the existence dimension of culture in relation to context, while all contemporary contextual modes of cultures share the primordial condition of human beings, in unity. Such an Islamic conception of culture/s depowers any corporate definition of culture, while it asserts the Islamic principle of social justice with respect to context, and simultaneously in a universal sense (Nasr, 2007; Mutahhari,

2002). In Islamic theories of education, conceptualizations of temporality, stability, specificity and universality are important in identifying various definitions of education in relation to realms of knowledge. Mutahhari (2002) explains that a definition of education which arises from corporate interests, including all modes of social structures of power such as class, race, and nation, are relative in terms of time and place; therefore, they are temporal and specific to their contexts. In Islamic thought, the definitions of education which arise from the ontologies of the primordial nature of being may stand foundationally stable across contexts. In Islamic theories of education, realms of teaching fall into three main categories across Islamic contexts. The three main realms are principles of belief, morals and decrees. According to Shia scholars, the Shia school of thought in education is structured around these three realms of knowledge making, while centering the Qur’an and Hadith as the foundations of meaning making. The Islamic

58 school of thought “does not regard imitation and blind submission as sufficient; every individual must freely and independently verify the rightness of their belief under heading of investigation and acquisition of knowledge” (Mutahhari, 2002, p.233). In identifying one of the main pedagogical practices in Islamic theories of education, Mutahhari (2002) and Nasr (2007) discuss the importance of contemplation in teaching, learning and meaning making of knowing in contemporary realms of knowledge. Mutahhari emphasizes that contemplation is not confined to physical or financial acts of worship. Mutahhari (2002) encourages investigation of contemporary modes of contemplation towards understanding Islamic modes of teaching, literacy making and education.

2.12.2.2 Modes of Education in Islamic Iran

The contemporary modes of education in contemporary contexts of Iran have been variously dependent on localities which are mainly impacted by sociocultural variants. Across the ecologically diverse contexts of Iran, the sociocultural variants have been shaped fundamentally by ecological, economic and linguistic factors (Morewedge, 1976). The conceptualization of

Indigeneity varies across contexts, where different notions are embraced as the central distinguishing characterization of Indigenous identity. Such central notions include contemporary Islamic religious orientations, ecological realms, racial pedigrees, and linguistic backgrounds (Morewedge, 1976). The modes of education vary across the contexts of Iran in direct relation with contextual localities. Morewedge (1976) indicates that there is a lack of literature on identification and documentation of contemporary modes of education in relation to the specificity of contexts across Iran. Morewedge (1976) discusses that, in general, there have been unified modes of formal education across contexts, according to Avicenna’s documentation of early Islamic education in Iran. Avicenna identifies maktab as the Islamic form of elementary

59 education, which was often associated with a mosque. Avicenna’s philosophy of education, which elaborated on the Islamic conceptualization of education based on the Qur’an and Hadith, was used as a guiding literature in the construction of formal education replacing small scale and private instruction across contexts in Iran (Morewedge, 1976). Morewedge (1976) discusses that the early curriculum was structured on the grounds of the Qur’an, Islamic ethics, language, and literature which upheld an understanding of life, being, becoming and the goal of life in the center of constructing knowledge. Morewedge (1976) explains that the process of structuring secondary education, qualified for children over 14 years of age, was grounded in Avicenna’s philosophy of education and based on the acquisition of career-oriented specialization.

Morewedge (1976) calls for examination of contemporary modes of education, including maktab and madras, in accordance with various localities across their associated contexts.

2.12.3 The Recent Era in Iran

2.12.3.1 Conceptualization and Modes of Education in Recent Iran

In a critical analysis of the historical and political marginalization of diverse meanings associated with the concepts of curriculum, education and literacy (Mutahhari, 1982; Armstrong, 1995,

Tikly, 2004), Tikly (2004) discusses the role of education in relation to neo-imperialism. In defining neo-imperialism, Tikly (2004) explains the difference between new modes of imperialism and “older forms of European imperialism characterized by colonial rule” (Tikly,

2004, p. 173). Tikly (2004) focuses on education as the non-material and discursive mode of

“governmentality” (Foucault, 1991) as a new regime of global control securing global capitalism.

Tikly (2004) discusses the role of education as the central policy making machinery for the imperialistic project of development towards structuring global capitalism. Tikly (2004) draws on Foucault’s concept of governmentality to interpret and discuss the continuity of imperialism

60 as a discursive phenomenon. Tikly critically analyzes the dominant forms of rationality which set grounds for the concept of development at the center of imperialism. Tikly draws on dominant conceptualizations, theories and modes of education as the main policy production areas which perpetuate such dominant rationalities. Tikly calls for identification of the multilateral development agencies processing such rationalities in contemporary realms from economics to sustainability. Tikly (2004) calls for “creating spaces for historically marginalized knowledges and their diverse ways of understanding education” (Tikly, 2004, p. 174) across contemporary contexts. Critics discoursing on the concept of neo-imperialism refer to the process through which global powers, including political, cultural, environmental and mainly economic ones, flow across territorial entities (Harvey, 1996; Tikly, 2004; Lewis, 1993; Ali,

2003; Pilger, 2003). Tikly emphasizes that the imperial conceptualization of education plays a central role in processing neo-imperialism. Critics of neo-imperialism emphasize that this phenomenon “differs from the older analysis of neo-colonialism in two important respects”

(Tikly, 2004). Neo-imperialism is less identified with nation states or the notion of the West in its dominant sense. Neo-imperialism is transnational in its composition and is not confined to power blocs in the West or East (Robinson & Harris, 2000). Neo-imperialism is a global elite that exerts an unpredictable influence on national policies, mainly in so-called third world countries. The distinctive characteristic of neo-imperialism is its cultural/scientific identity, rather than being based on colonial notions of race (Tikly, 2004). Young (2001) indicates the prominent role of education in structuring the capitalists’ funded project of neo-imperial development. Young discusses the roles of curriculum and pedagogy in shaping social practices, constituting policies and producing knowledge. Tikly (2004) discusses the roles of social practices in operating or contesting apparatuses of governmentality towards neo-imperialism.

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Tikly traces the grounds of neo-imperialism into neo-liberal economic theories initiated after the

Second World War; therefore, Tikly calls for the identification of new conceptualizations of education which emerged simultaneously in contemporary contexts, particularly in so-called third world contexts. Tikly associates such conceptualizations of education as a major institution in such contexts. Nasr and Dabashi (1990), and Morewedge (1976) emphasize that such a conceptualization of education was initiated by the modernization movement in the context of

Iran. Tikly (2004) discusses how the new imperialistic significance of the term “development” was processed by the modern conceptualization of education. Tikly explains that this movement constructed a development paradigm aimed at restructuring a new episteme to support the reproduction of a new imperialism. Tikly (2004), Escobar (2001) and Sardar (1999) show that economic restructuring of the globe is never separate from cultural restructuring of contexts, as economics is a profoundly cultural entity in non-Western contexts.

2.13 Education and New Imperialism

In calling for an examination of contextual theories of education towards redefining education in relation to context, Tikly (2004) discusses that dominant education theories, as they are developing at the global level, give rise to education policies mainly governed by global multilateral agencies. The global multilateral agencies are grounded in global imperialistic structures of governmentality (Rose & Miller, 1992; Harris, 1999; Tikly, 2004). Tikly calls for the identification of “technologies of government” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188) in the realm of education. In defining such technologies, Tikly draws on techniques, policies, procedures and strategies which are used cross-contextually to integrate imperialistic political rationalities into contextual ontologies, education theories and major conceptualizations in the realm of education.

Tikly indicates the importance of colonial education as a basis for neo-imperialism (Tikly, 2004,

62 p. 188). Modern forms of education are described as the technologies of “colonization of the mind” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188; Ngugi Wa Thiong, 1981; Nandy, 1997). In interpreting associated conceptualizations of education in modern ontologies, Tikly emphasizes “the Western episteme based on Eurocentric conceptions of human nature and of social reality” (Tikly, 2004, p. 188).

Tikly discusses how the spread of such conceptualizations, modes and structures of education is an essential “precondition for the subsequent spread of global governmentality” (Tikly, 2004, p.

189). Tikly (2004) critically analyzes the promotion of modernization through the development of human capital theory by means of education during the 1960s and 1970s in the target contexts of neo-imperialism. Tikly (2004) discusses the means through which modern education became a severe reinforcement of neo-imperialism through limiting the capacities of the identification and implementation of contextual educational forms and conceptualizations. In raising the importance of contextual approaches in redefining education, Tikly emphasizes the potentiality of education as the realm of knowledge construction towards anti-imperialism. Anti-imperialist scholars call for contextual approaches to re-conceptualize education in order to go beyond the existing order of knowledge being reinforced by current dominant Eurocentric conceptualizations of education (Santos, 1999; Tikly, 2004). Contextualizing education provides space for contextualizing knowledge production away from a hegemonic order which marginalizes and dominates other ways of knowing and making meaning (Crossley & Watson,

2003; Tikly, 2004). Tikly (2004) indicates that the identification and establishment of contextual curriculum and pedagogy can foster critical thought and social transformation as new anti- imperialistic politics.

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2.13.1 Conceptualization of Modern Ontology-rooted Education in Iran

Nehru (1935) calls for the examination of formal and informal definitions of education in relation to context. Nehru (1935) indicates that such an approach may lead to problematizing interplays of power and colonization through curriculum as planned, and addressing the marginalized definition of education within formal institutions of education. Such a critical analysis of concepts of education as entities of culture, in explicit and implicit reciprocity with particularities of contexts, is emergent in current studies (UNESCO, 2012; Hall, Sefa,

Rosenberg, 2000).

2.13.2 Modern Education in Iran

Koyagi (2009) elaborates on recent research on the conceptualizations of education in Iran.

Koyagi (2009) indicates that the majority of studies have adopted a top-down approach, with a paradigm encompassed by modernization theory and national historiography. Koyagi (2009) identifies a gap in bottom-up studies on recent conceptualizations of education across contemporary contexts of Iran. Koyagi (2009) discusses that recent studies such as Arasteh’s

1969, Banani’s 1961 and Menashri’s studies provide a historiographic account of the modern conceptualization and formal state-centered schooling in Iran. Koyagi (2009) indicates that such studies all adopt a pro-modernist approach in their presumed dichotomy of modern versus traditional conceptualizations of education in Iran. Koyagi (2009) emphasizes that such studies all ignore the inclusion of contemporary perspectives of social groups and/or individuals who have resisted modernization of education in Iran. Koyagi (2009) discusses how such studies ignore the perspectives of the most involved groups and/or individuals in education such as teachers, community elders and religious-social guides. Koyagi (2009) calls for the inclusion of

64 the powerless voices that have been marginalized in depicting an image of education across contemporary contexts in Iran.

2.14 Indigenous Approaches to the Concept of Knowledge Construction

Grande (2012) discusses how in identifying marginalized conceptualizations associated with a notion, it is essential to identify the relationships of the researched group with contemporary structures of power. Grande calls for the inclusion of invisible voices that deconstruct “imperial legacies of Western knowledge” (Grande, 2012, p.xii). In defining the West, Grande draws on

Stuart Hall’s notion of the “West as an idea or concept, a language for imagining a set of complex stories, ideas, historical events and social relationships” (Grande, 2012, p. 44), which allows us to categorize, compare and rank other societies through a system of representation.

Nasr identifies Islamic ways of meaning making as a marginalized voice in current literature and studies. Koyagi (2009) identifies Shia ways of meaning making about education and curriculum as excluded from scrutiny and as being absent in the construction of discourse. Grande (2012) raises the importance of reaching cultural key people and resources in contemporary contexts in order to examine cultural ways of knowing. In Shia contexts, the Qur’an, Hadith, religious-social guides –Ulama- and community elders are key cultural resources of meaning making

(Mutahhari, 2002; Nasr & Dabashi, 1990; Koyagi, 2009) where the dominant modern conceptualizations of education, imposed by forces of globalization, are the means to reproduce imperial “regimes of truth” (Grande, 2012, p.33).

2.15 Ecological Education in Contemporary Islamic Contexts

In constructing a systematic approach to examining the notion of ecological education as a function of contextual culture, the question of how ecological literacy is taught through culture is

65 addressed. Mutahhari (2002) discusses how in constructing knowledge, the inquiry that focuses on the study of the organology of the universe of being is defined as science in Islamic thought, and the inquiry that pertains to the universe as a whole requires a philosophical approach in direct association with ontologies. In the Islamic conceptualization of education, human beings are born with a pure potentiality that becomes understood through education. Contemporary revelations, the human primordial essence and conscience are at the center of such education.

The Qur’an swears the human primordial essence and conscience (Qur’an, 2: 75 in Mutahhari,

2002) is accessible to all human beings. In Islamic thought, any contextual mode of education, which assists the human conscience in guiding one’s becoming throughout life, is respected

(Imam Ali, Nahj al-balagha, p. 225 in Hakimi, 2010). In Islamic thought, a Moslem’s life is the realm of Islamic education as one’s lived practices are pedagogies based on Islamic ways of meaning making of life (Jafari, 1995). According to the Qur’an, each Moslem is responsible to make her/his meaning of life (Hakimi, 2010) based on oral, written or practical modes of studying (Majlesi, 1698, 29/2 in Mutahhari, 2002). The importance of education at the social and cultural level is in its practicality, while the goal of education is to make meaning of one’s life in one’s living context (Majlesi, 1698, 32/2 in Hakimi, 2010). In identifying the proper ideology and guiding philosophy, according to the Qur’an, it is essential for each Moslem to examine her/his food for thought as she/he examines the properness of food for health (Hakimi, 2010). In

Islamic thought, each Moslem is responsible for justice in a holistic and multi-dimensional manner including her/his relationship with the creator, with one’s self, with other beings and the environment (Hakimi, 2010). The Qur’an conveys multiple educational concepts about the rights of the environment and other beings onto humans’ shoulders, as well as the notions of responsibility and justice towards nature and the environment (Hakimi, 2010; Nasr & Dabashi,

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1990). In addition, there are rights and responsibilities defined in association with other beings and the environment on a cosmic scale. Hakimi (2010) draws on multiple verses and discourses in the Qur’an and Hadith about the concept of justice towards the cosmos. The concepts of discrimination of rights and pollution associated with the environment are defined elaborately in the Qur’an and Hadith (Hakimi, 2010). According to the Qur’an, the concepts of consumerism and capitalism are central to the creation of discriminatory status in relation to the environment

(Hakimi, 2010). Hakimi (2010) discusses how understanding the social consequences of consumerism and capitalism in multiple layers, from individual to public realms, are central to the concept of living for a Moslem. Hakimi (2010) draws on multiple Hadith about the respect and practice of rights towards the environment by Imam Ali, the Shia leader. Hakimi (2010) identifies contemporary references which elaborate on individual and social responsibilities advised to Moslems towards nature and the environment. Such references include the Qur’an,

Hadith, Nahj al-balaghah, and Bahar al-anvar, which provide general to detailed accounts of the conceptualization of justice towards the environment (Hakimi, 2010). Nasr (1990) identifies such references as Islamic literacy making resources about nature at a cosmic scale. Such references are accessible to the public at all social layers across Islamic contexts in Iran (Hakimi, 2010;

Nasr, 1990; Morewedge, 1976).

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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

One of the major segments of this study has been an exploration of an appropriate methodological approach in respect to the contexts involved in this study. As this research is situated in a Western institution and it aims to study one of the Middle Eastern Islamic cultures, it was important to consider major critiques of Western-situated research within neocolonial discourses. The major methodological issues concerning conducting cultural studies, such as research as perpetuating colonial thought in contemporary non-modern contexts (Said, 1978), the politics of representation of the other (Hall, 1992) and issues of power dynamics through processes of interpretation and analysis along with their pragmatic implications have been lingering throughout the research process in all stages of proposing the title, choosing the theoretical frameworks, designing the approach, encountering the participants and reflecting on the results. The exploration of a fair methodological approach started with the literature review aiming at the identification of important ethical features involved with the work of cultural interpretation and analysis. The second step was to choose a method/methods that would include research participant voices with respect to their conditions of living, their ethics and their worldviews.

Methodological Approach

Neo-colonial scholars describe some of the major methodological issues concerned with conducting cultural studies, such as research perpetuating colonial thought in contemporary contexts (Said, 1978). Said (1978) indicates the importance of considering discourses on

Orientalism in those cultural studies which address the context of the Middle East and Islam in

68 the era of post 1800 A.D. in the Gregorian calendar, equivalent to post 1100 S.H. in the Solar

Hijri calendar. Said justifies his emergent call by drawing on the point that in this era "the most read designation for Orientalism is an academic one" (Said, 1978, p. 2) as "it connotes the high- handed executive attitude of nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century European colonisation" (Said, 1978, p.2) and recently "the vastly extended American political and economic role in the Middle East [which] makes great claims on our understanding of that

Orient" (Said, 1978, p.2). An investigation of Orientalism is critical "to propose intellectual ways for handling methodological problems that [Orientalist] history has brought forward in the

Orient" (Said, 1978, p.110). Said defined Orientalism as an Imperial style for restructuring meanings that perpetuate authority over the Orient, and as a densely made segregation of the

Orient people based on two main approaches to make knowledge about those people as the

Orient; on one hand are the ontological appropriations which impose certain types of distinction, codifying and schematic authority upon those people, and on the other are designed epistemological criteria. Other neocolonial scholars identify ontological appropriation at the centre of such concerns.

3.1 Ontological Appropriation

In describing some of the major methodological issues concerned with the process of representation of the other, Said (1978) draws on the central notion of ontological appropriation.

Said (1978) emphasizes Foucault's notion of discourse to identify Orientalism as a Western projection of authority and an archeology of hegemony which continues to construct a disciplined system of knowledge-making about the people, imaginatively made as the Orient.

Said (1978) analyzes the Orientalist discourses in relation to the construction of propagating imagery, political vocabulary and consistent field practices executed through the colonial thought

69 of dominantly British and French missionaries which have constructed the foundations of the

European traditional scholarship about the Middle East, with its main focus on Islamic people. In defining this hegemonic identity imposed on the Islamic context of the Middle East, Said (1978) draws on Gramsci's identification of European self-identity as a hegemonic ideology of superiority over non-European peoples and cultures (Gramsci & Buttigieg, 1971). Gramsci

(1971) identifies the production of knowledge as a highly socio-political process. Said locates the

Western-situated researcher and scholar in the position of a conscious and/or unconscious socio- political missionary who comes up against the Orient as a developed superior first, and as an individual second (Said, 1978). In the case of the European Orientalist, the Oriental knowledge is constructed at the intersection of the conscious and unconscious sedimentation of European hegemonic ideology, as the scholarship of the Orientalist is situated in a philological tradition stemming from a geopolitical reconstruction of the history about the other on one hand, and the geography of distinction on the other hand (Said, 1978). In the case of the researcher, whose construction of knowledge is currently situated in and/or upon such philological tradition, her/his scholarship is a distribution and maintenance of the hegemonic ideology of superiority shaped by the exchange of the Imperial political power and intellectual power in propagating a global moral power. It is within the colonial totalitarianism of such political-intellectual discourse that discursive frames of research, education and policy are shaped by the capital Imperial state, including dispersed colonial bourgeois within dominant private sectors as well as research fields in the context of interest (Gramsci & Buttigieg, 1971; Said, 1978). In identification of such a state, Said (1978) draws our attention to the notion of Imperialism associated with the hegemonic ideology of superiority over the so-called Orient. Post twentieth century Imperialism is defined as the construction of discourses of domination through progressive systems of knowledge

70 production which serve imperial interests within the target context (Feuer, 1986; Said, 1978) on one hand, and by impartment of urgency and consciousness against a backward inferiority represented as the target context (Said, 1978) on the other hand. In the case of the Islamic Middle

East, Said (1978) identifies this hegemonic superiority as a dominant cultural paradigm through which the Orientalist discourse has constructed colonial knowledge about the Islamic peoples of

Middle East. The Orientalist discourse has constructed “an emerging Orient suitable for study in the academy, for display in the museums, ..., and for the theoretical illustration in anthropological, biological, linguistic, racial, and historical theses about mankind and the universe" (Said, 1976, p.7). In the field of Middle East Islamic studies, Said (1978) defines a

Western situated researcher as any scholar theoretically and/or practically conducting research on the Islamic peoples of the Middle East, who is philologically and conceptually based on and/or affiliated with the foundational literature, social theories and history constructed by

Orientalist scholars. The political literature which progressive Imperialism bears upon its production is partly executed by the Western situated scholar through her/his research. Said

(1978) mentions cultural work, political tendencies, the state, and the specific realities of domination as such mediators of meaning. Said points out that such situationality, due to the constructive structure of knowledge, regulates and sustains Oriental discourses including its highly colonial and imperial consequences for the context. Said (1978) identifies the Orientalist hegemonic ideology of superiority as a cultural paradigm constructed on foundations of representation of the Orient. The representation then existentially and morally exteriorizes the

Orientalist from the Orient as "the other", "inferior" and "incapable of escaping the wholeness imposed to her/him" (Said, 1978, p.21). Exteriority is a critical notion in understanding the relationship between power and authority with the constructive nature of representation in

71 cultural discourse analysis. The ethnographical exteriority embedded in the imbalance of power between the researcher and the researched people has led to propagating claims of truth and delivered presence instead of confessions of representation by the researcher/scholar in power

(Said, 1978). Said emphasizes that identification of imperialism in such cultural studies is central to the identification of the roots of notions of otherness and inferiority in politics of representation through the process of knowledge construction (Said, 1978).

Said (1978) points out that construction of central authority is the progressive strategy of

Imperialism. Knowledge management is regulated by the researcher situated in an Imperial authority who addresses the local concerns, which due to the discursive strategies of the central authority, are stemming from the general concerns of the social authority (Said, 1978; Roger,

2004). Said identifies progressiveness and essentialism as two main methodologies of meaning making about the Orient toward Imperialism.

3.1.1 Progressiveness

One main concern in post-colonial theory is associated with the closeness of Imperial politics with this particular context of study, and it addresses the sensitive point on the “likelihood that the information about the context may be put to political use toward progressive Imperialism”

(Said, 1978, p.96). Abdel Malek (1971) characterises the political structure of Orientalism as an

Imperial one. Abdel Malek identifies constitutive otherness and thematic essentialism, including ethnic typology, as foundational characteristics of the Imperial structure of Orientalism (Said,

1978, p.97), and the current Imperial post-1950s racism and phobia-ism towards the Islamic contexts of Middle East.

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3.1.2 Essentialism

Another concern is to identify "the typical experiences and emotions that accompany both the scholarly advances and the political conquests aided by Orientalism"(Said, 1978, p.100). From

Renan's deterministic ethnic essentialism (1882), Goldziher’s modern Islamic foundation (1874),

Gibb's Arabic philology on Islam (1947) to Lewis' current theories of militant Islam and third- worldism (1993), Islam is represented as a "cultural synthesis" (Said, 1978, p.105) apart from the political, social and economic entities of its context and people. Lewis' tautological and biased essentialism in depicting the Orient has served as a dynamic intellectual source for Imperial policy making against the Islamic peoples of the Middle East. Said (1978) discusses Orientalist subjectivity from various points of relevance to the construction of the so called Orient.

 Orientalist subjectivity:

. Christian analogy: Daniel (1993) analyzes the reception of Islam by the West,

particularly in relation to the analogy of identifying the Islamic people and the place

called Middle East. Daniel draws on analogical arguments when describing the process of

transformation and reception of meanings associated with the people and place of the

Middle East. Daniel describes the cognitive constraints involved in the process of

understanding Islam as an analogical one by Medieval Christian thinkers of Orientalism.

One main analogical structure was that as Christ is the basis of Christian faith, the

misconception evolved which centered "Mohammad to Islam as Christ was to

Christianity" (Daniel, 1993, p.60). Daniel describes the analogical process through which

a so-called realistic portrait of truth about Islam was formed based on the assumed

universality of Medieval Christian values. Southern (1962) calls for a literary approach,

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which unsettles the firmed convictions of the Oriental radical realism imposed on the

context.

. Colonization and neo-colonization: Postcolonial scholars emphasize the critical analysis

of the concept of colonization in drawing on the literature about and by the Orient. It is

important to elaborate on a broad understanding of the concept of colonization, which

includes notions of Capitalism, Imperialism and other sorts of fascism (Chomsky &

Herman, 1979; Zizek, 2008). In post-colonial theories, modernity is one main regulatory

concept for contemporary forms of neo-colonization (Ghandi, 1935; Said, 1978;

Chakrabarty, 2000; Banerjee, 2000). Chakrabarty identifies historicism as the core

concept integral to the construction of modernity discourses (Chakrabarty, 2000), and

warns against drawing on merely Western post-structural and post-modern critiques of

historicism as a mode of historicism itself. Post-colonial scholars identify historicism as

the surviving form of the nineteenth century colonial ideology of development. Post-

colonial scholars warn researchers of the so-called third world against producing local

versions of the same narratives of historicism, where research serves as a relationship to

European social thought.

. Signifying threat and danger: Said (1978) points out that modes of representation of the

Islamic peoples of the Middle East have varied since the era of British and French

Orientalism to our current era in the center of discourses. The nuances in representation

have been discursively transformed from exteriority and exoticism to inferiority and, in

the post-1950s, as a danger and threat which all "intensify the hold of the nineteenth-

century academic and imaginative demonology of the mysterious Orient" (Said, 1978,

p.26). This intensification process is analyzed by drawing on anti-Islamic discourses and

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their power in reinforcement of the so-called postmodern world in understanding the

Middle East and its contemporary people. Said suggests a contextual approach in the face

of power structures of "cosmopolitan allegiance grounded on superiority" (Said, 1978, p.

37) such as Orientalism and modernity. The intensification is also associated with "the

relationship between knowledge and geography" (Said, 1978, p.53). In the nineteenth-

century the term Middle East was discursively formed by the Oriental British Office in

India and the American geo-strategist Mahan in the Persian Gulf (Koppes, 1976). One

main counter methodology used in constructing Orientalism has been a sustained

propaganda scholarship of subject matter. Lasswell (1962, 1972) defined such

propaganda efforts as the discourse in "which what accounts is not what people are or

think but what they can be made to be and think" (Said, 1978, p.78). The Orientalist

fathers such as Balfour, Cromer, and Kissinger have articulated the foundations of the

propaganda of the Orient as a threat by collectively calling for the urgency of a Western

"construct [of] an international order before a crisis imposes it as a necessity" (Said,

1978, p.47).

3.2 Avoiding Oriental Methodology

Said (1978) identifies the foundations of Oriental methodology, as an academic discursive formation of Orientalism, in the academic movements of the early eighteenth-century, such as

George Sale's bringing his own translations of Islamic sources in a comparative approach with medieval Christianity. The construction of such preliminary discourses was led by Oriental historians. The current biased online translation of the Qur'an initiated by the University of

Copenhagen in 2007 is an extension of such discourses into twenty-first-century research.

Another methodological approach was the sympathetic identification with the Orient, the

75 intellectual movement which started in the late eighteenth-century as "preparing the way for modern Orientalism" (Said, 1978, p.118).

3.2.1. Methodological Guide for this Study:

Post-colonial scholars suggest attending to the contextual languages, practices and tradition with no representational claims to make for the context. A deconstructive approach towards historicism is the empirical attendance to the diverse ways of being and living in the world, and as Gandhi (1998) suggests, to move away from abstracting universal discourses of modernism and secularism and instead to include contemporary religious modes of being in the world.

Chakrabarty (2000) describes how what one says is closely connected with how it is said; therefore, a narrative constantly conveys non-linear analytics within itself, as an interview is a mutual creation (Greenspan and Bolkosky, 2006). It is essential to address the concept of interpretation (Steiner, 1975; As-Safi 1979) in relation to cultural understanding (Vygotsky,

1986; Bruner, 1991) and the pragmatics implications of context (Levinson, 1983; Fatemi, 2001;

Chapman, 2011).

3.3 Modern Orientalism

Modern Orientalism inherited its library of literature, discourse and praxis to place them on

Sacy's and Lane's scientific and rational basis (Said, 1978). The methodology of modern

Orientalism has been a systematic accumulation of human beings and territories in the name of knowledge, and by preparing the context and the people for arriving movements, revolutions, armies, administrations and bureaucracies. Modern Orientalism discursively constructs "a systematic body of texts, pedagogical practices, a scholarly tradition, and an important link between scholarship and public [and international] policy" (Said, 1978, p.124). The current

76 assimilative and incorporative international policies imposed on the context of Islam in the

Middle East is the Imperial extension of scholarly text and research by the Orientalist. Neo- colonial critics emphasize identifying multiple facets of modern Orientalism, which may emerge as ecological orientalism, geological orientalism and topological orientalism.

3.3.1 Ecological Orientalism

Said (1978) warns the researcher about the potentiality of Orientalism in relation to its progressive exteriority and propagating superiority, which has discursively formed academic

Orients such as the Darwinian Orient and, therefore, may construct new realms of Orient in research such as an ecological Orient. Construction of an ecological Orient can be the consequence of a methodological approach through an Orientalist paradigm with an intense positivist doctrine. The so-called Orientalist methodology includes two main approaches, such as ontological and epistemological ones (Said, 1978; Bhabha, 1994). Such a methodological approach obscures contextual ontological worldviews lived by the peoples of the Middle East, including Moslems, through the strategy of ontological appropriation.

3.3.1.1 Methodological Guide for this Study:

In the realm of epistemology, understanding and analysis of people's lived ecological experiences, based on the large Orientalist body of literature formed as an exterior and designed criteria, fall between the intertextual system of citing Orientalist works and authors, and the methodological consequences of dynamics between scholarship, imaginative writing, and assumptions perpetuated as research data (Said, 1978). The power imbalance between the politicians supporting and supported by the intellectual bourgeosie belonging to the structures of knowledge-production, or in Said's words "an Orientalised socio-science jargon" (Said, 1978,

77 p.109), facilitates the process of exploitation of the Orient. Ecological Orientalism may follow the same methodological approach of sympathetic identification to first deconstruct contextual meanings and then replace them with regenerated Oriental meanings. Such a methodological approach starts with the vocabulary of sympathetic identification with the context and gradually shifts to "the lexicographical police action of Orientalist science" (Said, 1978, p.155) and policy.

3.3.2 Geographical Orientalism

One other main method pervasive in oriental writing has been Cromer's pedagogy of reforming native minds (Kernaghan, 1993). Multiple geographical supervisory Imperial authority establishments were initiated by Curzon based on his Orientalist accounts of the geography of greater Iran and Amu Darya (Curzon, 1892). The current Royal Geographical Society, led by

British Orientalists, and the French Société de Géographie are among many such establishments, which coincide the production of a historically-made geographical knowledge with a panorama mapping towards investment in power within the context of Middle East (Said, 1978).

3.3.3 Topological Orientalism

In this study, the research sites are within the geographical borders of Iran. It is important to consider that the existing dominant perceptions about the space of the Middle East, and particularly Iran at the heart of the region, is the product of an ongoing project of Western political opposition embedded in the politics of colonization and Imperialism towards the region

(Stoler, 2002; Said, 1993; Bhabha, 1994). Post-colonial scholars argue that erasure and/or misrepresentation of identities of certain Indigenous and/or religious groups of people is an ongoing colonial process which structures “the figurative and literal landscape and the identities that have been produced in the process” (Mawani, 2003, p.101), while spatially inscribing

78 colonial political, legal, geographical and economic identities. It is important to move the dynamics of the study towards voicing a self-representation of the contexts which are spatially misrepresented (Mawani, 2003; Blunt & McEwan, 2002).

3.3.3.1 Methodological Guide for this Study

It is crucial to rely on contextual sources representing spatial and cultural identities as “identities are mapped in real and imaginary, material and metaphorical spaces” (Philips, 1997, p.45). In mapping the spatial identities of the context of Iran, it is important to consider local maps and calendars central to the methodology of approach.

3.4 Oriental Methodological Dogmas

Said (1978) warns about the absolute dogma of East and West differentiation, and the dogma of placing Orientalist vocabulary in the place of local contextual vocabulary. A critical analysis of current Middle Eastern studies situated in dominant literature shows the sustaining strategies of such institutions in representing a monolithic Oriental image of Islam. One main concern is the low emphasis on the prevailing methodological issues in the last three centuries. A narrative sketch of possible consonance between modes of local topography, ecological literacy and ritual pedagogies is recommended (Said, 1978).

3.4.1 Methodological Guide for this Study

Said suggests exploring Islam not merely based on text but also through the people who live their contemporary ways of living through an Islamic way of being. Said suggests bringingin visual images of contemporary people in Islamic contexts of the Middle East. Said calls for reflecting the diversity of races and images towards the deconstruction of the image making accumulation

79 of Orientalism; and for bringing in the literacy sciences of the Islamic peoples, which

Orientalism avoided and censored (Said, 1978).

3.5 Decolonizing Strategies in Methodological Approach

In response to the concerns raised by neo-colonial critics about the topic of investigation and the context where this investigation is situated, and in respect to the importance of neo-colonial approaches to redefine research, I chose to focus on ontologies of the people in the context of this study as the main methodological strategy in constructing research data. It is essential to transparently confess that the study is merely a representation by the researcher, who is bounded within her subjectivity and constructivist approach (Banerjee & Linsted, 2001). On the other hand, one major component of this study is an examination of the topic from the perspective of contextual references and local sources of literature. One other major component of this study is devoted to bringing the literary sciences of the local people into discourses. Therefore, the methods selected for this approach should convey spaces for dialogue with people practicing this culture.

Methods of Approach in Similar Studies

The process of choosing appropriate methods to understand the concept of ecological literacy from the perspective of local people in the context of this study, includes the identification of common methods applied by ecological critics and ecological ethnographers. It is recommended to begin with understanding the concept of ecological literacy in Persian and non-Persian contexts by drawing on some methods of use in critical ethnography. Wolfe (1999) addresses the reproduction of Western colonial settlement through ethnographic authority. Such authority includes the imbalance of power and knowledge among the researcher and participants through

80 an ethnographic relationship (Banerjee & Linsted, 2001) as well as objectivity and subjectivity positions of knowledge production through research (Banerjee & Linsted, 2004). The ethnographic approach is criticized for the following main concerns:

1- In ethnographic studies, there has been a continuous struggle over the definition of

the anthropological object of study. Turner (1986) suggests focussing ethnographic

studies on events and performances within a social context. Focusing on events

facilitates the researcher’s apprehension of the cultural context, still interpretive, but

moves away slightly from the abstract system of representation in text about a

context. The focus on an interpretive narrative of the contextual performances and

practices with their inherent reflexivity moves the ethnographer away from

representative claims such as claims for cultural restoration through text production

(Turner, 1986; Hastrup, 1992; Clifford, 1986). Meanwhile, it is crucial to note that an

interpretive narrative as a method of approach within ethnography requires seeking a

holistic stance which includes an exploration of folk notions of place, time, social,

economic and linguistic being rather than a cartographic map of the context

subjectively represented by the authority of the ethnographer. The postcolonial

“cultural critique to anthropology” (Marcus, Fischer, 1986) critically questions the

collusion of ethnography with colonial power structures and calls for a multivocal

anthropology of engagement through co-construction of field notes, narrative and

interviews.

2- In working with politically and historically sensitive contexts, in order to avoid

political collusion of the research data, it is important to deconstruct the flattening

constructs of difference, which structure the discourse towards universality. It is

81 essential to emphasize the particularity of the context and to formulate the research discourse as a case study (Ferguson, Chip, 2006). This approach calls for centralizing ontological differences through research studies towards reducing the political consequences of obscuring ontological differences (Banerjee & Linsted, 2004).

Within the postcolonial and neocolonial theories, there is a call to direct studies towards critically revealing the neocolonial assumptions that underlie research which serves political and cultural control (Banerjee & Linsted, 2004). Postcolonial theories address the importance of asking how imperialism and colonization act as discursive fields of knowledge production through research (Said, 1978; Banerjee 2000; Smith,

2010; Zizek, 2008). Critical ethnography addresses this concept that knowledge production reinforces the superiority of western knowledge in the neocolonial era.

Therefore, it is critical to address the concerns of what this research contributes to the context, how this research is needed in relation to the research contexts and their people, and who defines this need. This study aims at providing an academic voice to the meanings, knowings and ways of living of the research participants. The research participants are Shia Moslem people in non-urban communities. This study aims to explore possible Shia conceptions of ecological literacy, and Shia forms of environmental education, which might have implications beyond their contexts.

In choosing the appropriate methods of approach in this study, it is important to note that methods of observation and collection of field notes draw heavily on ethnographic methods. Lack of extended stay in the field resonates with the case study approach applied in this research. This study is an interpretive case study which

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generally drew on methods of critical ethnography including narrativity. The

narrative segments impose induction-laden grounds to the analysis processes.

In choosing methods of approach, it is important to focus on the questions of who

these people are, what their ontologies are, how they are producing their knowledge

at the interplay of their cultural, social, economic, political and historical

complexities. Towards avoiding an Oriental methodology of making meaning about

the Islamic peoples of theMiddle East, Said (1978) suggests a robust application of

critical self-reflexivity in writing about these people.

3.6 Critical Self-Reflexivity

One main concept to be considered in studies guided in so-called oriental contexts, and in critical ethnography, is the notion of critical self-reflexivity, as Banerjee (2004) points out that civilization in the mind of western-situated ethnographers is mostly civic and urban and may not include other modes of civilization.

3.6.1 Methodological Guide for this Study

Noting that in this study, I ,as the main researcher, am a Persian Shia Moslem from Iran, in- between my own particular subjectivity and the shared Islamic worldview, so it is required for me to reflect on my own conceptions of time, space, power, subjectivity and knowledge, addressing complexities of my cross-contextual approach and my positionality here in a modern institution situated in the West on Indigenous land with a history of colonization, and there in

Iran, as a traveling teacher within the contexts of study. Relatively, it is required to achieve ontological introspection defined as examining my own understanding and belief (Banerjee

2000) through self-reflexivity, cultural and historical consciousness about the context of

83 research. It is critical to make explicit the relationship between imperialism, knowledge and research in critical self-reflexivity (Banerjee & Linsted, 2004). In the case of the researcher whose construction of knowledge is currently situated in and/or upon such philological tradition, her/his scholarship is a distribution and maintenance of the hegemonic ideology of superiority shaped by the exchange of the Imperial political power and intellectual power in propagating a global moral power. It is within the colonial totalitarianism of such modern political-intellectual discourse that discursive frames of research, education and policy are shaped by the capital

Imperial state including dispersed colonial bourgeois within dominant private sectors as well as research fields in the context of interest (Gramsci & Buttigieg, 1971; Said, 1978). In the field of

Middle East Islamic studies, Said defines a Western-situated researcher as any scholar theoretically and/or practically conducting research on the Islamic peoples of the Middle East philologically and conceptually based on and/or affiliated with the foundational literature, social theories and history constructed by Orientalist scholars. Such political literary power is partly executed by the Western-situated scholar through her/his research. Kristeva (1980) identifies a post-structural paradigm for her approach towards defining intertextuality as the dynamic mediation of meaning within the philological and literary context. Said mentions cultural work, political tendencies, the state, and the specific realities of domination as such mediators of meaning. Said points out that such situationality, due to the constructive structure of knowledge, regulates and sustains Oriental discourses, including its highly colonial and Imperial consequences for the context. The ethnographical exteriority embedded in an imbalance of power between the researcher and the researched people may lead to propagating claims of truth and delivered presence instead of a confession of representation by the researcher/scholar in power.

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In the segment of field-notes in this study, I draw on thick descriptions reflecting my observations and feelings in order to present the layers of my understanding of the people and their practices.

3.7 Narrativity

The other main approach recommended in eco-critical approaches in constructing meaning of the context is the need to collect stories of the participants. Drawing on participants’ narratives strengthens the approach, as narrativity may disrupt authorities of dominance in the researcher- participant relationship in many ways, such as reductionist propagator representation of the participant and reductionist exploitative objectification of the participant.

3.7.1 Methodological Guide for this Study

Said (1978) suggests describing every individual involved in the research in as much detail as possible through narrative depiction. It is a counter methodology for the expression of instability and insufficiency of the conditional ontological categorization claimed by Orientalism, since narrative disrupts the permanence of vision and its will to power, truth and interpretation.

Narrative brings forth the individual aspects of one's life away from typification of the individual and as many of the contextual details as possible. The narrative moved the discourse away from the Orientalist "caricatures propagated" (Said, 1978, p.290) about the region and its contemporary people.

Another dehumanizing methodological approach in the realm of modern social sciences is its avoidance of local literature in order to “keep the region and its contemporary people conceptually reduced to facts, attitudes, trends and statistics" (Said, 1978, p.291). Said

85 encourages the researcher of the Islamic contexts to meet with people, get to know them and their creative and scientific ways of living, and particularly to use their local literature.

Said reminds us that "people are not material and process of knowledge" (Said, 1978, p.300), and people in Islamic contexts are rarely known by their own voices. It is essential to note that in the process of knowing, it is not sufficient to apply contemporary formats of writing, adding images and any other human extensions of understanding in order to claim reality, since these forms of narrative serve to constitute a represented reality (Bruner, 1991).

3.8 Narrative Analysis

In narrative analysis, it is not so much of a concern how a narrative is constructed but how it regulates construction of a reality in relation to the background preoccupations in the minds and lives of the narrative readers. One such regulatory feature is embedded in “narrative diachronicity” (Bruner, 1991, p. 6). As narrative is a durative event, signification of meaning to it occurs within the compass of time. In this research, the compass of time and duration of events within the context of narrators (research participants) is different from the context of narrative readers. “Hermeneutic composability” (Bruner, 1991, p. 7) in narrative analysis draws attention to the hermeneutic notions of difference between what was initially meant by text and what is expressed through the structure of the text. It is important to document the conditions in which the narratives are told, written and read. In interpreting one’s individual identity through situating the narrative in context, it is important to consider the narrative as a process rather than a product.

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3.8. 1 Methodological Guide for this Study

The act of interpretation and definition of identities may occur at the dialectic moments through the process of narration within a generative view of identity (Gregg, 2011). It is crucial to consider narrative interpretation as a situated condition of narrative and as one of the multiple possible interpretations which each may open up new ways of being and meaning making in relation to context (Lannamann & Mc Namee, 2011; Striano, 2012).

3.9 Language as Discourse

Benveniste define discourse as a temporal and self-referential event of meaning making with a designated addressee as an "other" (Fatemi, 2009). Potter's approach to define discourse from a social perspective holds discourse analysis as a counter methodology in social sciences, and

Leech identifies the roots of discourse analysis in pragmatics (Fatemi, 2009). Fatemi (2009) proposed four layers in discourse analysis where discourse is defined as an open process of mediation between the mind and the world (Fatemi, 2009, p. 119). The linguistic layer includes the structural and functional analysis. The psychological layer draws on psychological theories and concepts in interpreting the discourse (Fanon, 1967). The philosophical layer includes epistemological and ontological analysis. The social layer analyzes the limitations set to define reality as the construct of discourse (Butler, Laclau, & Zizek, 2000). It is important to note that in a Persian cultural context, philosophical and rational ways of thinking are not confined within limited frames of expression, as poetry has been the realm of Islamic discourses of Sufism and intellectuality (Fatemi, 2009; Nasr, 1996).

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3.9.1 Methodological Guide for this Study

Considering language as discourse can play an essential role in the process of translation and interview construction.

Methods of Decolonization in Similar Studies

The scholars in neo-colonial studies emphasize the application of counter methods of decolonization. Said suggests "methodological self-consciousness" at the core of such approaches (Said, 1978, p.326). Said explains that it is not possible to represent others and/or their cultures. Said (1978) reminds the researcher to practice methodological self-examination in order to constantly keep the discourses "responsive to the material and not to a doctrinal preconception" (Said, 1978, p.327). Said suggests that the researcher let the experience shape the study. Neo-colonial scholars remind the researcher that Orientalism is as much a human failure as an intellectual one, and a "seductive degradation of knowledge" (Said, 1978, p.328).

There exist many neocolonial literatures. This study draws on three of the main categories in the realm of neocolonial literatures. The categories are included briefly in this approach, and they include African neo-colonial literature, Indigenous and Moslem literature which are written by people from these contexts, or they are written about these contexts in regard to their history of colonization.

1- Neocolonial approaches in African studies:

The main critique made by African neo-colonial scholars implies that cultural

imperialism is the frontier of indirect political control; therefore, they raise the

importance of centralizing contextual literature in referencing, analysing and making

meaning of the context (Nkrumah, 1965; Barongo, 1980). Hall (1976) emphasizes the

88 importance of defining culture beyond human extensions including interrelated and unstated realms, emotions and conceptualization of time and space. Hall (1976) suggests the researcher identify preoccupations in dominant research such as the definition of culture in traditional Anthropology and education in European philology. Hall (1976) states that researchers have recorded human extensions such as language, social organizations and material culture as knowledge. Hall describes that contemporary forms of human extensions are cognitive models constructed in the process of living and understanding life. Said wants us to note that "culture cannot be reduced to ideology and theology" (Said, 1978, p.298). Hall draws on the notion of "extension transference" (Hall,

1976, p.28) to differentiate knowledge as the process of coming to know a reality from knowledge as the reality which has been as much an intellectual as a historical misunderstanding. Hall also describes that learning has been misunderstood as modern education through the same extension transference. Hall calls for tracing the body of knowledge, called education, into its constructive context of learning integrated into contextual culture and process of living. In approaching contextual cultures, Hall (1976) draws on the notion of high contexts such as a Persian context, where the information is internalized in the members of the context and little is communicated through explicit transmission of messages. In contrast, in low context cultures, such as Western contexts, the mass of the information is communicated through explicit codes. The human extensions are less mechanistic and highly integrated with cultural integrity in high context cultures. The culturally conditioned control systems are implicitly coded within a complex system of human extensions in high context cultures. Hall draws the researcher's attention to the point that "information-handling" (Hall, 1976, p.85) is processed through

89 contemporary control systems which are cultural and contextual dependent. Cultural designation of points of attendance and/or ignorance in structuring a contextual worldview, selectively or unconsciously processed by the members of a context, is in such information-handling systems. Shariati (1971) exemplifies that contemporary forms of Hijab are symbolic and conditioned control systems of modesty and morality in

Islamic contexts. In high context cultures, the meanings expressed through communications, including verbal, non-verbal, body language, synchrony, tones of voice, facial expressions, art forms, various modes of cultural rhythms, rituals, emotional and visual communication, can be understood only if one is familiar with the social and historical complexities of the context (Hall. 1976). A high context culture can be mystifying to the observer and it can lead to highly misinterpreted conceptions of its extensions and its systems of conditioned control, especially to the observer with his/her own cultural stereotypes about the context (Hall, 1976). There is a high possibility of passing great depths of meaning unnoticed in high context fields of research. Hall encourages constant self-reflection in understanding one's self in order to process understanding of the others (Hall, 1976, p.69). Members of a high context culture are constantly oriented towards developing human relations rather than set goals. Hall warns that examinations of high context cultures with low context methods are paradoxical.

Hall suggests consistently constructing a thick description of acts of observation in relation to the analysis of results. The situational frames and dialects, including communications through postures, clothing, temporal and spatial dimensions, should be identified by the researcher and the research participants in the process of analysis.

Anderson (1983), and Fouge`re and Moulettes (2007) raise the importance of a

90 postcolonial criticism of the static and essentialistic conception of culture as a historically determined entity. Neo-colonial critiques of such ethnocentric methodologies of marginalizing other contemporary meanings and forms of culture highlight cross-cultural management as a dominant colonial discourse stemming from such approaches to the concept of culture (Kwek, 2003). Neo-colonial scholars question the colonial concept of a third world, and they describe the discursive formation of this concept as a result of

Truman’s project to construct an economically developed society with a European economic mentality of an emergent capitalism (Escobar, 1995; Banerjee, 2003). Banerjee identifies sustainability discourses as one of the main kinds of management projects aimed at economical control in the name of ecological discourses (Banerjee, 2003).

In this study, I have focused on local literature such as the Qur’an and Hadith in analyzing the narratives and interview instances and conversations as well as self- reflective field notes. The self reflections provide a thick description of instances of encounter with the context and its consistent. The situational frames and dialects, including communications through postures and clothing, are described in the self reflection segments, and they flow into the analysis process.

2- Neo-colonial Approaches in Indigenous Studies

Henry and Pene (2001) call for Indigenous knowledges to be explored against the dominant modern academic discourse of a universal cultural capital, which Seuffert

(1997, p.98) has called the global epistemic violence. Shahjahan (2005) suggests centering spiritual ontologies as a decolonizing methodology in conducting research, and raises the importance of breaking into the academic silence about ontologies interconnected with the divine. Shahjahan (2005) and Szazy (1993) call for new

91 qualitative approaches to intellectual endeavors of Indigenous knowledges which are spiritually centered. In conceptualizing Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous scholars define Indigenous knowledge as a discursive traditional and empirical body of knowledge which has evolved over centuries, that has been dynamically and adaptively connected to a place for a long time, and regulates spiritual, social, cultural, economic, ecological and political constructs of the context (Cajete, 1994; Dei, Hall & Rosenberg, 2000; Castellano

2000; Battiste & Henderson, 2000; Smith, 2001; Mazama, 2002; Shahjahan, 2005).

Researching contemporary Indigenous knowledges requires context-specific Indigenous methods of approach such as focusing on rituals, languages and stories (Dei, 2000;

Sillitoe, 2000; Mayuzumi, 2004; Smith, 2001). Contemporary Indigenous ontologies and cosmology are to be at the center of analysis as Indigenous methodologies of approach

(Dei, Hall & Rosenberg, 2000; Smith, 2001; Henry & Pene, 2001; Shahjahan, 2005).

Thiongo (1986) situates contextual language at the center of research as an Indigenous method of approach which brings forth the contemporary meanings of culture in relation to context. Indigenous scholars suggest that narrative analysis precedes the translation process through the construction of research methodology (Shahjahan, 2005). Smith

(2001) suggests an Indigenous framework which investigates the discursive construction of knowledge and meaning in relation to imperialism in the context. Smith (2001) and

Dei (2000) highlight centering the standpoint of agency and cultural sources of reference in constructing knowledge, and identifying marginalized meanings. Indigenous scholars suggest writing for the people of the context, and making the research process and products accessible to them, as well as centering their ownership of the intellectual endeavors. In depicting the space, it is important to include the senses, including sounds

92 of nature and/or sacred poems, melodies and prayers which are central to people’s contemporary modes of living. Nakagava (2000) suggests that the researcher consciously attend to the spiritual transformations that she/he may go through, when situated particularly in an Indigenous context which emphasizes the interconnectedness of life with the sacred (Kumar, 2003). Indigenous scholars emphasize that their contemporary approaches to knowledge should not be encompassed by post-modern epistemologies as another claim of universality (Johnston & Pihama, 1995; Smith, 2001; Nasr, 1995).

Grande (2012) discusses how in identifying marginalized conceptualizations associated with a notion, it is essential to identify the relationships of the researched group with contemporary structures of power. In defining the West, Grande draws on Stuart Hall’s notion of the “West as an idea or concept, a language for imagining a set of complex stories, ideas, historical events and social relationships” (Grande, 2012, p. 44), which allows us to categorize, compare and rank other societies through a system of representation. Nasr identifies Islamic ways of meaning making as a marginalized voice in current literature and studies. Koyagi (2009) identifies that Shia ways of meaning making about education and curriculum are excluded from scrutiny, and are absent in dominant discourse construction. Grande (2012) raises the importance of reaching the key cultural people and resources in contemporary contexts in order to examine cultural ways of knowing. In Shia contexts, the Qur’an, Hadith, religious-social guides –Ulama-, and community elders are key cultural resources of meaning making which have become integrated into people’s oral ways of knowing and even within people’s names

(Mutahhari, 2002; Nasr & Dabashi, 1990; Koyagi, 2009).

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In this study, the process of interpretation and analysis is not limited to a phase preceding data collection, but is an implicit process woven within the constructive threading of the whole process of study guided by my ontological positionality, the theoretical perspectives, and the methods leading the study (Kumar, 2003). Nasr (2009) states that contemporary Indigenous knowledge and contemporary Shia knowledge systems are of traditional ontologies which may share the commonality of context-based characteristics.

In this study, Shia language, rituals and stories are centred in analysing the findings.

3- Moslem approaches:

Hall (1976) reminds researchers of cultural studies that laws are extensions of

context, and they are based on contextual experiences; therefore, laws and ethics are

not transferrable across contexts through the process of research. It is essential to

respect the laws and ethics of the context of study as one of the main ethical

paradigms directing the whole process of study.

One of the main concerns discussed in Islamic literature, regarding methodological

approaches in studies of Islamic contexts, is the notion of language structure and

thought (Nasr, 2009; Fatemi, 2009). It is important to explore how contextual

language perspectivizes reality and structures constructs and transforms meanings

(Fatemi, 2009). Fatemi suggests noting Jung's notion of the significance of symbols.

The unconscious and unknown meanings can be implied by symbols, whereas signs

designate visible, rationale and known meanings. In studying the meanings

communicated by signs, it is crucial to note that the sign does not necessarily

communicate the signified as meanings associated with the sign are discursively and

dynamically constructed at the intersection of multiple altering parameters within a

94 context (Fatemi, 2009). Engaging with symbols leads to a polysemic understanding of meanings associated with the context (Fatemi, 2009). Ricoeur (1991) warns the researcher about "the imperialism of the discourse of signs" (Fatemi, 2009) where the dominancy of an identified core meaning marginalizes other meanings associated with the sign. A symbol-oriented research can explore marginalized meanings salient in contemporary patterns of thinking such as poetry, arts and mythology. In order to explore such patterns of thinking, one is required to pass beyond the intra-linguistic extensions towards the extra-linguistic realities discursively communicated through symbols (Fatemi, 2009). Narrative is suggested as an appropriate reflective and critical method of approach due to its high potential for expressiveness and shaping our perception of the world.

In this study, there are as many Farsi words as English ones, in order to maintain the balance of power between the dominant voice of the researcher and the voices of the researched. Therefore, a thorough Index with reference to a fundamental local literary reference is structured throughout the process of data analysis.

On the other hand, phenomenological analysis of the words and concepts emerged as a necessary segment of the study.

This research also involves the products of translation from literary resources as well as the process of translation conducted by the researcher. Interviews and narratives are translated from Farsi to the English language. The process of translation includes interpretation of social, cultural, acoustic and linguistic elements (Newmark, 1998;

Sharififar, 2007). Wilss (1982) states that complete transferability of meaning through translation is impossible, and Bassnett (1992) explains that success in translation is a

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relative phenomenon at the intersection of semantic, stylistic (Debois, 1974) and

communicative approaches in the expression of meaning.

Sharififar (2007) highlights the complexity of the Persian language as the confluence

between Islamic and pre-Islamic Iranian cultures. In translation as a complex system

of interaction, cultural and linguistic domains interact through the situationality of the

translator. The consensual domain of interaction between the source language and the

target language is informed by the translator’s decision making about choices,

constraints and language norms which may be informed by contextual culture

(Darwish, 1999). The consensual domain is a construct of the translator’s strategy of

translation. Lörscher (1991) and Séguinot (1991) define strategies as both the

conscious and the unconscious processes by which the translator makes decisions

about the text. Snell-Hornby (1988), as quoted in Darwish (1999, p. 18) “believes that

translation strategies consist of identifying and creating multiple relationships”. As-

Safi (1997) names translation constraints such as linguistic, semantic, paralinguistic

and cultural. The cultural constraint needs to be reflexively addressed, particularly in

translations about the religious specificities across texts and contexts. It is important

to reflexively admit that as creation of meanings happen, losses also occur on all

language levels (As-Safi, 1994).

In Figure 2 (Refer to Appendices, Appendix 5), the guiding concepts for methodology are illustrated.

3.13 Data Collection

The main leading methodological considerations underlaying this study are constructed

based on the discussed methodological guides from neo-colonial and dis-orientalising

96 studies. Therefore, interpretive analytic case study is chosen as the methodological approach for this study, which here draws heavily on critical ethnographic methods of field observations, thick descriptions and interview analysis.

The field observations are documented in the form of field-notes from the moment of departure from Vancouver until driving out of the reaecrh context to my temporary residence in Tehran. The field-notes convey detailed information about the context which includes spaces, places, participants, and time associated with the process of data collection.

The research field site was chosen based on the overall research inquiry, which drew heavily on the ecological, agricultural and religious elements of the context. The particularities of the chosen context as the research site are described in details in the section of field-notes (Refer to Appendix 2, Field Notes). The sites of data collection were the natural settings, including random temples and ritual centres across the research field site. The process of participant recruitment was guided by general research questions, drawing heavily on native perspectives such as Shia identity, and some kind of association with place such as temples and/or nature. The participants were random individuals whom I ran into through the stages of navigation in the field. The details of each stage are described in the field notes (Refer to Appendix 2, Field Notes). The random individuals were provided with an informal description of the research inquiry, including information about the researcher, institute of research, and research questions.

Then, the consent forms were provided to the individuals. The consent forms and the interview questions provided were in the Farsi language. There were five middle-aged individuals, consisting of two women and three men, who volunteered to participate in

97 the study, from whom two men opted out due to the reasons explained in the field notes

(Refer to Appendix 2, Field Notes). All interviews were audio-recorded. All interviews were fully transcribed in the Farsi language, first written by hand. I was in the field for one and a half days on one single occasion, which included an overnight stay at the village community centre.

The process of analysis started one week after leaving the context by hand-writing the interview transcripts. The first stage of the identification of codes was performed on the hand-written Farsi transcript, where shape-coding and color-coding methods were used to identify and construct the codes towards the process of data analysis. Then the codes were classified in their original code groups, which were called index codes (Refer to

Chapter 4, Data Analysis). Drawing on concepts of ethnographic research as the study focuses on meanings and words rather than numbers (Elliot & Ray, 2003), and the interpretive characteristic of ethnographic approach to data analysis (Elliot & Ray, 2003), as the process of analysis started as soon as I entered the context, while I listened to recorded audios or read through the Farsi transcripts of the interviews, the relationships among the codes started to solidify as themes. These solidified themes marked shared meanings among the coded concepts. In other words, the first grouping of concepts, which fell under the title of index codes, were based on the words, concepts, their commonality and particularity within the interview transcripts. The second grouping of concepts, which fell under the title of themes, were based on meanings and their association with concepts of nature, the environment and environmental education. The meanings were interpreted in reference to the local contextual reference dictionary

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described in Appendix 6, Index.The thorough relative descriptions are provided in the

chapters of Analysis and Discussion (Refer to Chapters 4 and 5). The full interview

scripts were also translated into English language by the researcher.

Self Reflexivity and Field notes:

The process of data construction started as soon as I landed into the context, and self reflection has constantly been a segment of such construction and the consequent analysis. My positionality as an outsider researcher situated in the literary context of Modern ontological forces, who herself struggles to attend to the marginalized ontologies such as hers, learning and living on unceded lands of the Musqueam people where this institution is situated, and the reality of encounter with Indigenous people and their untold narratives about the past as well as ongoing nature and impact of colonialism in the context of British Columbia in Canada, and on the other hand, dealing with the context of this study situated on one of the most Orientalized contexts of

Middle East; therefore, I tried to include self reflexivity in a thick descriptive manner throughout all stages of data construction and analysis.

Addressing the importance of Neocolonial critiques of research as restructuring dominancy through knowledge production (Nkrumah, 1960, Smith, 1999; Grande, 2004; Shahjahan, 2005), I decided to situate the field notes in the Appendices, with the aim of bringing forth the voices of the participants by centralizing their narratives and answers in the process of data construction.

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CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Data Construction

I searched through the written recordings in Farsi, which included two main segments of interview scripts in their original language and field notes, in order to construct data as described in Chapter 3. Through the process of constructing data, I had to read every paragraph several times back and forth in order to identify major meanings and concepts that would somehow relate to the concepts under scrutiny. The major meanings throughout my search consisted of frequent concepts repeated in all interviews and novel concepts rare in frequency but central to the narratives. The concepts raised through observations or field notes were variants of me making decisions about when and where to be in the context of study. The concepts raised in interviews were also indirect derivatives of the particular discourses that I had guided by the particularity and sequence of questions. In order to empower my interpretive analysis, I had to revisit the audio-recordings through multiple replays and re-readings of the written scripts. I read the notes in their primary language, Farsi. I coded the notes. I tried to mark as many codes as I could according to my interpretation. Then I marked the important codes and brought groups of codes together to construct categories of those codes and I called them index categories. I constructed three main index categories falling into the following:

4.1.1 Codes and Index Categories I coded the frequent concepts discussed by the participants throughout the process of interviews.

Reviewing the codes, I constructed three index categories based on the commonality of codes in relation with each other. I used three different symbols to differentiate the three main index

100 categories throughout the Farsi scripts of the original interviews. These symbols were marked in the hand-written transcript in Farsi language (Refer to Appendix 4, Appendices). The index codes fell into the following three categories and symbols:

 Index code 1: Green circles are used to code names of holy persons, holy places, and holy

references.

 Index code 2: Green triangles and blue circles are used to code Islamic concepts, Shia

concepts and meanings.

 Index code 3: Green lines are used to code explanation, reasoning and their emerging

practices.

The codes and symbols are explicitly documented in the hand-written interview-scripts in Farsi.

4.1.1.1 Index Code 1: Green Circles: Holy Names, Holy Places and Holy References The following words stood out in the interview transcripts in Farsi language:

Imam Zaman, Khodavandegar, Allah, Kodavand, prophet Mohammad, angels, Imam Reza,

Hazrat Peighambar, Sheikh Kolain, Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra, Mo oud, Bu Ali Sina, Imamzadeh,

Bibi-Shahrbanou, Imam Ali, Imam Sadiq, Hadith, Qur’an, Hazrat Mahdi, Bibi-Khatoun, Fajr,

Arsh, Nahj-al-balagha, teacher, father, mother, brother, Zamen Ahou, family, Sofreh, Ruzi,

Naan, eftar, moraghebeh, kaenaat, wheel of falak, balance, heaven, emsaak, ghedasat, rastaakheez, motewalli, hagh, had, alam, law, ashraf.

4.1.1.2 Index code 2: Green triangles and Blue Circles: Islamic Concepts, Shia

Concepts

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We, family, our children, woman, Afghan woman, Shia woman, lover, mother, Indigenous, farmer, guardian, law, Genetically Modified foods, modern, modern agriculture, Taghwa, modern structures, imposed practices, Azan, Namaz, fasting, Ramadan, prayer, ritual,

Rastakheez, nature spring, pregnancy, human verses Adam, soil, hormat, sustainable wheel, nature wheel, environment, live garbage, dead garbage, farming, return to nature, sinful, sin,

Sawaab, hijab, Islamic aesthetics, environmental pollution, hijab philosophy, of high hygiene, beautiful, orf, cultural, woman being, implicit beauty, Islamic Iranian beauty, right of animals, mine extractions, effat, Qur’anic chapters, niyat, raufat, collective kindness, discrimination, haraam, halal, makrouh, sarfehjouyee, esraaf, reternal consequence, eternal reward, eternal punishment, eternal world, beit-al-maal, guided, created, returned, creature, devoted, nazri, non- human relatives, thirsty, to water, Imam Hossein epic, thankfulness, hope, respect, to grow, seedling, tolerance, cycling, Tawakkol, wayfinding, shelter, security, hunting, sele-arhaam, eid, neighbor, The honor of serving. Rain prayers. Fetr celebration prayers. Devotion prayers.

Servant. Religious duties. Lantern devotion. Electricity saviour. Right of light. Mother well.

Goodness in manners. Islamic laws. Economic abilities. King well. Known and unknown damages to the environment. Karaj dam. Literacy. Qurʼanic literacy. Read and write literacy.

Consciousness. Poem. Oral literacy. Shahnamen. Mathnawi. Nezami. Water resources. Kuy o barzan. The narrator senior. Recite. Miraab. Literacy as consciousness. Literacy as knowledge of living. Literacy as environmental knowledge. Kaahgel. Reciprocity with nature. Calendar. Solar calendar. Tanour. Cosmos status. Nowrouz as new year. Rejuvenating. Ramadan. Wozu. Rituals adjust time for daily life. Mosques. Light angels with the prayer centre. Parasitic life in the cycle of falak. Qurʼanic envisioning. Indigenous culture. Fashapouyeh farming. Pedigree. God’s mercy. Co-journeyers. Good fate. Carpet weaving. Recyclable. Ghebleh. Water conservative

102 farming. Land reform 1341 (S.H.). Landlords. Peasants. Ecology. Industrial franchises.

Immigration. Peasant life. Shepard life. Abandoned temples. Artificial parks. Yellow/ blue facilities. Islamic identity. Zoroastrian Vatican. Myths and legends. One thousand and one stories embedded within each other. Islamic urban design. Indigenous policy making. Cosmos citizenship. Immortal hygiene in treating nature and environment. Revival of temples.

Respecting naan. Fasting. Breaking fasting. Right of body. Abandoning far wishes. Needless ness of self consciousness. Fighting against economic sabotage, hierarchical systems in society.

Penalty. Extreme meat eating. Maintain halal status. Constructivism. Cosmos balance. Limited ness. Cosmos literacy. Secular approaches. Religious solutions. The quantity of perfectness in cosmos laws. Judgement day narratives. May God bless his soul. Salaam and peace upon them.

Natural recycler. Deer savour. Small scale technology. Vast scale technology. Under human occupation. Taw-hid. Islamic aesthetics. Being and living. Religious person. The law of living in cosmos. The law of being in the cosmos. Angelic assistance.

4.1.1.3 Index Code 3: Green Line: Explanation, Reasoning and their Emerging

Practices

The following meanings stood out in the interview transcripts in Farsi:

- Despite the fact that there are the same fundamentals in Islamic belief, the beauty of

Islam is in its colorful differences deviated from different cultures and places. This

meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures this

overall meaning is the answer to question 9 by participant number one:

“We Afghans love nature because Afghanistan is situated in the beauty of nature including

mountains and greens. We live paying attention to nature during days and nights. We lived a

peasant life during childhood and our days were starting with the singing sounds of birds and

103 we were to feed our chickens first after waking up. We spent the whole day in nature and our jobs were at interaction with nature until night when we were to put our birds and animals in to sleep before leaving for home. Having herds and chickens at farms, we had to pay close attention to nature’s animals, plants and insects in order to protect our living belongings against wilderness danger. We paid close attention to plants and change of weather and seasonal factors in nature in order to have a successful farming. When we grew up and immigrated to Iran, here as a temple guard we have less relationship with nature compared to our past. Missing my past, I felt the gap which affected my soul and emotions. So we brought pigeons to the temple. I know that the son of the Imam was in love with birds, just like Imam

Reza, Salam and peace be up on them. Now the dome of the temple is the nest of these pigeons and they breed and live here praying to God. The temple attaches to nature in

Nowruz, Yelda, and Golabgiri ceremonies. Nowruz is the turn of the solar new year at the end of winter and it is the natural and cosmological beginning of spring. The Iranian culture is to grow new and numerous trees from one month before the moment of Nowruz. We buy new seeds for different sorts of vegetables and fruits. We sew new cloths for children and ourselves. We buy new scarves and shoes for the coming spring. In our Islamic culture it is very important not to forget those who have left us to the eternal world. We devote food for their peace and forgiveness. We set Haft-seen, which is the symbol of bringing nature into our house and at our tables. We sweeten grains and share the sweets with neighbors and friends and passersby and visitors. For a Shia, the new year and spring starts with Sele-

Arham which means visiting and inviting relatives, neighbors and friends and feeding them with the best you can afford. In Islam, one’s sins are forgiven when visiting or inviting guests. Men and women sit in separate groups to share their stories and exchange knowledge.

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- Golabgiri is the culture of treating flowers at the beginning of summer. The ceremonies

are held where people gather to harvest flowers, especially roses which were the favorite

flowers of the holy prophet Hazrat Mohammad 3, Salam and peace up on them. Women

and girls boil the flowers which have been picked by men and boys. Then the extract is

put in bottles. Half of the bottles are devoted and donated to holy shrines and mosques,

and the other half are sold to local shops. The extract, Golaab, lasts for the whole year for

our own usage, which includes cooking grains with Golaab for donation every Thursday

sunset as we pray and whisper Salawat to the soul of the prophet and their sons and

daughters. We serve Golaab in children and baby foods which is good for their health

and makes their spirit virtuous. Yelda is the night that marks the end of the fall season and

in the beginning of winter. Cosmologically, it is the longest night of the year which

proceeds to the ultimate sunrise, and in the ancient Iranian belief, it is the night

anticipating the arrival of the ultimate saviour of humanity. After Islam, Iranians realized

that the ultimate saviour will be Imam Mahdi. Iranians celebrate Yelda night by staying

awake until the sunrise, when the Azan announces the arrival of light and people say their

morning prayers. We pay close attention to natural changes of time, the length of day and

night, and the positioning of stars, when the solar calendar approaches Yelda. I forgot to

mention Ghadr nights which are very important for us as Shia people. These are the

nights when angels land on the earth from the skies and they are close to us human beings

and they hear us well and when we pray and help other people, they witness. Ghadr

nights are in the midst of our fasting month Ramadan”.

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- Having Sharaf to other creatures means having responsibility towards all other creatures.

This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures

this overall meaning is the answer to question 30 by participant number two:

“In the circle of life, I am a producer, grower, care woman and a consumer. On the other

hand, God has stated that as a human, I can be Ashraf of creatures. It means my rank is so

high in nature that my decisions and actions can affect nature in large ways. So my

responsibility is high and so should be my sensitivity towards my actions in relation to nature

and nature’s beings”.

- Human’s actions impact the life of all other beings. This meaning is communicated by all

three participants, and one instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to

question 14 by participant number two:

” I know that there are several Hadith from Imam Ali and Imam Sadiq which emphasize the importance of the influence of animals and plants on the balance of the earth, and they have said that this balance is crucial for the health of human beings”.

- There is the highest level of love between God and humans compared to other creatures.

This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures

this overall meaning is the answer to question 30 by participant number three.

- Being a Shia conveys many factors including belief in Imam Hossein’s epic and the

anticipation of the ultimate arrival of the saviour. This meaning is communicated by all

three participants, and one instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to

question 30 by participant number three:

I was an angel of God and my place was the highest paradise

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- Adam brought me to this land of disperse and wonder

This place is a piece of God’s land where angels commute and I was lucky to be born here.

Although for a Shia it does not hugely matter where he or she has been born or is living because our Shia view of life as immortal and un-earthy somehow makes us needless of belonging to a place or a time. Of course, our local and Indigenous cultures and traditions differ from our lives at one place and time from the other. From this point of view our place of birth and living can become important because it affects our becoming. These different manifestations of living as Islamic Shia but in various cultures and traditions have made

Islamic life colorful, varied and beautiful. Shia Islamic communities differ in their cultures of living as much as they resemble each other in their ideology of living. According to my Shia belief, my position in nature is Ashraf e Makhlooghat. This expression needs a lot of precise and knowledgeable explanation. Ashraf e Makhlooghat means a creature who has Sharaf over other creatures, which means he/she is credited and respectful. Having Sharaf over others means having a high responsibility towards others and this is because human actions have crucial consequences and critical influences for other beings in the world. Human actions influence other beings’ zendegee 57 “life” but not “being” because their “being” is divine and earthy and the divine part is out of the influence of any human. But their “life” can be affected by human actions. Life means the earthy branches of being alive and is limited to this material world. Having Sharaf means that the rank of human is the highest of all creatures for God, in the case that humans makes attempts to achieve that rank and God loves humans more and most of all. So having Sharaf means that God loves humans more than any other being. So this high rank in love and respect gives humans a lot of responsibility towards other beings in nature. On the other hand, as a Shia Moslem, I believe

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that according to the Qur’an every Moe-men 81 human with good actions, words and

thoughts is constantly helped and assisted by angels of God. Assistance of angels means

angels constantly provide him/her with hope, good energies and spirit. Moe-men means

having Eemaan which means seeking refuge to one of God’s books and one of God’s

prophets. Eemaan defines the rules of living in the complicated material and immaterial

cosmos and knowing these rules helps us practically by dealing with hardship and difficulties

in our earthy life. I have to add that being a Shia means having specific characteristics in life,

which mainly include remembering Imam Hossein’s epic and living in anticipation and belief

of the arrival of Imam Mahdi Salaam and peace of God upon their soul”.

- Shia is required to maintain a just behaviour towards other beings including nature.

This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures this

overall meaning is the answer to question 24 by participant number three:

“When you say Indigenous culture my understanding is that you mean our Iranian Shia culture in

Ray Fashapooyeh. This is our local culture and it has its special rules of hunting in accordance with the ecology and locality of this region. Hunting was a common practice in this region and as a result we have specific rules about each and every animal and plant in this region. Some examples that I can recall are for instance hedgehogs are local to this region and they were called mother of greatness from long ago. They have been hunters of snakes, scorpions and insects and hunting them is forbidden in Islam because they have an important role in pest management and the health of ecology of their niches. Another example is wolf which is the symbol of badness and trickery. In our culture having a friendly relationship with a wolf is not appropriate as wolves are untameable in our culture, but despite all of this killing and hunting wolves are not allowed in Islam. In our region killing wolves can lead to a rise in the population of crows.

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Crows are middle carriers of lots of diseases. Crows are more dangerous than wolves. Another example is the local Jackal which plays an important role in the hygiene of the region. Jackals are cleaners of nature as they feed on animal remnants and agricultural garbage in villages.

Another example is the gazelle, whose hunting is sinful but allowed in the case of threatening hunger for a stranded human. All Iranians, Moslems and Shia know the tale of the kind Imam

Reza and the wandering gazelle. Imam Reza has been known as Zamen 53 for his exclusive kindness with animals and birds, as Imam Ali is known for his kindness with children. These were just a few examples from my Indigenous Shia Iranian culture of Ray people. My

Indigenous culture follows the Islamic ethics of treating other beings with specific rules of practice related to the ecology of this place.”

- Harming nature and other beings is a sin in Islamic thought. This meaning is

communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures this overall

meaning is the answer to question 13 by participant number two:

- “Our holy Qur’an highlights the importance of nature by naming some of its chapters in

the names of natural elements. Chapters like water, moon, sun, skies, earth, and even

names of plants, animals and insects like spider. The Qur’an guides us how to treat nature

and its beings with “Taqhwa” 12. Taghwa has to be apparent in our “Neeyyat”62 as well

as in our action. Islam is the religion of kindness, humbleness and “Raufat” 63 to those of

less power and this includes plants, animals and insects. In Islam it is Haram to

discriminate against the less powerful. Haram means it is strictly forbidden and there is

no way around it. The Qur’an advises us to be kind to nature and it is counted as our “WA

jib” 64 which means it is our duty and it has several earthy and immortal Sawaab 21. In

the “Hood” chapter in the holy Qur’an, people are advised to make continuous attempts

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to green-construct and help lands on the earth. The narratives of the Qur’an are very

educational because they narrate true stories of the past of the groups, communities and

nations of the earth and how their fate is depicted by their own manners and practices

towards nature. For example, Ferron was unjust in sharing water among communities and

ultimately he becomes a victim of floods of water falling all over his kingdom”.

- Nature is the interrelating chain in the circle of the cosmos. This meaning is

communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures this overall

meaning is the answer to question 22 by participant number three:

“Throughout my life, nature has been defined in numerous meanings. In childhood

watching my father digging wells and fixing waterways, nature meant water flowing in

currents on the body of the soil. When I attended Imam Hossein memorials they would

talk about the thirsty soil of the Karbala dessert and nature was more manifested as water

to me as a child. Years later in my teenage-hood, nature was what was described in

Qur’anic tales and stories and especially the concept of Rastakheez. In my youth, my

understanding of nature was closer to what it was narrated and depicted in the region’s

mythological stories, epics and love stories of this place. In those years, nature was the

water wells, Aabanbar, niches and water runways underground, their connection and the

ecologies related to them. In my middle ages, I started to study the Islamic references

about water and nature and it was then when I reached the understanding of nature as

Charkhefalak, holistic and interconnected with everything and every being. Everything

under the law of God. I studied the Qur’an again and this time I found the meaning of

nature as Charkhefalak and its interconnected chains of relationality with every being in

the cosmos. Now in my elderly years, I’m more interested in the rights and justice related

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to the segments and nature and Charkhefalak. The rights of water, rights of soil, rights of

lands, rights of light and responsibilities emerging from these rights on Shia shoulders”.

-

- The lost respect of the nature, has led to the loss of respect of the temples and religious

places in this context. This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one

instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to question 9 by participant

number three:

I am a guardian of this temple and I have a fair knowledge of the harms done to this land.

The harms have not just been environmental but the harms have been against nature as well, because the ideology and vision of people towards the whole nature has been changed.

Nature is not respected anymore and nature and its ghedaasat 41 have been lost in the midst of waves of immigrant and industry. The lost respect of nature has led to the loss of respect for temples. The identity of this place is lost. As a religious guardian, my duty also includes guarding nature because true religious ideology also guards nature from harm.

- We are to try to revive the Islamic approach to treat nature in this region. This meaning is

communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures this overall

meaning is the answer to question 16 by participant number three:

“My social life was limited to ceremonies, rituals, donations, devotions and community once in the past. They were all about and around nature and at a balanced exchange with nature.

But these days, as a temple guardian who fights against nature destruction which can lead to the destruction of religious temples, my social life is expanded to my activism and speeches against modernism, against the non-Indigenous culture of city life, against bourgeoisie, and

111 against over consumption of water, against the death of traditional agriculture. And my meetings with Jehad-Sazandegi for better farming. The immortal meaning of my fight is all about trying to keep the balance of the cosmos. The social life of a Shia Muslim obtains various meanings in different times and places. In the necessary circumstances, a Shia’s social life should be limited to rituals and community ceremonies. Silence is not appropriate when a harm is being done to nature. Our religious duty is beyond daily life. Now when nature and environment are at harm, we are to define new emerging meanings of social life for a Shia life style. This can be constructive as well as destructive and dangerous. For example, there exist NGO’s that claim to stand for the rights of nature and the environment, claiming right or wrong, many of them have no literacy and knowledge of the cosmos and their solutions are secular and bring secularity and modernity, while ultimately rights of nature are not protected by their views and actions and more harm is done long term to the nature. In my speeches, I always emphasise that Islamic rules of treating nature should be considered in having relations with nature as those rules have a divine reference that consider holistic views of nature in cosmos. For example, water and light have been two important respectful and holy elements for Shia in Iran. A Shia tries to always remember Imam Hossein while drinking water or having any dealing with water. We always send regards to Imam

Hossein and their accompaniers. This holiness and respect towards water can lead us to better consumption of water and to avoid over consumption. In the Qur’an water has been mentioned 64 times. In our ancient Iranian culture, temples were built close to water sources like lakes, wells and springs due to the holiness of water, cleanliness and virtue meanings attached to the concept of water”.

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- It is forbidden to live a parasitic life in the cycle of the cosmos according to Islamic

philosophy. This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance

that captures this overall meaning is the answer to question 14 by participant number

three.

- Shia are required to live in harmony with other beings. This meaning is communicated by

all three participants, and one instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to

question 9 by participant number two:

“My life is entangled with nature from early morning at the time of sunrise when I wake up for my morning prayers until sunset when I stop working in order to do my sunset prayers.

From the moment Azan 13 announces “Hayya ala falah”, “Hayya ala khayr-e-alamal”, I bow to God thanking Him for guiding me to be a farmer. Then I say “Besme Allah

Alrrahman Alrrahim” 59 to start working, which begins with feeding the animals and birds on my farm. I feed them with greens and seeds. Then I start farming according to the seasonal tasks that have been designed and assigned by experience and the knowledge transferred from my parents and ancestors. I generally grow wheat and barley, and corn in between. The end of spring is the harvest time and I grow beat and corn instead. I grow new wheat and barley at the end of summer when the first autumn breeze blows in the air. This process provides me and my family of four children with enough and not more than enough income to live for a year. Nature feeds us and we try to compensate by being humble and kind to the nature according to the Qur’an law of living in relation with non human beings.

Nature is the living reminder of “Rastakheez”14 for us. The living and breathing of earth, the hostility of soil and rain flows water into the veins of the soil and then fills the lakes that feed the fish and animals. The wind that breathes through the greens and the cycle of life that

113 turns the wheels of lives of animals and birds and seedlings and tiny insects. All sleep like dying in winter and they wake up at their “Rastakheez”14 in spring when they “kheeze” again. I am a woman and I’m honored to be a mother as well. Mother of four children who each were juvenated in my body and I grew them there until they were born according to

God’s will. Pregnancy was a symbol of “Rastakheez” for me. The whole process was the story of a living fetus that gets used to the life inside my body and then all of a sudden the walls of her nest are falling and the rivers and the mountains in her environment are falling.

The little one thinks her life is getting over but what she doesn’t know and can’t imagine is that her actual life is just going to begin. The story of the little fetus is just like the story of humans living on earth, and then when the time comes, “Rastakheez” transfers us to our actual permanent life. I have told this story to my children many times and they know that they are here to journey from “Adamyat” to “Ensanyat”. As a Shia farmer, I know that the soil and water and sun and the seeds have their own particular rights and treating them should be according to Islamic laws of living in relation to others. As a local farmer, I respect the soil in this place because I believe the soil is the earthly remnant of my ancestors. They were buried in this soil and now they are food and the seeds that we grow. Their souls have left this earthly life but the material cycle of nature includes the earthly remnant of their being.

Islamic law protects this earthy and material cycle and has the knowledge of protecting the sustainable cycle of nature”.

- Believing in Imam Hossein’s epic has numerous outcomes, of which one is to avoid over

consumption of water. This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one

instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to question 16 by participant

number three:

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- “My social life was limited to ceremonies, rituals, donations, devotions and community

once in the past. They were all about and around nature and at a balanced exchange with

nature. But these days, as a temple guardian who fights against nature’s destruction

which can lead to the destruction of religious temples, my social life is expanded to my

activism and speeches against modernism, against the non-Indigenous culture of city life,

against bourgeoisie, and against over consumption of water, against the death of

traditional agriculture. And my meetings with Jehad-Sazandegi for better farming. The

immortal meaning of my fight is all about trying to keep the balance of the cosmos. The

social life of a Shia Muslim obtains various meanings in different times and places. In the

necessary circumstances, a Shia’s social life should be limited to rituals and community

ceremonies. Silence is not appropriate when harm is being done to nature. Our religious

duty is beyond daily life. Now when nature and environment are at harm, we are to define

new emerging meanings of social life for a Shia life style. This can be constructive as

well as destructive and dangerous. For example, there exist NGO’s that claim to stand for

the rights of nature and the environment, claiming right or wrong, many of them have no

literacy and knowledge of the cosmos and their solutions are secular and bring secularity

and modernity, while ultimately the rights of nature are not protected by their views and

actions and more harm is done long term to the nature. In my speeches, I always

emphasise that Islamic rules of treating nature should be considered in having relations

with nature as those rules have a divine reference that considers holistic views of nature

in the cosmos. For example, water and light have been two important respectful and holy

elements for Shia in Iran. A Shia tries to always remember Imam Hossein while drinking

water or dealing with water. We always send regards to Imam Hossein and their

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accompaniers. This holiness and respect towards water can lead us to better consumption

of water and to avoid over consumption. In the Qur’an water has been mentioned 64

times. In our ancient Iranian culture, temples were built close to water sources like lakes,

wells and springs due to the holiness of water, cleanliess and virtue meanings attached to

the concept of water”.

- Eating and drinking is not for pleasure but for maintaining the health of the earthly body.

This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures

this overall meaning is the answer to question 17 by participant number three:

“Look, we have a cultural ritual called “Moraghebah” when we practice Moraghebah in

40 days which is the number of perfectness in the cosmos. Moraghebah means that one

decides to specify 40 days to God and only God. It means one eats and drinks and does

all daily activities for Allah 50 who has gifted us our bodies and breath of life. We have

borrowed our bodies from God and we need to purify our bodies from harm which is

guilt and anything not good. During Moraghebah we learn that eating, drinking, making

income to supply food and accessories are all not for ourselves but for a healthy life

which is what we have borrowed from God. So then we won’t harm our bodies and

health by eating and consuming too much, then we avoid specifying our lives to

Shaadkhaari. This is just one example of Shia rituals that help Shia believers to have a

balanced life without harming nature. No matter at what level of making income Shia

people are they try not to over consume and this helps nature resources a lot”.

- We have specific rules for each and every species in this region in accordance with the

Islamic ethics of hunting. This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and

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one instance that captures this overall meaning is the answer to question 14 by participant

number three:

- “This is a very important question, I think. As a temple guardian, I meet with a lot of

people who approach me with their religious questions, but no one has ever asked me

about the opinion of Hadith on nature and the environment, even though there exist

numerous numbers of Hadith about these concepts and the rights related to them. I have

thought about these concepts many times. Imam Hossein, Salaam upon his holy soul, has

reminded us to avoid a parasitic life style in the wheel of life. There have been many

Hadith about the fundamental concept of Takreeming 42 bread. Our holy prophet has

taught us that daily praying is not devoid of bread. Imam Sadiq has taught us to respect

bread because from arsh 43, heavens to earth, all are at work to provide bread. Islam has

taught us that humans are citizens of the cosmos and the rights of this citizenship are well

defined and one taboo is esraaf 44 and over-consumption. Over-consumption leads

individuals and their society to economic slavery according to Imam Hossein’s hadith.

Our holy prophet Mohammad Salaam upon his soul has stated that there is a right to our

body and that is fasting and eftar after fasting and submit to the right of your body this

way. Also, we are to respect the rights of bodies of other beings like animals and plants.

Another fundamental pillar of behavior towards nature is submitting to needlessness in

one’s life. Islam is based on this important characteristic. A Muslim’s needlessness is a

cause of having God instead of all materials according to Imam Ali. Imam Ali Salaam

upon his soul has reminded us that one can reach the state of needlessness by abandoning

their endless wishes. The holy prophet calls this Nafs 70 needlessness as a kind of

spiritual needlessness. In Nahj Al-balagha 80, Imam Ali has invited each Muslim to stand

117 against wasting nature for one’s profit. One main responsibility of authorities governing

Islamic communities is supervising economic trades with nature towards the benefit of nature, and better use of natural resources as Beit al-mal 46. Islamic governments are required to protect the rights of workers and farmers as top priorities. Imam Ali teaches us that a hierarchal system in human society can result in human’s and nature’s destruction. In the Maedeh chapter in the Qur’an, God advises us to avoid over consumption which makes our halal 47 belongings haram 20. Imam Ali and Imam Sadiq remind us that animals and plants have a crucial role in the balance of nature and protecting them from harm can lead humans to a good and healthy life. Imam Sadiq has many hadith about marine beings and seas and their role in the wheel of life. The holy

Prophet Mohammad advises us that birds should be safe when they shelter their nests and hunting a nested bird makes its meat haram and then it is forbidden, and also the chicks of immigrant birds should never be hunted. In Imam Ali’s code of justice, killing an innocent animal without a justified reason has the hadd 48 punishment of stealing something. Imam Sadiq emphasises that hunting is not allowed unless it is for one’s hunger. Imam Reza has advised us to share everyday meal leftovers with other beings.The holy Prophet Mohammad guides us how to treat riding animals, for example food and water are the inevitable rights of the animal one has been riding on. It is the turn of that animal to eat and drink before the rider. Imam Sadiq has stated that stable animals have the right of their hygiene on our shoulders, we are to even clean their nose as they are not able to. The holy prophet has stated that watering trees has the value of providing water to a thirsty human. Imam Sadiq emphasises that cutting live trees, especially those bearing fruit and blooms, has an immortal punishment from God. In Islam eating too

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much meat is Makruh 49. Imam Reza teaches us the important fundamental that the

necessary factor for keeping everything halal in our everyday life is to limit consumption

of everything”.

- Our Indigenous culture is a deviation of Islamic laws in accordance with place

specificity. This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that

captures this overall meaning is the answer to question 11 by participant number two:

“I return the food that nature provides us to the nature through the ethics of farming, which is a combination of Islamic ethics and local Indigenous ethics of treating land”.

- God has defined rights for/ every being and Shia are required to know these definitions.

This meaning is communicated by all three participants, and one instance that captures

this overall meaning is the answer to question 26 by participant number three:

“All Islamic rituals have a reminder about respecting the rights of nature in them. I say this

because in all rituals at least the concept of Taw-heed 54 is conveyed which means all

creatures including the cosmos, earth and stars, moon and sun are all created by one God and

God defines rights of these creatures and it is the religious duty of all Muslims to be aware of

these rights. On the other hand, we have special rituals specifically devoted to nature like

Shokr prayers, natural disaster prayers and many others. For example, at the beginning of our

new year, we pray and say “Ya mohawel al howle wa alahwal, ya modabber allayle wa

nnahar, hawwel halana ela ahsane alhal” 55. In a part of this praying, we say “you God, this

is you who plan and manage the change of days to nights and nights to days, everyday and

forever”. This gives the prayers this feeling that they are just one creature of the numerous

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creatures of God and there are defined rights for them and they are not allowed to feed on the

rights of other creatures. During these prayers I feel that I am only one citizen of God’s

endless cosmos and I am no one more than who I am related to the cosmos. Oh and I have to

mention about Alam, which is a religious structure we use in our Ashura rituals, which also

means symbol, and it has all sorts of animals and bird figure statues on it”.

In Figure 3 (Refer to Appendices, Appendix 5), the process of data construction is illustrated.

4.1.2 The process of Constructing Result Themes from Data

After labelling the constructed categories, I realized that the majority of the codes are religious words and expressions which need precise translation in accordance with a reliable reference. As one of the most well-known and academic references in defining words and expressions in Farsi is the Dehkhoda language encyclopedia, I added the Index Dictionary compartment to the data

(Refer to Appendix 6), which includes 73 words and expressions translated from Farsi to English in reference to Dehkhoda’s original volumes available at Hosseinyeh Ershad Religious Heritage

Library in Tehran. The sequence of the words is not alphabetic but in accordance with the sequence in which they appear in the interview scripts. The words are marked by their relative

Index number throughout the interview transcripts in both the Farsi and English versions.

Drawing on words and concepts from interview narratives, the next step was conceptualizing. I re-wrote the codes in accordance with their importance based on my interpretation. I bridged some codes and brought them together in clusters, and I identified distinct differences among some codes. Then I labelled the clusters as themes. Therefore, I constructed a hierarchy among themes according to my interpretation of the new knowledge that was emerging from the data.

Therefore, I came up with six main themes.

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In Figure 4 (Refer to Appendices, Appendix 5), the constructed themes in relation with their sub-themes are illustrated.

4.1.2.1 Themes

4.1.2.1.1 Theme 1: Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed

by Ethics of religion

Through the observations in the field, I realized that everyday life practices and specifically the actions of participants towards nature followed similar codes of Islamic behaviour. These codes were explicitly defined by religion for the participants, and the participants had a good knowledge of these codes. For example, they would eat only the meat of animals which were prepared according to the code of Islamic eating called Halal. I found the meaning of the concept of Halal foods and I learned that this code allowed for consumption of any food prepared with no harm to the animal as well as forbidding consumption of the animal’s blood in any form. I learned that sacred phrases were used to mark the ethical food, which had gone through the coded process. The defined codes of action were numerous in quantity and deep in meaning. The codes were interconnected in every aspect of everyday life of the participants and were explicitly mentioned in their answers to the interview questions.

Among the numerous codes of action and belief, there were some codes that were central and leading to the Islamic behaviour practiced by the participants. The central codes were as follows:

 The belief in the oneness of God.

 The belief in the judgement day and Rastakheez (Refer to Index 14).

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 The belief in the prophethood of Hazrat Mohammad.

 The belief in the pedigree and family line of Hazrat Mohammad.

 The belief in the justice of God.

 The belief in the Qur’an as the written ethics of life sent by God to guide humans in their

earthly life.

 The belief in living in an Angelic world.

 The belief in hope salient in the present and ultimately in future the by the

companionship of Imam Mahdi.

 The belief in the Hadith by Imams from a reference-full source. During the interviews,

all three participants were consistently making implications to Hadith as a reliable

reference for their comments and responses. The Hadith recited by the participants fall

into the following categories:

 Frequent specific Hadith that were recited by all participants:

 The Hadith which were directly answering the interview question (Refer

to interview 1, Q and A 14, Apendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14,

Apendices).

 The Hadith which were associated with the topic in converse (Refer to

interview 1, Q and A 14, Apendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14,

Apendices).

 Non-frequent Hadith that were recited by one or some participants.

 The Hadith which were directly answering the interview question (Refer

to interview Q, Q & A 14, Apendices).

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 The Hadith which were associated with the topic in converse (Refer to

interview 3, Q & A 14, Apendices).

Among the codes, there were others, which were marginal but frequent in all participants’ experiences as follows:

4.1.2.1.1.1 Hijab

According to Dehkhoda, the hijab is the covering which protects virtue (Refer to Index number

60).

I was familiar with the concept of the hijab as a Moslem. According to Shariati (1971), and Nasr

(2007), the philosophy of the hijab in Islamic ethics of living is vast and contemporary. I was familiar with colorful interpretations of the concept of the hijab with foci in cultural and/or political perspectives, but the way that the participant number two connected the hijab with ecological literacy was very interesting to me (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 12). Participant number two clearly explained how the Islamic ethical covering of the hijab protects her from consumption of many feminine commodities which directly or indirectly harm nature and other beings. Having the opportunity to observe her settlement and farm, I realized that it was truly a choice for her not to inhabit the lifestyle, which imposes consumption of such commodities onto her everyday living.

In the case of participant number one, I observed that the hijab brought simplicity to her feminine lifestyle as a woman and mother who valued beauty in her own culturally ethical way.

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In both female cases, I observed and confirmed through interviews that the ethical behaviour of maintaining the hijab for both Moslem women brought respect for and protection of nature in the scale of their lives at interaction with nature and the environment.

4.1.2.1.1.2 Eftar

Eftar means to break fasting and start eating. The time of eftar is at the time of Azan (Refer to

Index number 13) aligned with the times of dusk and dawn of the sun and varies from season to season (Refer to Index number 69).

Eftar is the eating festivity after fasting from sunrise until sunset for thirty days in the month of

Ramadan in the lunar calendar. The concept of Eftar is associated with special sacredness for

Moslems and it is intertwined with the concept of Halal (Refer to Index number 47), which forbids consuming too much and/or consuming unethical foods (Nasr, 2007). The concept of unethical foods covers multiple concepts within itself such as the following:

 Food that is not shared by hungry neighbors

 Food that is a product of harming others including human and non-human beings

 Food that is a product of unethical hunting

 Food that is Haram such as the meat that is bloody, of dead beings, obtained by force,

and/or forbidden meats.

 Food that is a by product of over-consumption.

 Food that is cultivated on occupied lands.

 And etcetera.

I did not have the chance to be in the field during the month of Ramadan, but the ritual of Eftar was mentioned as a practiced ritual by all three participants. Participant number three

124 emphasized that it is important for him to adhere to the true Eftar followed by ethics of religion

(Refer to interview 3, Q & A 17). The ritual of Eftar is all about the ethics of preparing and eating foods and it conveys specific laws that are followed by the Moslem faster during the month of paying attention to one’s drinking and eating habits for the sake of one’s own health and the rights of others including human and non-human beings. It was interesting to me how the ethics of eating and considering others’ rights may travel beyond the eatery basket of each family during the holy month of Ramadan.

4.1.2.1.1.3 Moraghebeh

The ritual of Moraghebeh is the forty-day practice of virtue in thinking, speaking, eating and all aspects of everyday life when a Shia Moslem considers God in every minute of living and thinks about her/his daily activities in regards to God (Shariati, 1971). The ritual spontaneously connects one’s daily activities to the ethics of religion and codes of conducting life in a very practical form (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 17). I did not have the opportunity to observe one’s

Moraghebeh ritual, but participant number three mentioned that he consistently practices this ritual and he views this ritual as a controller of consumption and an opportunity to reconsider daily habits of consumption in relation to the ethics of consumption according to Shia thought.

According to the claims made by participant number three, this ritual specifically stands against the concept of Shaadkhaari (Refer to Index number 68). According to Dehkhoda, Shaadkhaari is living in a happiness which is the result of ignorance. According to participant number three,

Shaadkhaari is the lifestyle advertised and advocated by modernity, but forbidden by the ethics of religion. The Shia ritual of Moraghebeh targets Shaadkhaari to be identified and abandoned.

4.1.2.1.1.4 Esraaf

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According to Dehkhoda, Esraaf is the act of overconsumption which changes the state of goodness to uselessness (Refer to Index number 44).

During my stay at participant number one’s residence, I recognized a life style difference from the ordinary habits of furnishing in which the curtains, tablecloths and sofa linens were all hand woven and crafted by women and girls of the household. In the case of participant number one, there were the clothes, living furniture and accessories that reflected a simplicity in the philosophy of living while sticking to beautiful aesthetics. There were no artificial or plastic decorations in the residence of the family despite the numerous decorative pieces hanging from every corner of the indoor and outdoor spaces. The lifestyle reflected the philosophy of avoiding

Esraaf.

During my visit to participant number two’s farmland, the most fascinating segment of the field was the recycle garden located next to the farming area where the farmer would deposit farm- waste professionally, sorting the waste into recyclable, non-recyclable, dead garbage, living garbage and greens. The recycle garden articulated an outstanding example of avoiding Esraaf in practice in the occupation of farming. On the other hand, the feminine philosophies of participant number two, viewing herself as a woman farmer and a mother, followed her abeyance of the ethics of religion role modelled by her lady, Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (Refer to interview two Q &

A 2).

In the case of participant number three, I observed that his choices follow his philosophy of the ethics of religion in an extraordinary manner. For example, the participant’s occupation as a temple guide and guard governed his mode of living in which he resides in a residential cabin next to the temple. The cabin is a warmly painted room consisting of a library, a desk, a small

126 drawer, a stove and a washing system. The room lacks any decorations except for the holy name of God and an old map of the region.

The concept of Esraaf stands against the concept of Sarfeh-jouyi (Refer to Index number 27), which is the ritual of consuming less.

4.1.2.1.1.5 Ghena-at

While Islamic ethics of living invite people to consume less, they also emphasize maintaining mental health by practicing rituals of happiness related to the states of needlessness (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 214), that are achieved by habits of consuming less (Chittick, 2001; Fatemi,

2012). These practices of maintaining mental health are defined as reaching the characteristic of

Ghena-at in Islamic ethics (Refer to Index number 31). The simple living advocated through the concept of Ghena-at facilitates the maintenance of harmony between humans and nature.

The concept of Ghena-at is not an observable or measurable entity but it was mentioned in all three interviews with the three participants as a milestone in reaching their goals towards becoming true practicers of Shia (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 2), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A

20), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14).

4.1.2.1.1.6 Ethical farming

The importance of ethical farming was raised by participant number one and participant number two several times during the interviews. Although their perceptions of ethical farming were different in expression, they both strove to mean a definition close to the Islamic ethics of farming and all its encompassing rules. To be more precise, participant number one mentioned that ethical farming was the local practice of agriculture which used to occur in their home village in Afghanistan (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 1,9). She claimed that none of her family

127 members consider modern farming as an ethical occupation for a Shia person (Refer to interview

1, Q & A 9).

Participant number two was more precise in explaining why she wouldn’t see modern farming as ethical and fair to nature and the environment (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14). She emphasizes that as a Shia farmer she tries to avoid Genetically Modified seeds through the process of farming every season. Her reasoning is mainly around the concept of avoiding any hurt to nature and its beings according to several Hadith that she knows by heart.

4.1.2.1.1.7 Namaaz

Namaaz means daily prayers that are obligatory for a Moslem, and the Shia practice these prayers with little difference from other Islamic communities. These daily practices are time wise and align with the position of the sun as an ecological time scale. The daily prayers are meant to assist Moslem people in their spiritual, mental and physical evolvement (Mohamed, 2013; Nasr,

2007). The daily prayers encompass several other ethics of behaviour in Islamic thought. For example, these prayers are accepted in the following conditions:

 They may not cause harm to any other human and/or non-human being.

 They may not be practiced on occupied lands.

 They may not be practiced without the ritual of Wozu (Refer to Index number 29).

It is interesting how the ritual of Wozu, by itself, conveys several ethical fundamentals in relation to the ethics of water consumption and maintaining water resources as well as water hygiene.

Therefore, following the ethics of behaviour towards water is a daily duty of a Moslem Shia who wishes to practice their daily prayers accordingly.

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I had the opportunity of observatory active participation in the daily rituals of Namaaz and Wozu with all three participants during my visits. I noticed that spontaneously, I became more and more considerate of my way of treating water during the ritual of Wozu when accompanied by the participants.

Imam Hossein’s ethics of treating water:

This was a surprisingly interesting code of ethics that came up during all the interviews with all three participants. Imam Hossein, who is the third Imam in Shia belief, is highly respected and recalled in every aspect of Shia lifestyle, to the extent that drinking water recalls Imam Hossein for a Shia Moslem on day to day bases of life.

In the case of participant number three, precisely, the concept of water, the right assigned for water in creation, water knowledge of the region, and ethics of treating water are the main concepts lingering in the constructs of all his answers to the interview questions and in all his narratives (Refer to interview three, Q & A 2,14,16,22,30). The occupation and the philosophical goals of the third participant encompass the concept of water. He follows Imam Hossein as his role model towards reaching true Islamic belief. He voluntarily serves the temple of the holy wife of Imam Hossein, whose geographic location is central to Shia thought, in Fashapooyeh, the context of study.

In a more general case, salient in all three interviews, it is indicated that water is one of the main elements in Shia ethics of living where water is the cleansing and virtualizing mediator used in the ritual of Wozu (Refer to Index number 29) preceded by daily prayers on a day to day basis.

Therefore, treating water follows a well-defined standard of behaviour in accordance with the

Qur’an and Hadith in the Shia life (Hakimi, 1998).

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4.1.2.1.1.8 Takreem

Takreem is a state of behaviour in Islamic ethics which conveys respect towards someone or some action that is associated with the sacredness of God (Refer to Index number 42). In the

Qur’an and Hadith, a Shia person is advised to treat nature and other beings with takreem, in order to receive sacred gifts, barekat (Refer to Index number 33), from God and holy persons

(Hakimi, 1998).

I had the opportunity to observe all three participants in their context of living which reflected their perspectives and sometimes their behaviour.

In the case of the first participant, I witnessed that the participant and her family members treated guests to the temple with a particular respect that I interpreted as being mixed with sacredness. In the case of this participant, the decorations of the temple designed by the participant were reflective of her high sense of respect towards nature. For example, she put a mirror facing to each window to duplicate the views of mountains surrounding the temple in order to bring a sense of nature into the temple’s main room. She mentioned, in her answers to my questions about the decorations, that none of the insects arriving at the temple monument were allowed to be hurt by their children because of the belief that those beings are seeking security and shelter by coming to live close to the holy Imamzadeh associated with that temple

(Refer to Field notes, Participant 1). I interpreted these as exhibiting a sense of takreem towards mountains, nature and insects.

In the case of the second participant, I witnessed that she and her family chose to avoid artificial breeding techniques for their cow and cattle herds because they called them unethical and discriminatory to animals according to Islamic ethics of treating animals (Refer to Field notes,

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Participant 2). It was also interesting to me how she considered feeding birds of the temple as a religious and rewarding duty for her family, who paid multiple visits weekly to the temple.

In the case of the third participant, I observed that trees, plants and greens were very respectful to the participant, and he would go out of his way to protect and learn about them. He also depicted a high sense of centrality, focus and respect towards water. I interpret his behaviour associated with the characteristic of takreem throughout his journey of life as a Shia.

The concept of takreem was highlighted among concepts of sacredness by the third participant

(Refer to Interview 3, Q & A 14).

4.1.2.1.1.9 Halal

The concept of halal is very central to Shia thought to the extent that it is not an exaggeration to claim that all life practices are encompassed around the concept of to be or not to be halal. Halal

(Refer to Index number 47) means ethically allowed by Islamic laws and it conveys many aspects of daily life, including permitted foods, drinks, living styles, clothing, behaviours, relations, and even the land of residence. On the opposite side, practices and thoughts that are not permitted and restricted by the laws of Islam are defined as haraam (Refer to Index number 20).

Identifying halal and haraam are central in Islamic education, and the habits of following the ethics of halal and haraam are integrated into the life of a Shia Moslem. Observing these habits were beyond the scope of my observations in the limited time scale designed for this research study, but there were several implications made by all three participants about these fundamental concepts in Islamic ethics of life. Some of the main examples associated with these concepts in relation to nature include halal hunting and ethics of hunting in Islam with specific examples from Shia Imams and their humbleness to other beings (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 14).

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Another example is halal seeds to utilize in farming which do not hurt the environment (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 12), and halal foods and water (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14).

4.1.2.1.1.10 Sawaab

According to Dehkhoda, any action and/or thought that results in an eternal goodness and will qualify to receive divine gifts is considered to be in the category of Sawaab in Islamic ethics of living (Refer to Index number 21). True Shia Moslems strive to do the actions counted as Saaab, for example the participants indicate feeding birds, hosting stranded guests, sheltering ones in need of shelter, recycling, respecting nature and other beings, setting limits for eating and drinking and resting, treating other beings and nature with humbleness, growing trees, watering plants, farming, helping children, taking care of elders, sharing happiness, keeping the environment neat and hygienic, conserving water, living within one’s own sustainability limits, treating nature in accordance with Shia role models (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 8,9,

Appendixes),( (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 9,12,14,15,19, Appendixes),( (Refer to interview 3,

Q & A ).

4.1.2.1.1.11 Hagh

One of the major concepts in Islamic ethics of judgement and justice is the definition of hagh

(Hakimi, 1998) (Refer to Index number 22). In Islamic philosophy, the right specified to every being is defined in detail in the Qur’anic text, Hadith and their cited and referenced interpretations (Hakimi, 1998). Among several aspects included in the definition of hagh, there are rights specified to nature, animals, plants and insects to the extent that several chapters in the

Qur’an are titled in the names of nature elements, insects and animals. The Islamic definitions of

132 hagh are common scales of judgement among Shia people, for example, there are specific rights known to water, products of farming and even the soil.

In the case of this study, there were several times when the participants pointed out the meanings and articulations of defining Hagh according to its Islamic sources in their daily life.

In the case of participant number one, she constantly identifies herself in association with her rights as a Moslem woman exemplified by the holy character of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (Refer to

Index number 8), the daughter of theProphet Mohammad. Children’s rights, in accordance with

Islamic laws and her local culture, are also mentioned several times during her explanation of an

Afghan Shia woman’s life (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 2,8,9, Appendixes).

During the interviews, there were explicit implications to the rights of the following beings in reference to the Qur’an, Hadith or the participant’s knowledge:

 Trees (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 8, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14 ,

Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 1, Appendices 3 )

 Birds (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 9, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 7 ,

Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 13 &14, Appendices)

 Guests (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 9, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 16,

Appendices)

 Flowers (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 9, Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 13,

Appendices)

 Soil (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 10, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 9,

Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A ,2, Appendices)

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 Water (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 11, Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A.2,

Appendices)

 Animals (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 14, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 7 &

14, Appendices)

 Air (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 15, Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 13,

Appendices)

 Angels (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 24, Appendices)

 Body (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 26, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 12,

Appendices)

 Insects (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 15 &22, Appendices)

 Light (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 19, Appendices)

 Nature (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 5, Appendices), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 11,

Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 2, Appendices)

 Environment (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 6, Appendices)

 Earth (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 12, Appendices)

 Moon and sun (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 13, Appendices)

 Cosmos (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 30, Appendices), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14,

Appendices)

 Mountains (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 13, Appendices)

 Bread (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14, Appendices)

 Aquatic beings (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14, Appendices)

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4.1.2.1.1.12 Reza

Reza means “convincing” and it is referred to God in this context. The participants explained that much of what they do and how they do their life activities in relation to nature, ecology and the environment are for the sake of convincing God and making God happy with their practices and thoughts. It was interesting for me how the concept of reza stands somehow opposed to the concept of Sawaab, which is based on expecting rewards for one’s actions. The concept of reza is beautiful to me since it is based on one’s love and caring for God without any expectations.

Many of what a Shia Moslem practices in life and the ways these practices are performed are all encompassed by and for the concept of reza and bringing happiness to God.

In the cases of the participants in this study, there were several times when they implied the concept of reza as a justification for what and how they treat nature and other beings.

Participant number one points out that her participation in the cultural ritual of planting and growing roses are for reza of God, indeed.

Participant number two emphasizes that her humbleness to animals and plants are for reza of

God, indeed.

Participant number three serves the temple with no expectation of reward and just for the love of

God and Imam Hossein and for their reza.

This concept was not a measurable entity in my field observations, as it is a belief integrated into one’s life articulations.

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4.1.2.1.1.13 Beit-al-maal

The concept of beit-al-maal is the foundation for ethical economy in Islamic philosophy

(Hakimi, 1998). According to Dehkhoda (Refer to Index number 46) it is the economic bureau of the Islamic community whose wealth belongs to each and every citizen in that community. The common meaning known to the general public is that every public entity and/or property belongs to all members of that community and everyone has a share in it (Hakimi, 1998). In the cases of the participants in this study, the participants number two and three point out that nature and the environment with all their beings are counted as beit-al-maal in their opinion, therefore protecting them is the religious duty of every Shia Moslem and harming them is a harm to each member of the community and is counted as discriminatory to their rights (Refer to interview 2,

Q & A 14), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14).

4.1.2.1.1.14 Raoufat

The characteristic of raoufat (Refer to Index number 63), which defines an Islamic version of humbleness for the love of God and God’s creatures, is of major importance in the ethics of behaviour in Islamic laws of living (Hakimi, 1998).

There were several implications in the participants’ answers to interview questions that emphasized having to treat nature and other beings with Islamic humbleness of raoufat for the love of God and God’s creations (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 13), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A

14).

4.1.2.1.1.15 Nazri

Giving out free food and drinks to feed the hungry, nazri, is a common ritual practiced very often in Shia communities. It is interesting that all families with any economic ability to do so strive to

136 practice nazri according to their own financial means. On the other hand, preparing nazri is an opportunity for one to practice ethical food preparation, since there are certain ethical standards to follow in the preparation of the ingredients of the foods and drinks which ought to comply with no harm to nature, the environment and animals who are involved in the ingredients.

All three participants indicate that they participate in the ritual of nazri every now and then

(Refer to interview 1, Q & A 26), (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14), (Refer to interview 3, Q & A

16).

4.1.2.1.2 Theme 2: Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed

by Shia conception of humanism

During the interviews, I noticed that there existed several logics and interpretations by the participants that define humanity as a special meaning in connection to God. I identified distinct differences between their Shia Islamic conception of humanism and dominant modern humanism. Fatemi (2012) relates secular humanism to the hegemonic rationalism embedded in dominant modern historicism and gradual evolutionism. Fatemi, (2012) indicates that Islamic monotheism conveys sacred holism in connection with cosmos and all its beings. Fatemi (2012) emphasizes that Islamic humanism is pedagogical centered where self sustainability is at the core of its highest pedagogical values. It is notable that Shia Islamic pedagogy is humble to otherness, and it is opposed to modern humanism which is based on totally different epistemologies of utilitarianism (Fatemi, 2012; Hakimi, 1998). At the core of the meanings associated with Shia humanism, I identified ontological differences as encompassing leaders in constructing the

137 meanings at converse. I interpreted ontological differences at the core of the humanism theme as follow:

 Ontological differences between Shia humanism and dominant modern humanism:

Nasr (2007, p.139) critically analysis the ontological basis of the concept of nature in relation to

Renaissance humanism which was influenced by philosophic currents of the era when the concept of human started to be conceived no longer integrated into the holism of cosmos, and was redefined on the basis of a mere subjectivism. Nasr (2007) emphasizes that such humanism led to the separation of philosophy and revelation, while this current did not happen to the

Islamic humanism. There is a radical difference between Islamic Theo- centrism and Western dominant ontologies (Nasr, 2007). Nasr (2007) discusses that in Middle ages, Western philosophy had to draw a sharp distinction between nature and grace in its dominant theology, but Islam did not go through the same historicism, therefore, “human being, in Islam, is a natural being yet without being deprived from grace” (Nasr, 2007, p.46).

According to my understandings, some of the main compartments of Shia humanism which indicate ontological differences with modern humanism, indicated in the interviews, are as follow:

4.1.2.1.2.1 Reverse Theories of otherness and anti-Narcissism in Islam

Some major instructions advise Shia Moslems to practice Selleh-arhaam (Refer to Index number 26), in order to avoid narcissism and fear of otherness (Mutahhari, 1982).

4.1.2.1.2.2 High sense of cosmos citizenship

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All five foundational principles of belief in Shiism articulate a high sense of cosmos citizenship in Shia philosophy of life (Hakimi, 1986).

4.1.2.1.2.3 Taw-heed

Descartes’ reductionist conception of one’s being captured in a scattered mind and a mechanical body defined as a biological machine results in the modern conception of nature as an ecological machine with integrated parts (Nasr, 2007). In Islam,” the concept of integration is dependent on the concept of Oneness (Taw-heed) on all levels of reality which comes ultimately from the Supreme Principal, which is one” (Nasr, 2007, p.74). It is important to differentiate between Islamic conception of intellect and the modern interpretation of intellect and mind. The concept of intellect plays a prominent role in conceptualizing integration, cosmos, nature and ecology (Nasr, 2007). Nasr indicates that “The one creator, known by the Persian name, Khoda, and the Arabic name, Allah, is the central reality in Islam and the belief in the creator’s oneness is called Taw-heed. Allah is the source and the end of existence and is beyond all duality and relationality” (Nasr, 2007, p.43). The first of the two testifications by which a person bears witness to being a Muslim is the expression of this oneness, La ilaha illa’Llah, “There is no god but God” (Nasr, 2007, p.43). Islam emphasizes that all religions are speaking of the same God who is One and not some other deity. For Muslims, the harmony of cosmos is derived from this

Oneness, and nature is the manifestation of Allah’s Names such as Perfection (Kamal), Beauty

(Jamal), and Greatness (Jalal).

In both interviews and fieldtrips, I noticed that the concept of tawheed and its articulations in daily practices and its associated rituals are at the core of Shia definition of humanism as an ever associated being related to God’s sacredness. I witnessed that Shia’s daily prayers were regular reminders of the oneness of God and their trust in God’s kindness and forgiveness.

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In the case of the participants, (Refer to interview 2, Q and A 9) and (Refer to interview 3, Q and

A 30), they explicitly name taw-heed as the important fundamental of their belief. The participant number two states that she begins her days with saying and thinking about this concept by pronouncing the phrase “Besmeh Allah alrahman alrahim”, in the name of the one

God the compassionate and the merciful. The participant number four emphasizes that he begins his daily prayers after hearing azan starting with “La elaha ela Allah”, There is no God but the one God”.

The practical consequences of believing in taw-heed involve coming to an understanding state which trusts that nature and other beings are creations of the one God who has designed rights to each of them, and the practical articulation of this belief is respecting nature and other beings

(Hakimi, 1998; Nasr, 2007).

4.1.2.1.2.4 Rastakheez

During the interviews, I noticed the concept of Rastakheez (Refer to Index 14) plays an essential role in understanding Shia humanism. As Hakimi (1998) states Shia belief in the three-step foundations of being defines humanism in close association with the concept of Rastakheez. The three-step foundations of being are consist of guidance, creation and return stages (Hakimi,

1998). Accordingly, all beings are guided then created and returned to God. Returning to God and the Angelic world defines the meaning of humanism for a Shia Muslim (Nasr, 2007).

4.1.2.1.2.5 Human verses Adam

In Islamic philosophy of humanism, all are created as “Adams”, the corpus-like solely

physiological human, and being qualified to be called a “human” requires certain

degree of morals and ethics of being that one needs to strive to obtain through living

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(Hakimi, 1998). It was interesting for me that the second participant mentioned that

the journey of becoming a human from her state of Adam is at the center of meanings

in her life (Refer to interview number 2, Q & A 9).

The gradual sacred conversion of the biological thinking Adam to an ethical human embraces two main pathways in one’s journey, education and rituals (Hakimi, 1994).

 Education for humanism:

During the interviews in sporadic answers to the various questions and particularly in answers to the interview question 22 which specifically asks about sources of education for the participants’ knowings, I identified three main references of Shia Islamic education that were referred by all three participants. The three references are as follow:

 Qur’an: taught in family, schools and community

 Hadith: taught in folk lore, stories, mosque meetings and community

 Sireh: was an interesting core meaning that shaped practices and beliefs in all three

participants. Sireh means following the religious role models in every aspect of one’s

life (Hakimi, 1994). I realized that all three participants were particularly studying

one Shia Imam or leader and followed their lifestyle according to Shia references.

In the case of this study, the participant number one followed the twelfth Imam, Hazrat Mahdi the whistle blower for the ultimate justice, with their firm belief and confident anticipation for his holly arrival. Mutahhari (1982) thoroughly analyses the concept of anticipation for Hazrat

Mahdi and identifies several of its outcomes in belief and practice in a Shia’s life. Among them are emerging hope, trust in justice, and several health factors for one’s mind and body including tolerance to depression, anxiety and distress (Mutahhari, 1982).

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In the case of this study, the second participant consistently claims that she follows the lifestyle of Prophet Mohammad’s daughter, Hazrat Fatemeh, whose practical ethics of living clarify

Hadith in real life scales for her. Shariati (1972) writes elaborately about Hazrat Fatemeh’s ethics of living whose lifestyle exemplifies Islamic laws put in practice for a Moslem lady.

Hazrat Fatemeh role models the Islamic pattern of womanhood and motherhood as well as a wife and a daughter in its highest ethical articulations of Islamic laws (Shariati, 1972).

In the case of the third participant, the third Imam, Hazrat Imam Hossein is the core leader in shaping the participant’s lifestyle. Consequently, protecting ethics of treating water is the core of his beliefs and practice.

4.1.2.1.2.5 Hasti verses zendegi

I noticed that believing in Shia humanism has a philosophical consequence for the participants which is differentiating distinctly between the meanings of zendegi, living, and hasti, being

(Refer to field-notes, participants 1,2,3). In Shia thought the meaning of being, which is an immortal spiritual concept, includes living, which is an earthy concept. For a Shia human, not confused with Adam, an ethical living assists to reach accomplishment of being in its Islamic sense (Hakimi, 1998).

4.1.2.1.2.6 Living in the angelic world, assisted by angels

During the interviews, there were multiple times that belief in angels and their assistance to human beings were mentioned explicitly by the participants.

In the case of the first participant, she states that during some nights in the month of fasting,

Ramadan, angels are present and visit human beings to assist them with their rituals and prayers

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(Refer to interview 1, Q & A 9). On another note, the same participant states that she and her family try to respect their food so to invite angels to their household (Refer to interview 1, Q &

A 26).

In the case of the second participant, she confidently reassures that by being humble to nature, we guarantee to have angels’ assistance in difficulties of life (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 20).

In the case of the third participant, he believes that the place where he has spent his life is a holly land commuted by angels throughout history (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 3). He also sings a poem reciting “I was an angel and my place was the paradise, the creation of Adam brought me to this deserted Island” (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30).

Qur’an depicts companionship of angels with human beings in authentic description and exemplifies historical accounts in multiple of its chapters (Mutahhari, 1982; Hakimi, 1994; Nasr,

2007). It is interesting for me how living in an angelic world guides ontologies of being and living in Shia thought among the participants.

The third participant speaks in a poetic tone, and the participant recites poetic verse in the answer to question 30. The verse affirms living in an angelic world. And the participant continues to confirm that this place is one of the highly angelic centres where has accommodated saints and ethical leaders of culture throughout history.

4.1.2.1.2.7 ashraf

Among the participants, the participant number three describes his narratives around his Shia understanding of humanism which he references to Qur’an and Hadith. In his long and narrative- style answer to the interview question 30 (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30), he puts emphasis on the concept of humanism from Shia perspective at the core of the meanings constructing life for

143 him. He refers to Qur’an in explaining that human beings are at the degree of Ashraf to all other creations by God. He

elaborately describes that Ashraf means being superior in the state of love received from God among all creations and that human are the most loved creations of God, therefore human have the most responsibility towards God and God’s creations including other beings and nature

(Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30).

4.1.2.1.3 Theme 3: Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by

following the standards of Islamic spiritual well-being

During my field observations and the interview processes, I realized that there exists a shared rule valued by all participants. They all strived for Islamic spiritual well-being. The Islamic spiritual well-being was a well-defined rule of life for them with specifically described standards.

According to my understanding of these standards, each of the standards was proceeded by a practical articulation in the participant’s life. In this study, I call these articulations “practical patterns”.

The following are the observed standards of Islamic spiritual well-being according to the participants’ experiences. Each standard value leads to an evident practical pattern, claimed by the participants as follow:

4.1.2.1.3.1 Tawakkol

This is a state of belief when one trusts that every matter can be in hands of God

(Refer to Index number 25). Tawakkol is one important standard for moral-spiritual well-being

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(Hakimi, 1994). It is one of the most fundamentals in Shia thought that was mentioned by all participants during interviews. Having reached this state of belief is not a measurable entity in the field observations, but the daily practices by participants somehow indicated reaching this state of belief, according to my interpretations. Some practical patterns related to their behaviors towards nature are exemplified as follow:

The first participant fed the temple pigeons by sharing the small amount of food belonging to all family members. She generously shared without worrying for shortcomings of food for her family as she trusted that God would gift them back the food shared with hungry birds (Refer to field-notes, participant 1).

The second participant made crucial decisions about her life, for example remaining a farmer in the face of industrialization of the region, based on the trust in God’s help for choosing the right way of living (Refer to field notes, participant 2).

The third participant spent many hours of volunteer work to protect the temples trusting in God’s assistance (Refer to field-notes, participant 3).

4.1.2.1.3.2 Taghwa

Living according to Islamic rules and avoiding sins in all aspects of life are conveyed in the concept of taghwa (Refer to Index number 12). It is one of the important standards of moral- spiritual well-being as well as mind and body well-being (Nasr, 2007).

In the case of this study, all participants mention that avoiding harm to nature and its beings is the practical pattern emerging from taghwa standard of well-being (Refer to interview 1, Q & A

15; interview 2, Q & A 13; interview 3, Q & A 17)

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4.1.2.1.3.3 Needlesness

Living in North America for more than a decade has enabled me to attend to the prominent differences between a modern lifestyle commonly salient in a societal context and an Islamic lifestyle of needlessness in the context of this study. I was amazed by the state of needlessness practiced in the lives of the participants based on my observations of the following:

 Preparing efficient and sufficient food in a sustainable procedure by

minimum amount of ingredients (Refer to field-notes participant 1).

 Practicing agriculture based on local culture by minimum facilities

leaving minimum agricultural waste (Refer to field-notes participant

2).

 Living a simple efficient life with minimum consumption (Refer to

field-notes participant 3).

 Preparing house-hold supplies and clothing by self- sustaining

practices of sewing and knitting (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 2).

 Commuting by bicycles to avoid purchase of cars (Refer to interview

2, Q & A 15).

Needlessness stands in the face of consumerism and it is an important milestone to reach in Islamic ethics of living (Hakimi, 1994). Although needlessness is more of a spiritual ritual but its emancipations in the form of patterns of practice are numerous and notable in a

Moslem’s life (Nasr, 2007).

Needlessness stands against Shaadkhaari which is the state of becoming a pleasure-ward eater and drinker (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 14).

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4.1.2.1.3.4 Hope because of Hozour and Zohour

One of the main fundamentals of Shia spiritual well-being is the belief in the ever witnessing presence, Hozour, of the last Imam and their return on the judgement day, Zohour, to bring light and justice (Muttahari, 1984). The ever present Imam is the human witness of Shia people behaviour towards nature and other human and non-human beings. In addition to the psychological effects of the firm hope brought to a Shia’s life because of their belief in Hozour and Zohour, this main standard of spiritual well-being in Shia philosophy has several outcomes as practical patterns of treating nature in Shia life.

It was interesting for me to learn that the belief in Hozour and Zohour encompasses all aspects of

Shia life. For example, the first participant in this study states this explicitly (Refer to interview

1, Q & A 9). On another word, she claims that the last Imam is her role-model and witness in behaving according to Islamic ethics and standards of life.

In the case of the second participant, she claims that her life is encompassed by the anticipation for the last Imam’s Zohour and the role of this anticipation in her moral and spiritual well-being on one note, and her ethics of farming and treating nature on another note (Refer to interview 2,

Q & A 19).

In the case of the third participant, he counts hope emerging from Hozour and Zohour as one of the two main characteristics of Shia people (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30).

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4.1.2.1.4 Theme 4: Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by

agendas of maintaining balance

In the context of this study, I observed that maintaining balance is an essential and undividable manner of living in all three participants as far as my experiences allowed me to observe. The participants had no explicit implications about the agendas of balance in their lives but their narratives and examples were all indicating indirectly to an ongoing strive for balance in all aspects of life (Refer to Field-notes) according to my interpretation. Their feeding of birds, treating wild life of the region, insects, plants, farm creatures, and the cosmos –Charkhefalak- were all rich in agendas of maintaining a reciprocal balance with nature. On one note they directly mentioned to a hadith which advises people to avoid a parasitic mode of life within nature (Refer to participant 2).

Hakimi (1998) describes that maintaining and respecting balance is at the core of the five Shia philosophy fundaments. The five fundaments are as follow:

4.1.2.1.4.1 Taw-heed

Taw-heed is the firm belief in oneness of God as the creator and the guide to all beings

(Refer to Index number 54). This firm belief is to manifest in practical aspects of one’s life as well (Nasr, 2007). The outcome brings balance to one’s earthy experience of life as well as spiritual well-being according to Qur’an (Hakimi, 1994).

4.1.2.1.4.2 Nabowat

Nabowat is the belief in prophet hood of Hazrat Mohammad. The belief consequently leads to believing in other preceding prophets such as Jesus Christ, Moses, Zardosht and etcetera.

The outcome is the balance in one’s trust on guidance received from God (Hakimi, 1994).

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4.1.2.1.4.3 Ma-ad

Ma-ad is the belief in judgement day which significantly impacts one’s living style.

Based on this emancipated hope brought to one’s life, maintaining balance becomes the ultimate goal of one’s being (Nasr, 2007).

4.1.2.1.4.4 Adle

Adl is the firm belief in the justice of God. This belief leads one’s life to a balanced coloration with one’s self, other beings and also nature as a segment of creation.

4.1.2.1.4.5 Imamat

Believing in Imamat is one of the outstanding characteristics of Shia thought. This includes believing in all twelve Imams, their hadith and Sunnah. Each and every Imam is a complete pattern of living according to Islamic ethics and Qur’an. Balance in mortal and eternal lives is the consequence of following Imamat (Hakimi, 1994).

It is noteworthy that all five fundaments of Shia thought advocate for pursuing balance in treating all beings including nature and non-human beings (Hakimi, 1998; Mutahhari, 1976).

4.1.2.1.5 Theme 5: Everyday life schedules are governed by key calendar

markers

During my field observations and several encounters in interview answers and narratives, I learned that participants’ daily lives are led by Solar-Hijri calendar events and schedules. The

Iranian Solar-Hijri includes national and religious markers including Islamic Lunar calendar remarks. It is interesting that many of these calendar markers are in association with nature,

149 therefore, shape attitudes towards nature. The following calendar marks were mentioned by the participants:

4.1.2.1.5.1 Annual Nowruz

According to Dehkhoda, Nowruz is the new day, or the day of light. Nowruz is the first day of

Persian new year in the geographically vast territory of Persian culture including and originating from Iran. Throughout years, Nowruz has engulfed various cultural rituals including Islamic customs and traditions. Nowruz has been integrated into many cultures because of its ecological characteristics which relate to rejuvenating of nature and other beings. Nowruz is ecologically the vernal equinox and always occurs on March 21st which is the first day of the first month of the year in the Solar calendar.

Nowruz is one of the main key calendar markers which shape people’s everyday life practices accordingly. There exist several instances during the interviews and narratives when the participants relate their life schedules, rituals and practices to such important calendar marker as

Nowruz, according to their direct statements.

In the case of the first participant, she elaborately explains (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 9) about numerous practices inspired by Nowruz which continuously and dynamically morph into practical patterns in relation to nature and natural elements. Some of the mentioned patterns are as follow:

 Planting trees for each family member:

Tree planting is a traditional custom marked in Solar Hijri calendar, and celebrated by all

Iranians even in highly industrialized urbans throughout the country.

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 Preparing hand-made clothes associated with the concept of

spring and rejuvenating.

 Donating food for the passed away:

Preparation and donation processes in this kind of ritual in Shia culture follows ethics of respecting animal and plant sources of food as God and the passed away are believed to be witnessing.

 Designing 7-seens, the Persian traditional symbol of Nowruz:

The tradition of preparing 7-seens as the symbol of readiness to receive light and spring is practiced at every Persian house-hold throughout Iranian and non-Iranian contexts practicing

Persian culture of Nowruz. The tradition includes thoughtful and artistic selection of New year symbols commencing with letter “S”. It is necessary for all selected symbols to have sacredness in nature. The reference to their sacredness is a Persian and/or Islamic source of knowledge. It is interesting how this cultural practice requires every one to research and update their knowledge of the sacred elements in nature on year to year bases.

 Feasting for guests and visitors:

Preparation of such a feast ought to follow Islamic codes of processing food in relation to their animal or plant source. Feeding the hungry is believed to be of a high value in Shia morals as the

Shia leader, Imam Ali stands as a practical role model for such a humanitarian ritual.

In the case of the third participant, Nowruz is celebrated by Qur’anic texts and specific Shia prayers which emphasize on the oneness of God and sacredness of God’s creations including nature (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 26).

4.1.2.1.5.2 Annual Rose extraction ritual

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Reaching the middle of spring is celebrated by the Iranian tradition of mass extraction of Gol-aab syrup from local species of rose called “gol-e-Mohammadi” which is named after the prophet

Mohammad. Based onmy understandings, this species of rose is probably the most sacred flower in Shia Islamic culture before the second rated flower “Iranian tulip” which symbolically represents martyrs who have lost their earthy lives for justice.

In the case of the first participant, she briefly explains that the annual extraction ritual gathers neighbors and community in the midst of each spring to pause and wonder about nature and then interact with flowers and blossoms in a respectful manner which includes planting more roses and donating community kitchen products with the poor and visitors (Refer to interview 1, Q &

A 9).

4.1.2.1.5.3 Annual Yalda

Yalda is an ancient though culturally dynamic ritual in Persian contexts including Iran. Yalda is the celebration of light aligned with seasonal changes in solar calendar. Yalda’s definitional meaning is “the long and dark night”, but it is a connotation for celebration of the light-full morning that follows the longest night of the year according to solar calendar. Yalda ritual morphs into various practical patterns across contexts, but it constantly has shared characteristics, some of which are as follow (Dehkhoda, 1995):

 Yalda follows solar calendar every year

 Yalda is celebrated in anticipation for light

 Yalda rituals include reciting poetry

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 Yalda is a metaphoric anticipation for the ultimate liberator

from darkness who is believed to be the twelfth Imam in Shia

with his army of saints from various religions and cultures.

In the case of the participant number one (Refer to Interview 1, Q & A 9), she implies to

Yalda as a ritual related to nature. She describes Yalda as the symbol of anticipation for the arrival of Imam Zaman (Refer to Index number 1). She states that her family’s observation of the sky and stars become more attentive.

In the case of the second participant (Refer to Interview 2, Q & A 19), she implies to light as one of the most important elements of nature considered as sacred in Shia thought and she relates Yalda to celebration of light which symbolizes the arrival of the Imam of light, Imam

Zaman (Refer to Index number 1).

4.1.2.1.5.4 Annual Ramadan

Ramadan is one full month of fasting in Lunar calendar that aligns with varying months in various seasons in Solar Hijri calendar. Ramadan is the month of festivity, fasting and virtue in colorful Islamic cultures. In Shia communities in Iran, the essence and sacredness of Ramadan rituals have landed in Persian cultural practices of festivity and public thanks giving. It is interesting that all festivities should align with the dawn and/or dusk timing. The interactions between dynamic morphing of definition of ethical festivity foods and ethics of treating plants and animals towards preparing food is notable. In the case of the first participant, she briefly mentions to the importance of the role of Ramadan in envisioning the ethics of treating other human and non-human beings (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 19).

4.1.2.1.5.5 Annual Ashura

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One of the main characteristics of a Shia person is to respect Imam Hossein’s epic in uprising against injustice, tyranny and oppression. Marked in Lunar and Solar Hijri calendars, every year

Shia Moslems recollect memories of Imam Hossein’s remembrance day which is called Ashura.

The day aligns with the 10th day of Muharram month in lunar calendar when happens to be on various dates in Solar calendar annually. The epic of Imam Hossein narrates his martyr in

Karbala desert in the year 680 AD. The assemblies for commemoration of Imam Hossein and his family’s martyr are organized by people every year throughout countries with Shia populations.

Karbala in current Iraq has become a pilgrimage site. Ashura is a significant symbol of Shia struggle for justice. This annual recollection of memories conveys contextual folk lore including poems, paintings, street arts, theatre and recounting events. The commemoration of Ashura aims at observation of sorrow, rest, disregard of material matters and ultimately landing at self- reflection for a Shia person. Some of the common cultures in Iranian remembrance day include wearing mourning attires, poetic recitations of the epic, community congregations, and attending religious sermons about Karbala towards construction of an environment of mutual respect and tolerance, giving out and partaking free meals are considered as acts of communion with God,

Imam Hossein and humanity.

Among numerous principles of morals and ethics of Ashura, are ethics of treating water and ethics of treating the powerless. Ashura is the 10th day of the month of Muharram, the first month in Lunar calendar. According to Shia thought Ashura remembrance day is constantly in association with ethics of treating water and avoidance of its over-consumption, since Imam

Hossein and his family were banned from drinking water during their battle against injustice. On another note, Muharram is the month of the powerless and treating human and non-human beings should follow ethical rules of treating the powerless. For example, even purposeful

154 stepping on a creature as small as an ant is considered a big sin during this month. Shia people try to respect all beings during this month to reduce the human’s total harm to the powerless.

In the context of this study, I noticed that while each participant claimed to have one of the Shia

Imams as their role model for setting patterns of living according to ethics of Islam, the third participant highly respected Imam Hossein and devoted his time to serve the temple of Bibi

Shahrbanu, the wife of Imam Hossein and the mother of Imam Sajed (Refer to Interview 3, Q &

A 2).

On another note, the third participant explains that as the very fundamental message of Imam

Hossein’s epic is the love of God, all animals and plants and other non-human beings take part in mourning for Imam Hossein, since all creatures are first and for most in love with God according to Islamic thought. He names Alam, an artistic structure made of metal with carvings and statues depicting different species of animals and birds local to the context in which Imam Hossein’s commemoration takes place and to be carried by youth and elders showcasing their respect to the epic, as an Ashura technology (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 26). The third participant implies to

Ashura remembrance commemoration as a significant characteristic in being a Shia (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30).

4.1.2.1.5.6 Daily time remarks

 Azaan:

The daily rituals are marked by the sound of Azaan which is a call for gathering and praying.

Azaan is recited at regular scheduled timeslots from morning to night when the schedule is based on movement of the sun and the sun’s associated times of dawn, noon and dusk. There are five daily prayers assigned for a Shia Moslem to remember God and self reflect on daily bases while

155 practicing physical exercises designed for each segment of the prayers. The prayers are embodiment of spiritual as well as physical and emotional well-being when verses of hope, kindness and forgiveness are recited.

In the context of this study, the second participant highlights the role of Azaan in planning her daily schedule, and she relates Azaan’s schedule to the sun as one of the major elements of nature. She explains how Azaan and its associated rituals may govern one’s life in close association to nature. She states that Azaan may make one attentive to the changes of day light, seasons, and ultimately may make one attend to elements of nature on a daily basis (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 9).

 Friday:

One of the common rituals practiced by Shia Moslems is giving out free food every dawn before the morning sunrise of Friday. This ritual is based on the belief that the twelfth Imam, Hazrat

Mahdi, will ultimately rise with the sunrise on a Friday morning, when he and his companions bring justice and light for all the human race. This ritual symbolizes Rastakheez (Refer to Index number 14). Giving out feasts on Thursday night is also a cultural morph of the remnants of the ancient Zoroastrian thought in Persian contexts, which requires one to feed the spirits returning to the earth right before the rise of the ultimate light-bringer. Today’s ritual of feasting to welcome Friday is a mixed tradition of Shia and Zoroastrian cultures with the same aims. The concept of Fajr, the ultimate sunrise, is shared in both cultures where the anticipation for the sunrise which defeats darkness and sustains eternal light is ritualized.

In the case of this study, the second participant explains the practice of this ritual in details

(Refer to interview 2, Q & A 16).

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On another note, the second participant mentions Fajr as an ever-shaping pattern for her identity

(Refer to interview 2, Q & A 1). Also, the third participant mentions Fajr as the essential characteristic of Shias’ self realization (Refer to interview 3, Q & A 30).

4.1.2.1.6 Theme 6: Contemporary discourses are a function of interaction

between Indigeneity and Modernity

There were numerous instances during the interviews when the participants referred to the concept of Indigeneity. According to Dehkhoda (1995), the word “boumi” stands for the concept of Indigeneity which associates its meaning to one’s identity in tight relation with one’s “place- based ecology”. In the Persian sense of the word Indigeneity, “place-based ecology” conveys cultural depositions of nature within one’s daily life practices as well as one’s ontologies (Nasr,

2014). The encompassing fundaments of Indigenous ontologies, in their Persian sense, are the spiritual facets of Indigeneity (Nasr, 2014). Nasr emphasizes that the current environmental crisis of the world is rooted in spiritual crisis, which is the deeper ontological foundation for it

(Nasr, 2014). In the context of this study, the participants complain about modern industrialization and its consequent loss of Indigeneity, which has led to the loss of spirituality in its contextual sense, all resulting in the loss of religion.

In the context of this study, the first participant points out the importance of Indigenous technologies, such as traditional spinning wheels and fabric weavers, in connecting the concept of consumerism to nature which used to make people pause and wonder about the resources under consumption for their needs. She emphasizes that Indigenous dyeing techniques were based on natural dyes in processing clothes, covers, rugs and carpets; and that all Indigenous products used to be recyclable (Refer to participant 1, Q & A 25).

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 Indigenous or local:

The first participant describes the difference between local, mahalli, and Indigenous, boumi, based on her experience as a non-Iranian living in Iran (Refer to interview 1, Q & A 1). She describes her identity as an Indigenous Afghan born and raised in Afghanistan, who has all

Afghan cultural grounding within her daily making meanings of life, but meanwhile becoming a local in the region - Ray, Fashapooyeh, Iran - who practices local patterns of living.

The second participant highlights the differences between Indigenous farming and local farming

(Refer to interview 2, Q & A 7). She emphasizes Indigenous farming as a practical means of resistance against the modern industrialization which is developing in local agriculture. She characterizes Indigenous farming as harmless sustainable practices of interacting with nature, land, seeds, plants, insects and animals to produce sufficient sources of food for human need, not to be confused with human greed (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 14). She has knowledge of

Hadith about Islamic ethics of farming, herding, gardening, seeding, and hunting. She complains about the unethicality of modern techniques of agriculture, for example genetically modified seeds and the leather industry, that harm nature and ecological segments of the region. She claims that they are in contrast to Islamic ethics of treating nature (Refer to interview 2, Q & A

14). She explains that modern practices are becoming “localized” in the region but they can not be “Indigenized”, as their roots are in contrast with Indigenous ways of living and making meaning of life (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 17). She describes that Indigenous practices in the region have engulfed Islamic ethics within themselves throughout time, but modern practices which are being encultured in locals do not align with Indigenous and place-based values in the region. She draws on Hadith to exemplify different facets of her claims (Refer to interview 2, Q

& A 12,14,18,19,20).

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 Literacy:

The concept of literacy emerges during the interview with participant number two (Refer to interview 2, Q & A 17). She elaborately explains that literacy may refer to different meanings throughout time with the change of lifestyle. She describes the original meaning associated with literacy as “having a fair amount of knowledge that enables one to live as a member of a community in a local context”. She mentions that Indigeneity has literacy at its core. She goes on to say that literacy of ecology is conveyed in Indigenous literacy of living through interaction with nature. She explains that such Indigenous ecological literacy conveys place-based and cosmos-based facets. She claims that following Islamic ethics of living protects nature from harm. She adds that the total human harm to nature caused by modernism requires further progress in interpreting Islamic ethics in relation to today’s rise of modernism in every one’s lifestyle in this context.

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CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION

In response to the major critiques of dominant concepts of sustainability, which serve assimilative agendas of modern development, and the lack of sufficient cross-cultural research in context-based environmental ethics, there is a call for domains of approach in reconceptualising environmental ethics in relation to their situated contexts. Therefore, there is a call for place- based approaches to redefine environmental ethics, which are not simply subordinate to dominant sustainability agendas.

According to Shrader’s (1991) claims, current dominant environmental ethics are mostly based on assumptions of hard ecology where these assumptions are in conflict with numerous case study results in the realm of ecology research conducted by, e.g., Pain and Levin (1981), Connell

(1978), and Sagoff (1985). Shrader (1991) calls for place-based case studies that investigate local ecological knowledge, cultures, histories and economics in relation to contextual ontologies.

Shrader (1991) emphasizes that ontological roots related to environmental ethics in a context should be examined in order to investigate notions of the intrinsic value proposed to nature and non human beings. Shrader explains that claims of ecocentrism in designing environmental ethics are based on hard ecology and they do fall under controversies associated with the hard ecology discipline. The critiques of ecology-based environmental ethics complain that the fundamentals of concepts of universality in hard ecology are rooted in conducted case-studies investigating notions of particularity (Shrader, 1991).

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On the other hand, the claims of anthropocentrism can not provide uncontroversial grounds to its emerging environmental ethics as it falls into two categories of “weak anthropocentrism” and strong anthropocentrism (Shrader, 1991, p.318). Shrader (1991) explains that so called weak anthropocentrism is the anthropocentric perspective with the belief in the existence of intrinsic value in nature and non-human beings, whereas strong anthropocentrism sees intrinsic value as a characteristic of the human species. In a non-weak anthropocentric view, nature and non-human creatures are perceived as tools and resources for the survival of the human species. The environmental ethics emerged from such isms are bound within the root ontologies of their originating schools of thought. Therefore, Shrader (1991) calls for investigation of marginalized ontologies that may assist in structuring a more operational environmental ethics and policy making.

Such critiques of current dominant ecology-based environmental ethics call for examination of traditional-based environmental ethics. These critiques invite researchers to investigate ontologies which converse out of the domain of dualities such as anthropo-centrism versus eco- centrism, universality versus particularity, and soft versus hard ecology. Therefore, it is emergent to depart from dualisms (Krug, 2005) and call for environmental ethics against doing harm.

Shraden (1991) raises the point that environmental policy making is a human rights issue as well as an environmental one, because of the vulnerability of children and the poor. Sharader calls to look for “ethical default rules” (Shrader, 1991, p.321) that stop harm at the stage of uncertainty prior to the accomplishment of harm. Nasr (1996) describes how traditional ethics and their ontological roots provide such ethical default rules against environmental harm.

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5.1 Frameworks for the research approach

Moore (2008) suggests an eco-critical approach towards the investigation of environmental ethics and their foundational ecological literacies and their contemporary traditional forms in which they reside across contexts. Ecocriticism is the study of the environment and literature from an interdisciplinary point of view (Moore, 2008). Ecocriticism investigates the underlying ecological values, what is meant by the words nature, environment, ecology and whether the examination of "place" should be a distinctive category in defining situated knowledge (Barry,

2009).

The other suggested approach is an Eco-theological study of contemporary natural philosophy worldviews in their relational contexts, which calls for ontological studies of contextual worldviews (Fatemi, 2012). Eco-theology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of nature and religion, particularly in relation to environmental concerns

(Brown, 2012; Cengage, 2012; Freeman, 1992). On the other hand, Islamic philosophers call for the study of practices emerging from Islamic natural philosophy in contemporary contexts with an Islamic paradigm in order to achieve a paradigm for a re-evaluation of the dominant modern human relationship with nature and non-human beings.

In this study, I looked for contemporary practices emerging from Islamic natural philosophy salient among the Shia general public in a Shia particular context. In the domain of education, I explored context-based modes of education from the position of Islamic Shia which may contribute to the reconceptualization of education in close relationality with contextual ontologies.

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I adopted both frameworks, ecocriticism and eco-theology, through my investigative approaches including the designing of semi-structured interviews, the collecting of field-notes, and the analysis of constructed data.

5.2 Design of Semi Structured Interviews

There were two main frameworks for the themes under investigation as follows:

 Eco-critical framework:

In order to examine environmental ethics in the context of study, I had to explore

ecological literacies residing in traditional forms associated with the context of study

(Moore, 2008). I had to explore public understandings of the natural systems and

organizational principles in nature. Towards investigating ecological values, the main

questions had to explore concepts of nature, environment and ecology.

The semi structured approach provided an opportunity to explore context specific values,

parameters and scales in defining a place-based environmental ethics (Barry, 2009).

 Eco-theological framework:

In order to understand the foundational ontologies constructing the traditional forms of

ecological literacy in the context of study, I had to examine interrelationships between

nature and religion as the main traditional space engulfing context-specific culture within

itself (Brown, 2012; Cengage, 2012; Freeman, 1992; Nasr 2014).

In order to convey both frameworks in the interview approach, I designed an interview guide which relates each question to its topic of investigation, as follows:

Q 1, 2 investigate: Identity, self recognition of the participant

Q 3 investigates: Definition of place

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Q 4, 5, 6 investigate: Definition of Ecology, Nature and Environment

Q 9, 10,11,12 investigate: Behavior towards Nature, Environment

Q 13, 14, 15 investigate: Religion and nature

Q 16-Q 21 investigate: Social, economic and political interrelations with nature

Q 22, 23 investigate: Sources of education about nature

Q 24 investigates: Indigeneity and nature

Q 25 investigates: Indigenous traditional technology

Q 26- Q 29 investigate: Religious rituals in relation with nature

Q 30 investigates: Self and nature

5.3 Construction of field notes

Besides interviews, collecting field notes was a simultaneous approach towards my investigation of the topics. Preparing a field-note guide was a necessary step towards adopting theoretical frameworks into the process of field-note construction. The field-note guide was designed to identify each step in relation to its topic of attention, as follows:

Step 1-Map reading: Topography, geography, history and demographics of the context of study

Step 2- Nature reading: Ecology and environment of the region, Nature in people’s lives

Step 3-Religion depiction: Places, symbols, rituals

Step 4-Place as nature: Particularities, images, sounds, smells

Step 5-Place as religious icons: Particularities, images, sounds, smells, self-reflection

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Step 6-Place as community: Places, people, cultures of community

Step 7-Place as people: Particularities

5.6 Process of Analysis

The process of analysis commenced as soon as I landed in the context. I followed the interview guide and the field-note guide during the collection of raw data. Then in the analysis of the findings, and during the phase of conceptualizing results, I tried to construct data through following codes, indexes, and themes arising from the raw data based on my interpretations. The process of analysis was guided by raw data under preoccupied sediments of my theory frameworks, including eco-criticism and eco-theology. The preoccupation of my thought with eco-criticism made me more attentive to the participants’ critiques of the inter-relationality between nature and place. The preoccupation with eco-theology drew my attention to traditional concepts of organization in nature based on contextual natural philosophy, and the inter- relationality between nature and religion as the traditional residence of culture in the context of my study.

In both realms of ecocriticism and eco-theology, Saniotis (2012) and Subbarini (1993) identify a gap in literature associated with the conceptualization of contemporary literacies in relation to environmental ethics. They call for including the examination of religion as the traditional residence of culture in the contexts whose folklore history conveys religion as the interplay of culture. They call for contemporary examination of Islamic environmental literacies and Islamic natural philosophy as one of the numerous traditional residences of culture within their context specific articulations.

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In the realm of ecological traditional knowledge, the cumulative body of meanings and practices handed down through generations has particular forms in Islamic Persian contexts, known as

Shia communities (Nasr 2014). These context-based particular forms are consisting of Hadith

(Refer to Index number 45), rituals, oral histories, poems, stories, artefacts, performing arts and narratives.

This study aims to identify these traditional forms and study their representation of the concept of nature and the environment. The core approach is to examine ontologies in relation to nature from the perspective of Islamic philosophy known and practiced by the general public. Islamic natural philosophy defines life in relation with ecological organizations at the cosmos scale

(Nasr, 1994). In order to maintain an appropriate approach, I studied the direct words, instructions and Hadith of Prophet Mohammad and his Household in searching for sources of traditional practices (Fatemi, 2012). Beyond the scope of this study still linger Islamic authentic views of nature, ecology, ecological networks and cosmos in works of Persian Islamic scholars, and the Qur’anic text in particular.

The interview scripts, constructed through semi structured interviews and participants’ narratives, consisted of the following main categories of codes:

 Sacred meanings known to the participants

 Shia-specific Islamic concepts

 General Islamic concepts

 Rituals and prayers specific to Shia culture in the realm of nature

 Rituals and prayers forming Islamic ontologies in the realm of Islamic philosophy

 Traditional practices in the realm of nature

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 Stories specific to Shia narratives of history

 Poems in the realm of nature

 Poems in the realm of Islamic ontologies

 Persian Islamic terminology

 Islamic ethics

 Islamic codes of conducting life

 Islamic codes of well-being

 Islamic ethics of treating non-humans and nature

The codes were descriptions and implications particularising and exemplifying some nature-

related main themes that emerged as six navigating themes throughout the study.

The concept of culture in analysis:

The process of studying was a constant restructuring and constructing of meanings for me as the researcher, as the participants and this process will continue for us besides the research audience

(Hall, 1976). Hall draws on the notion of "extension transference" (Hall, 1976, p.28) to differentiate knowledge as the process of coming to know a reality from knowledge as the reality which has been as much an intellectual as a historical misunderstanding. Hall also describes that learning has been misunderstood as modern education through the same extension transference.

In this regard, Hall calls for tracing the body of knowledge into its constructive context of learning integrated into contextual culture and process of living. In approaching contextual cultures, Hall (1976) draws on the notion of high contexts such as the Persian context, where the information is internalized in the member of the context and little is communicated through explicit transmission of messages. In contrast, in low context cultures such as Western contexts, the mass of the information is communicated through explicit codes. The human extensions are

167 less mechanistic and highly integrated within cultural integrity in high context cultures. The culturally conditioned control systems are implicitly coded within a complex system of human extensions in high context cultures. Hall draws the researcher's attention to the point that

"information-handling" (Hall, 1976, p.85) is processed through contemporary control systems which are cultural and contextual variants. Cultural designation of points of attendance and/or ignorance in structuring a contextual worldview, selectively or unconsciously processed by the members of a context, is common in such information-handling systems. Shariati (1971) describes that contemporary forms of rituals are symbolic and conditioned information-handling systems that operate culture constantly at converse with knowledge in Islamic contexts. Hall

(1976) identifies such cultural systems as highly integrative extensions of communicating legalities within high context cultures. In high context cultures, the meanings expressed through communications, including verbal, non-verbal, body language, synchrony, tones of voice, facial expressions, art forms, various modes of cultural rhythms, rituals, emotional and visual communication, can be understood only if one is familiar with the social and historical complexities of the context (Hall. 1976). High context cultures systematically and practically resist conformation to an imposed paradigm and external control over a segment of a contextual extension deeply networked in their contextual systems. The resistance is essential to maintain the integrity of the high context's complex system of human extensions and cultural processes. A high context culture can be mystifying to the observer and it can lead to highly misinterpreted conceptions of its extensions and its systems of conditioned control, especially to the observer with his/her own cultural stereotypes about the target high context (Hall, 1976). There is a high possibility of passing great depths of meaning unnoticed in high context fields of research. In interpreting the context, the researcher should admit that transcendence from her/his culture,

168 vantage point and "unconscious contexting including programmed and innate contexting" (Hall,

1976, P. 95) is not possible, and what is not attended and ignored in the context of study, in her/his vision, can be a matter of cultural designation. Members of a high context culture are constantly oriented towards developing human relations rather than set goals. The screens imposed by the observer between herself and the observed "constitutes one of the ways in which reality is structured" (Hall, 1976, p.102). In order to learn about the underlying structures of a context, the spatial point of entry is not as important as the consistency in observing, experiencing and living within the context. Hall warns that examinations of high context cultures with low context methods are paradoxical. Hall suggests high context researchers use contextual methods emerging from the context of study, and consistently construct a thick description of acts of observation in relation to the analysis of results. The situational frames and dialects, including communications through postures, clothing, temporal and spatial dimensions, should be identified by the researcher and the research participants in the process of analysis.

Identification of organization and order frames, as well as how members of the context of study learn these frames, are helpful. Hall warns researchers not to eliminate context in order to bring so called rigor and coherency to the interpretation of results. Through self-reflexivity, the researcher is advised to identify her\his preoccupations associated with her/his sensory capabilities, and the propagandas about the context.

In the context of this study, similar to other Islamic contexts (Hakimi, 1998, Nasr, 2007), the

communication of legalities occurs through making reference to the Qur’an and Hadith. As

studying the Qur’an was beyond the scope of this study, I limited this study to examination

of the Hadith. Therefore, in the process of constructing data, I conducted a thorough study of

the Hadith based on Hakimi’s Alhayat reference (1998), whose collection is based on direct

169 citations in Kitab Alkafi (Refer to Index number 74). The Hadith exploration looking for nature-related codes of practice and/or belief, in this study, is conveyed in the data section.

In the context of research, I tried to attend to contemporary expressions of meaning through communications, interviews, and field observations. These various modes of meaning expressions included verbal, non-verbal, body language, synchrony, tones of voice, facial expressions, art forms, various modes of cultural rhythms, rituals, emotional and visual communication, sounds and smells. Yet, due to particular characteristics of the high contexts

(Hall, 1976), there is a high possibility of passing great depths of meaning unnoticed in the fields of this research.

In the context of this research, some expressions remain particular to their space of occurrence, like sounds and smells in the temple of Sheikh Kolain (Refer to Field-notes), while some become cultural extensions which express major meanings (Hall, 1976), like the cultural rhythm of the Azan (Refer to Index number 13) as well as visual communication of the Hijab (Refer to Index number 60). These cultural extensions encompass the broad spectrum of the daily practices of Shia people (Shariati, 1971).

It is interesting that the cultural extensions in Islamic contexts in Iran as a high context include codes of practice in accordance with Islamic ethics of religion (Nasr, 2014).

Therefore, ethics of religion, like cultural extensions, play an encompassing role in the daily lives of Shia people. The first theme emerging from the data is attending to these cultural extensions, where major meanings reside in traditional practices in association with the ethics of religion. The cultural practices such as Eftar (Refer to Index number 69), Ghena-at (Refer to Index number 31), Sarfeh-jouyi (Refer to Index number 27), and others conveyed in the list of practices emerging from Islamic ethics in association with nature, shape Shia’s daily

170 life. These cultural practices have well-defined patterns explained in the two main references of Shia, in the Qur’an and Hadith. Following the eco-critical approach in this study, I examined the environmental facet of these cultural practices, looking for their foundational ecological literacies. In Shia thought, the principles of organization in ecological communities are understood based on underlying core ecological values of sacredness (Nasr,

2014), cosmos-ism (Gada, 2014; Nasr, 2014), holism (Gada, 2014), justice (Shariati, 1971), rights defined for every creature (Hakimi, 1998), and Islamic humanism (Hakimi, 1998;

Nasr, 2014). Nasr (2014), and Gada (2014) situate sacredness attributed to nature at the core of Islamic natural philosophy. In the realm of eco-theological approach, Nasr (2007) situates cosmos-ism and holism at the centre of Shia ontologies in making meaning of nature. The investigation of relationality between nature and religion in this study confirms that Shia participants follow ontologies of cosmos-ism and holism, based on Shia Islamic philosophy, in understanding and making meaning of nature. The core values of sacredness and justice shape their understanding of nature. These values guide their actions and practices towards nature and non-human beings. The explicit manifestation of these meaning-makings is their firm belief in the concept of the rights defined for nature and non-human beings. This study identifies the concept of rights attributed to several contemporary categories of beings according to Shia’s references and the participants’ expressions.

Gada (2014) and Saniotis (2012) emphasize that Islamic ecological values are conveyed, and learned, in and through cultural practices formed by the ethics of religion in Islamic communities.

The screens imposed by the observer between herself and the observed consistently construct a thick description of acts of observation in relation to analysis of results. The situational

171 frames and dialects, including communications through postures, clothing, temporal and spatial dimensions, are identified by the researcher and the research participants in the process of analysis in the section of field-notes.

It is important to note that Islamic ethics in its general public facet, in Shia communities, emphasize the practical aspects of religion rather than the philosophical stands, since practices are passed down to generations in accordance with their philosophical references, which remain the same references throughout time (Shariati, 1971). The belief fundaments of

Shia thought are shared and known to the general public, while Shia practices dynamically guide and shape one’s daily life activities in relation with nature, social context and political thought (Shariati, 1971, Nasr, 2007). The advocates of ecological literacy call for identification of traditional practices bearing ecological values (Capra, 2007; 1995).

Therefore, as one of the main goals of this study is an examination of ecological literacy in

Shia communities, investigation of Shia traditional practices bearing ecological value are focused on in the process of analysis. On the other hand, interviews revealed a large amount of information about nature-related traditional practices and their associated ontologies of understanding natural systems and organization principles at the cosmic scale. On another note, practices and actions play the central role in shaping Shia, particularity in relation with nature. Based on the data constructed through this study, the particular Shia world-view towards nature is characterised and emancipated by six main themes that emerged through analysis, as follows:

1- Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by Ethics of religion:

The ethics of religion in Islam are referenced to the Qur’an and Hadith (Nasr, 2014;

Hakimi 1998, Shariati 1971). The ethics of religion are vast and cover all aspects of life,

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belief and practice. According to Hakimi (1998), there are two categories in the ethics of

religion. There is one category which shapes Islamic Shia ideology and thought, and

there is the second category which defines rules, codes of conduct, standard operation

procedure and boundaries for the actions and practices of the daily lives of Shia people.

The constructs of data confirmed the existence of these two categories in this study. The

belief category fell into nine pillars of oneness of the Creator, confirmation of ultimate

judgement for all beings, confirmation of Hazrat Mohammad’s prophethood and trust in

his family line, belief in justice for all and living in an angelic world, trust in the Qur’an

and Hadith, and hope for all beings. The category of codes of conducting life consisted of

fifteen typical traditional practices which were explicitly mentioned by the participants in

frequent or singular patterns during interviews. The belief category represents some of

the foundational principles of Shia ontologies, while the rule of practice category

represents more of a practical aspect of Shia life. After identification of these cultural

extensions (Hall, 1976), their meanings were investigated where meanings of these

cultural extensions from understandings by the participants were credited as much as the

meanings provided by references. Then, the relationship between these practices and

nature was analysed in reference to interview quotes, as well as referencing the literature.

It was concluded that as the identified cultural extensions are conveyed in Shia’s daily

life, they play an essential role in governing Shia actions towards nature, as the topic of

investigation in this study.

2- Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by a Shia conception of humanism:

According to Hall (1976), members of a high context culture are constantly oriented

towards developing human relations rather than set goals. Different cultural extensions,

173 such as human interactions, are derived from ontological differences between a high context culture like Persian Shia and under modernization low contexts. Indeed, there are substantial ontological, epistemological and historical differences between Shia humanism and dominant modern humanism (Fatemi, 2012; Nasr, 2007). In this study’s approach, I identified the congruent instances when participants linked the contemporary topics, in converse, to their Shia Islamic conception of humanism. Nasr (2007) draws on historical philosophical currents to differentiate modern humanism, based on subjectivism, from Islamic humanism, still conveying a philosophy of holism. Nasr

(2007) describes the consequences of such ontological differences in relation to natural philosophy between modern and Islamic realms of knowledge and coming to know. The data constructed eight categories as the main foundations of Shia Islamic humanism.

These main categories include Shia understanding of humanity in relation to negating otherness, cosmos citizenship, the ever connectedness to God’s sacredness, trust in judgement day, human essence, life as eternal being, Angels’ assistantship, and the rank of humans among beings.

In the analysis chapter, detailed explanations are provided for each category. It is described in details that Shia Islamic ontology, rooted in Islamic philosophy and Persian identity (Nasr, 2007; Mutahhari, 1982), embraces otherness (Hakimi 1994). This characteristic of Shia behaviourism, rooted in Qur’anic advice on humbleness to humanity and strangeness, is in contrast with modern theories of otherness.

On the other hand, Shia culture is greatly influenced by Shia’s sense of cosmos citizenship.

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There is another aspect of Shia Islamic humanism which defines humanity as an ever connected being to the sacredness of God. This ontological principle is congruent with

Shia ethics of behaving among others with self-consciousness and self-respect. This fundamental principle shapes its divergent practices in every human interaction with human and non-human beings (Nasr, 2007, Hakimi, 1998, Muttahari, 1982). The meaning of humanity attached to God’s sacredness perceived by Shia Moslems has numerous ontological outcomes in constructing contemporary meanings in the realm of humanism for Shia people (Nasr, 2007). The sacred human perceived by Shia people provides particular meanings to being, life, human rank among beings, and an ultimate justice as a right for this kind of human being living in a cosmic world assisted by

Angels. The particularity attained to the concept of being demands ethical Islamic living which has to comply with Islamic codes of behaviour for an ethical accomplishment of life beyond its earthly sense (Hakimi, 1988). The ultimate justice to judge this accomplishment is an inevitable outcome of such a perception (Muttahari, 1982). On another note, living in such a cosmic world organized by such codes of sacredness confirms the existence of angels (Nasr 2014; Hakimi, 1998). Such confirmation is confirmed by the Qur’an and Hadith explanation of Angels’ existence and assistantship to sacred humanity. Therefore, the Shia citizenship in cosmos is conceived as a particular citizenship bearing outstanding responsibility towards cosmos, world and nature (Hakimi,

1998).

The important point raised and emerging from Shia Islamic humanism in the realm of education is the goal of education pursued in the Shia philosophy of education.

According to the Qur’an and Hadith, the main sources of education in Islamic

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philosophy, the ultimate goal of education is departing from the physiological being and

arriving at becoming human in essence (Shariati, 1976; Muttahari, 1982; Hakimi, 1998;

Nasr 2007). Becoming human in essence has a broad meaning in Islamic Persian

philosophy. There are contemporary forms of literature including contemporary arts,

poetry, tales, and oral history, depicted and written folk lore which define human essence

in narrative formats (Nasr, 2014). Therefore, humanism is at the core of conceptions

perceived and pursued by Shia people.

3- Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by following the standards of Islamic

spiritual well-being:

Nasr (2014) describes the historical, ontological and linguistic differentiation between the

concept of spirituality in Islam and in modern literature. Nasr (2014) emphasizes the

different emancipations of the concept of spirituality in contemporary contexts of Islamic

societies and Western societies. According to Nasr (2014), spiritual well-being is at the

core of the Islamic philosophy of being as much as it is central to Islamic humanism.

Therefore, spiritual well-being is encompassing Islamic education (Muttahari, 1982). The

standards of spiritual well-being are defined in relation to ethics of religion in Islam

which designate values, moral and practical patterns in accordance with the Qur’an and

Hadith (Hakimi, 1998). Several practical patterns were identified by the participants

during the study. The participants believed that such practical patterns help them

maintain their spiritual well-being on a daily basis. It is noteworthy that the core concept

guiding these practical activities is the concept of hope (Hakimi, 1998). The Qur’an and

Hadith provide thorough guidance on the meaning of hope, the reasoning for being

hopeful, and how to keep hope alive according to Islamic ethics (Hakimi, 1998).

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The participants in this study strive for spiritual well-being in their own ways of living

and being. Simultaneously, there are shared patterns of practice that they name as

essential guides to reach and maintain their spiritual well-being. These patterns of

practice include tawakkol (Refer to Index number 25), taghwa (Refer to index number

12), needlessness and the great anticipation. These patterns of practice are sequential as

tawakkol is a state of belief which prepares one for taghwa as the state of practice

expanded at life scale. Reaching spiritual states of tawakkol and taghwa leads one to

arrive at the spiritual state of needlessness throughout a Shia Moslem’s life; therefore,

ultimately leading to the great anticipation in Shia thought which is the belief in the

arrival of Imam Zaman (Refer to Index number 1) as the core concept in Shia identity

(Hakimi, 1998).

It is interesting that Shia’s behaviour towards nature and other beings is to be controlled

by the outcome of these practical patterns of spiritual well-being, which is needlessness

(Nasr, 2014). The Shia life-style of needlessness stands against Shaadkhaari (Refer to

Index number 68) as an important component of consumerism (Hakimi, 1998).

4- Actions towards/about/for/with nature are governed by agendas of maintaining balance:

Maintaining balance is a crucial dimension of the structure of Shia philosophy (Nasr,

2014; Hakimi 1998, Shariati, 1972), since all five fundaments of Shia thought are based

on a universal concept of balance which is required to be maintained and respected by all

Shia Moslems (Hakimi, 1994). In the chapter of analysis, I have elaborately provided

explanation of details of the structure of the five fundaments. It is also noteworthy to

attend to the numerous dimensions of balance meant in Islamic philosophy (Nasr, 2007),

where balance is to be salient in individual as well as social aspects of one’s life. The

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individual aspect includes moral, mental, physical and spiritual well-being (Hakimi,

1998), and the social aspect embraces the economic and political dimensions of one’s

life. For example, a Moslem is advised to practice individual rituals as well as community

ones. On another note, the concept of balance in its holistic version is at the core of the

structure of the five fundaments in Shia Islamic thought (Mutahhari, 1976).

On the other hand, nature is characterised on the basis of balance according to the

Qur’anic explanation of nature (Nar, 2017; Nasr, 2014; Hakimi, 1998; Mutahhari, 1976).

Therefore, nature is perceived as the source of balance and, indeed, deserves balance in

treatment according to Shia thought (Hakimi, 1998).

5- Everyday life schedules are governed by key calendar markers:

The solar Hijri calendar is the official national calendar in Iran. The calendar is an

encompassing guide for the daily life of Iranian society (Birashk, 1993). The society in

Iranian context includes contemporary communities in contemporary regions in the

geographically vast Iran. These contemporary regions consist of urbanized contexts, civic

contexts, industrial contexts, village contexts, agricultural contexts, pastoral contexts,

nomad contexts, and Indigenous contexts (Nasr, 2007). Each context is a complex

construct of historical, ecological, cultural, political, Indigenous, religious and

technological interactions throughout time in place (Nasr, 2007). The Solar Hijri

calendar, like any other calendar, is a reflection of interplays in realms of power (Birashk,

1993). While the historical, religious and political dimensions of the calendar reflect the

outmost interplays in realms of power, the ecological dimensions of the calendar remain

less affected by power dynamics throughout time in the geographical place known as Iran

(Birashk, 1993). It is interesting that the ecological dimensions of the Solar Hijri calendar

178 are based on cultural and religious foundations of belief and practice in Iranian contexts

(Shariati, 1976). The Solar Hijri history of becoming the common calendar for Iranian society conveys its multiple cultural dimensions unfolding throughout time in the place of

Iran (Haydari-Maleki, 2004). The gradual settlement of the Solar Hijri calendar has provided enough duration and space to engulf Iranian people’s religious and ecological cultures. The religious realm has been at the interplay between historical and political manifestations of power in the contemporary contexts of Iran. Meanwhile, the ecological realm has been less impacted by such interplays of power, since ecological cultures have been integrative and community-oriented rather than being related to civic dimensions of the public lifestyle (Nasr, 2007). On the other hand, ecological cultures conveyed in the

Solar Hijri calendar, like any other cultural extension in the context of Iran, have religion and tradition as their core fundament (Hakimi, 998). There are several key calendar markers in the Solar Hijri calendar that represent and memorialize ecological cultures which are in close association with nature; therefore, they shape attitudes towards nature at a societal scale beyond national boundaries (Birashk, 1993). These calendar markers include annual, weekly and daily cultural practices. Among the annual calendar markers, there are some that are derived from Lunar calendar festivities, for instance Ramadan and

Ashura (Nasr, 2014), while there are some other markers which are derived from the ancient Persian Solar calendar, for instance Nowrouz and Yalda (Birashk, 1993). The weekly and daily marks organize ritualistic practices such as Friday religious assemblies and daily prayers.

There are several calendar markers that mark contemporary Indigenous traditions, rituals and practices at annual intervals (Birashk, 1993). For instance, the Rose extraction ritual

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has been an Indigenous tradition practiced in several Indigenous places across Iran and

later it has been engulfed into the Solar Hijri calendar as a traditional mark which invites

millions of Iranian people to practice this ecological ritual nationally every year.

It is important to note that despite the reflective characteristic of the Solar Hijri calendar,

the practices advocated at calendar marks do not necessarily align with their original

formats and/or their ideological foundations. The Solar Hijri calendar is a representative

similar to a sign which has departed from the signifier (Shariati, 1976). The calendar

marks continue to indulge new meanings that fall into the dynamics of power, culture,

time and place (Shariati, 1976).

On another note, in the realm of ecology, the Solar Hijri calendar continues to invoke and

diverge meanings and practices in relation to nature and the environment. It is interesting

that the nature-related calendar marks are numerous in the Solar Hijri calendar, which

provide multiple opportunities for integrating nature into the daily life of people. In the

analysis chapter, I have elaborated on each of these calendar marks in detail.

6- Contemporary discourses are a function of interaction between Indigeneity against modernity:

Dehkhoda (1995) defines Indigeneity in close relation with one’s place-based ecology,

lineage, kinship and contextual social memberships. The concept of Indigeneity, in its

Persian sense, conveys spirituality and ecological literacy at the core of its meaning. Both

spirituality and ecological literacy are rooted in ontologies of the kinship guiding the

Indigenous particularity of a person. Although most of the Indigenous kinships have

engulfed Islamic ontologies throughout the religious history of Iran, some of these

kinships precede the Islamic era. Following or preceding the Islamic era, all kinships

180 have engulfed Islamic ontologies, traditions and practices in relation to their particular contexts and to various extents.

In the context of this study, the first participant defines Indigeneity in relation to kinship and religion. For this participant, Indigeneity is clearly apart from locality when the concept of Indigeneity is looked through a lens of kinships. On another note, Indigeneity, based on the first participant’s view, is vividly mixed with locality when interpreted in relation to religion. Immigration and localization, as two of the main arms of modernization in this context, are associated with harm to the participant’s Indigeneity and nature. The participant points to modernity as a new order imposed on traditional orders of Indigeneity and nature that used to live in balance before facing the new order called modernity.

The second participant defined Indigeneity in association with traditional knowledge, nature and agricultural tradition. This particular interpretation of Indigeneity is entangled with modernity and its offspring. Nasr (2014) explains that this approach to the concept of Indigeneity brings about discourses of modernity and globalization forces related to the modernity movement. The dynamics between the forces of Indigeneity and modernity situate them in relation to discourses of Orientalism. The second participant complains about a continuous goal-oriented and consistent disorder development in the realms of agriculture and nature in the history of the region. The second participant relates this so- called disorder development to the modernity movement in the context. She blames dis- placing immigration and irrelevant localization and agricultural industrialization as the main gears of modernization and technocracy. The second participant calls modernity

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“the disorder” in the process of destroying traditional orders such as culture, nature,

agriculture and religion.

The third participant defines Indigeneity in relation to kinship, community membership

and religion. He views over-consumption and modernity at the core of the gradual decay

of religion and Indigeneity in the region.

Therefore, Indigeneity in this context stands at the praxis of traditional knowledge,

kinship, nature, agricultural tradition, culture and religion. The dynamics between

Indigeneity and branches of modernity, such as localization and immigration, are at play

in shaping the contextual social forces and discourses. Hakimi (1998) describes how

modernity forces advance towards directions and goals opposed to place-based forces in a

context. Hakimi (1998) explains how contextual irrelevancy and displacement are at play

in modernity developments. Hakimi (1998) and Nasr (2007) call modernity a new order

of disorders and they describe that modernity and technocracy advance in the face of

orders of cosmos, nature and traditions.

5.7 Ethical Considerations

There were several ethical frameworks that preoccupied my mind in the process of interview as encounter. They include the following:

5.7.1 Context-based ethical frameworks

In addressing the ethical issues related to legalities within the context of study, Hall reminds researchers of cultural studies that laws are extensions of context based on contextual experiences, therefore laws and ethics are not transferrable across contexts through the process of research and it is essential to respect the laws and ethics of the context of study itself.

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Hall's theory of culture, as "the totality of human-environment transaction including extensions"

(p.192), negates the Cartesian mind-body dualism which, according to Hall, is a literary extension of traditional European history. Hall calls Western philosophies preoccupying extensions, conventions and explanations which have been taken for reality. Hall draws on

Whorf's notion of relativity between language structure and thought in emphasizing the role of context in the discursive formation of philosophies. It is essential for the researcher to look for context specific language structures associated with the topics of research in cultural studies. The meanings communicated through research will be a construct of internal and external contexting.

In this study, meaning attribution is one of the main approaches in constructing data from scripts and in analysing the data. The concepts and common words communicated by the participants are centred to construct themes and they are analysed in reference to Shia sources.

5.7.2 Language Structure Frameworks

 Language in its historical context

It is important to explore how contextual language perspectivizes reality and structures

constructs and transforms meanings (Fatemi, 2009). The language in the context of this study

is Farsi under the category of Persian language. Farsi is the primary spoken language for all

three participants in this study. In the case of the first participant, who is originally from

Afghanistan, Farsi with Dari dialect is her primary language of speaking and writing. Farsi is

the latesst version of ancient and middle Persian language common in Iran and Afghanistan,

and it was historically a more widely understood language common from the Middle East to

India. The abundance and distinction of poets and literary resources in the Persian language

preserved the classical Persian, which later was adopted as the scholarly and literary

language of the eastern Islamic nations. Extensive communication with Islam in literature in

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the Arabic language led to a significant influx of Arabic vocabulary into the the Persian

language. Significantly, in the realm of rituals and religious practices, Shia school of thought

preserved Arabic terms mostly in their Quranic forms.

In this study I, as the researcher/interviewer whose primary language is Farsi, encountered many of these terms during the interviews. These terms were identified as codes in the process of analysis, and they were described in reference to the recent version of Dehkhoda’s Farsi disctionary as the most cited local reference.

 Language in its structural context

Fatemi suggests noting Jung's notion of the significance of symbols. The unconscious and unknown meanings can be implied by symbols where signs designate visible, rational and known meanings. In studying the meanings communicated by signs, it is crucial to note that the sign does not necessarily communicate the signified, as meanings associated with the sign are discursively and dynamically constructed at the intersection of multiple altering parameters within a context (Fatemi, 2009). In studying meanings communicated within a context, it is also important to note that communicated realities do not confine within the realm of visible signs, and it is essential to study the symbols in order to explore multiple modes of existence and realities such as wisdoms and inspirations. Engaging with symbols leads to a polysemic understanding of meanings associated with the context (Fatemi, 2009). Fatemi suggests exploring contextual significations that are designated into the correlation between the signifier and the signified. Ricoeur (1991) warns the researcher of "the imperialism of the discourse of signs" (Fatemi, 2009), where the dominancy of an identified core meaning marginalizes other meanings associated with the sign. A symbol-oriented research can explore marginalized meanings salient in contemporary patterns of thinking such as poetry, arts and mythology. In

184 order to explore such patterns of thinking, one is required to pass beyond the intra-linguistic extensions towards the extra-linguistic realities discursively communicated through symbols

(Fatemi, 2009). Narrative is suggested as an appropriate reflective and critical methodological approach due to its high potential for expressiveness and shaping our perception of world.

Expressiveness constructs an interpretation of meanings and generation of imagination as knowledge. Narrativity raises our awareness of the constructs of the knowledge we are discursively creating in relation to context. Towards critical thinking, bringing other structures of language into the research narrative may introduce new contextual patterns of thinking.

In this study, signs are religious terms which act as codes to direct practice as a shared signifier in the context of Shia living based on Shia references of meaning making. I tried to explore the relationship between a sign and a signifier based on the structure of scripts in interviews and in reference to the main Iranian source of literacy dictionary, the Dehkhoda. At the same time, I have been aware of the authorities of sign and possible marginalized meanings which remained uncommunicated due to the limited spectrum of the study.

Another visit to the context and meeting with the participants for a triangulation of constructed data would do justice to the process of meaning making in regards to the concepts of sign and language structure. Due to the lack of accessibility for longitudinal approaches to data construction and analysis, this research can be identified as a starting point for future further explorations of the meanings and concepts in constructed converse towards knowledge making in the realm of context-based environmental ethics and ecological literacy.

In respect to addressing the important role of language structure in making meaning in a cultural context, some of the main interview questions were specifically designed to address such an

185 investigation. The signs and concepts that were explored by direct questions from the participants are as follows:

 This context in question 3.

 Ecology in question 4.

 Nature in question 5.

 Environment in question 6.

 Indigeneity in question 24.

 Indigenous technology in question 25.

 Rituals in question 26.

 Self-positionality in nature, in question 30.

5.7.3 Post-colonial ethical frameworks

Said points out that construction of central authority is the progressive strategy of Imperialism.

Knowledge management is regulated by the researcher situated in an Imperial authority who addresses the local concerns which, due to the discursive strategies of the central authority, are stemming from general concerns of the social authority (Said, 1978; Roger, 2004). Said points out that textual formulation is deeply rooted in authority of making knowledge about the written about and/or researched. The constructed authority is imposed on apprehension about the researched. One main concern in post colonial theory is associated with the closeness of

Imperial politics with this particular context of study, and it addresses the sensitive point of the likelihood that the information about the context may be put to political use toward progressive

Imperialism. Abdel Malek (1971) characterises the political structure of Orientalism as an

Imperial one. He identifies constitutive otherness and thematic essentialism, including ethnic

186 typology, as foundational characteristics of the Imperial structure of Orientalism (Said,1978), and the current Imperial post-1950s racism towards the Islamic context of the Middle East. In this study, addressing the issues of power and privilege are at the centre of ethical considerations throughout the process of conceptualization, research design and interpretation and analysis, as well as any use of the research data for publication after the research.

In this study, the methodological approaches in constructing interview questions and the research design have adopted an eco-theological framework which centralizes the context’s religion as the cultural instruction for the researcher to make meaning of the context. On the other hand, the references of knowledge construction are based on contextual sources of the Qur’an, Hadith and

Dehkhida. In the process of analysis, a neo-colonial lens has been applied in order to deconstruct

Oriental authorities of meaning making about this context.

Mutahhari (1982) emphasizes the importance of centralizing Islamic ethics throughout studies in

Islamic contexts and in studies in relation to Islamic concepts. Mutahhari (1982) names the concepts of Halal and Hijab as such ethical considerations. Regarding the concept of Halal, this study maintains a sensitive consideration of consent rights, which requires a contextual precise investigation of the ethical codes of conducting research depending on each contemporary context. Regarding the concept of the Hijab, this study maintains a careful consideration of each participant’s right to privacy and the hijab during interviews, taking photos as well as data analysis and coding. Said (1978) identifies a gap in well-researched identification and the conduct of Islamic ethics in relation to their particular contexts.

This particular and sensitive segment of the study is to be explored, designed and articulated specific to each context. This segment requires the researcher to be in the field in order to co- construct this domain of ethics in communication with the people of each context.

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In constructing a culturally centered methodology, Tillman (2002) proposes a non-linear process- based approach to the context. Tillman’s methodology includes five folds, such as culturally congruent methods including qualitative methods such as interviews and collecting life-histories in the context. The second fold is called a culturally specific knowledge, which includes documenting the experiences of people. The third fold is called a cultural resistance to theoretical dominance, which means recognizing the power asymmetries of those with links to or out of context power structures. The fourth fold is called culturally sensitive data interpretations, which include storytelling and narratives. The fifth fold advocates a contextually and culturally informed theory and practice.

In this study, as this research is affiliated with a Western modern university, and neo-colonial critics warn about the possible authorities vesting in directing research towards exploitation of the context, I as the researcher decided to conduct the research based on using my own financial sources, and never applied for a source of funding or scholarship from the university in order to avoid implicit agendas or imposed objectives onto my research process.

Shia Islamic conceptions of ecological literacy are constructs of Shia ontological foundations which depict humanism intact dependability to maintain a balanced relationship with nature as a major segment of cosmic life. This study identifies powerful literacy concepts in relation to environmental ethics, which can provide a practical and integrated approach to environmental ethics.

On the other hand, this study identifies place as encompassing pedagogy in shaping emancipations of cultural curriculum instructions in people’s lives.

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It is noteworthy that these people’s practices are direct and indirect functions of their worldviews with reference to their religious ethics of living. These instructions are taught and learned in their cultural modes of education, including rituals, stories, festivities and religious literary texts.

This study identifies major differences between the dominant conception of humanism and these people’s concept of humanism, being and living. It is essential to explore and visit existing trans- historical realities in order to re-conceptualize humanism in the realm of environmental ethics.

Drawing on Phenomenological Accounts in Brief

Paley (2017) states that a phenomenological approach can be included as a methodological approach in social studies and case studies.

The focus of this study is on the lived experiences of the participants in a particular context. The philosophical approach in this study does not include phenomenology due to the priority of the researcher in centralizing other philosophical frameworks discussed in the literature review chapter. Meanwhile, the characteristics of this study may nominate this research for further approaches including phenomenological ones.

Paley suggests “meaning attribution” (Paley, 2017, p. 3) as an effective strategy to include phenomenology in a methodological approach in order to connect to the lived meanings discussed by the study participants. Paley (2017) states that such an approach may assist in understanding the transformation of meaning into text by the researcher. On another note, a phenomenological analysis supports the researcher towards exploring the essence of meaning beyond its existential morphs (Giorgi, 2006; Paley, 2017). Muttahari (1982) explains that a phenomenological analysis may be included as a methodological approach in Islamic studies.

Muttahari (1982) explains that in Islamic philosophy every essence is bound in its existential

189 being, and it has the contingency to multiple becomings; therefore, a phenomenological approach can reveal some structural realities about a manifested truth.

In this study, the analysis process adopts an interpretive approach. The data is collected using interview and field notes techniques. I have adopted a facilitative stance during the conduct of interviews. The process of data collection does not lead to test a particular hypothesis, and this strategy is maintained during analysis. In the phenomenological segment in the analysis chapter,

I have tried to make sense of the participants’ attempt to make meaning of their lived experiences. The data construction maintains a bottom-up approach where I have generated codes based on the given data. In the phenomenological segment, I have annotated the transcripts for shared perspectives on meaning attribution. The phenomenological patterns are constructed based on the meaning attribution annotations and codes. In the segment of analysis, I have tried to balance referenced interpretations with phenomenological accounts.

In the phenomenological interpretive analysis in this study, interpretations tend to focus on meanings based on the perspectives of research participants. The phenomenological accounts tend to focus on language and meaning attribution in the interviews as social phenomena. As a characteristic of interpretive analysis, the process of analysing occurs simultaneously within data collection.

This interpretive approach maintains a theoretical sampling strategy in which the research sites and participants are selected based on the researcher’s decision about their suitability based on the phenomenon being explored. Due to the interpretive characteristic of this study, the researcher is considered as part of the social phenomenon, despite her struggle to maintain a neutral stance during the data collection and analysis. This struggle is reflected in the analysis segment of writings. Interpretations are holistic and context-based while including language and

190 meaning making. A systematic approach is maintained in data construction based on transparent data collection.

The process of interpretation and analysis is not limited to a phase following data collection, but it is an implicit process woven within the constructive threadings of the whole process of the study guided by the resarcher’s ontological positinality, the theoretical perspectives and the methods leading the meanings and knowings throughout the study (Kumar, 2003). Drawing on

Paley’s (2017) concept of meaning attribution, I made an attempt to document the experience of encounter in the lived experience of interviews, in order to grasp a brief perspective on the complex processes of meaning making between the interviewee and myself during the experience (Refer to Appendix 1, Field Notes).

191

CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The process of this study guides me to conclude that this journey has revealed several points regarding the environmental ethics in the living culture of Shia people in villages surrounding

Shia temples in Fashapouyeh in the town of Ray, just south of Tehran city.

One prominent point concluded from this study indicates that Shia Religious and ecological- environmental health practices are not mutually exclusive. This finding implies that the Shia understanding of life is in close relation with understanding the order of nature. The practices emerging from such an understanding include and follow high degrees of environmental ethics

(Hakimi, 1982, Nasr, 2014). In the realm of education, the findings confirm that religion should be the central core in framing education (Nehru, 1942, Nasr, 2007) for Shia contexts in order to be responsive to people’s inquiries. The findings imply that research in Shia context challenges fundamental biases which Said’s strategies of encounter warn of (Said, 1978, Nasr, 2007).

On another note, Shia religious and ecological-environmental health practices are socio- culturally situated. This finding implies that current dominant conceptualizations of sustainability and their articulating deviants in policy making strategies, with the economy and modern development at their core, are not capable of dealing with the socio-cultural complexities of Shia contexts. Therefore, sustainability education based on its dominant modern ontologies cannot be implemented in such contexts. It is important to note that based on the finding in this study, religion defines the sustainable order of life in these contexts, and its erasure will result in environmental and consequent ecological harm in these contexts.

192

The findings in this study challenge the current concept of ecological literacy and its foundational preoccupations of nature, the environment, cosmos citizenship, balance and specifically the notion of literacy. This study reveals that literacy can obtain a broad spectrum of meanings, including consciousness about the order of nature. In this context, environmental ethics is an integral consciousness of Shia daily life, including religious practices and rituals.

Therefore, religion is the source of literacy required for living in balance with nature. This finding challenges current approaches used to conceptualize ecological literacy as well as sustainability education.

It is noteworthy here that religion is a complex cultural extension in the Shia context, where people live with no boundaries between their religion and their environmental literacy and their education and learning. Environmental consciouseness and environmental education are conveyed within Shia religious practices.

In the realm of Indigenous ethics, this study provides implications for redefining the notion of

Indigeneity in Shia contexts in association with life and being based on the order of nature. The order of nature is defined by ontological instruction of religion in this context. The findings suggest situating ontological approaches at the core of Indigenous studies in a relevant context.

It is important to note that the environmental ethics practiced by the people in this context are grounded in Shia Islamic religion, but they interestingly align with some ecological ethical principles such as concepts of holism, regulation towards balance, and intrinsic value in nature.

Shia Islamic environmental ethics advocate for a particular view of nature, including cosmic citizenship and a non-instrumentalism, which challenges the ontological principles at the core of

Environmental Education structured by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

193

Organisation -UNESCO. The findings in this study support Rolston’s (2012) call for a new environmental ethics grounded in the trajectory of contemporary religions and science.

Here, the study’s processes, including application of methods and articulation of theories relevant to the context under the study, may provide fruitful implications for other context-based studies, including investigation of context-based cultural positions in understanding contemporary versions of environmentalism and ecological ethics. This study exemplifies an ontological investigation of environmental understandings from other non-Western cultural positions.

In the realm of language literacy, this study suggests situating traditional language understanding at the core of any examination of traditional knowledges and rituals. The process of understanding language raises the importance of the role of culture in high contexts (Hall, 1992).

The findings in this study provide new perspectives on conceptualizing ecological literacy in relation to ontological approaches to contemporary cultures. The findings challenge dominant conceptualizations of ecological literacy grounded in secular ontologies. The findings confirm

Nasr’s (2014) critique of historicism situating current dominant modern humanism at the core of conceptualizations of ecology.

In the neo-colonial realm of knowledge, the findings challenge the corporate pro-globalization approaches to the concept of sustainability and its discourses of power. The findings suggest teaching sustainability as a way of life grounded in contextual ontologies.

The findings challenge educational approaches to the concept of other and otherness, as this study focuses on one group of Moslem people in Iran whose environmental ethics have

194 significant educational standpoints to share in environmental discourses. This approach confirms

Said’s critiques of Orientalism and Oriental authorities of representation.

This research does not formulate a process with which to approach an Indigenous, minority or

Orientally-stereotyped community. But it rather offers the processes of theorizing, designing, analyzing and indexing research in relation with notions of place and context. In addressing the questions which guided the overall inquiry of this research, the following points are noteworthy:

1- Theme one indicates that ethics of religion are the governing grounds for Shia attitudes

towards nature. The constructs of this theme show how Shia Islamic conceptions of

nature, environment and ecology are grounded in Shia ontologies defined by religion.

Therefore, theme one relates to the overall inquiry guided by the second research

question. The analysis of theme one explicitly explains how Shia ontologies influence

Shia attitudes towards nature.

2- Theme three indicates that the Shia conception of humanism governs Shia

conceptualizations and Shia attitudes towards nature. The constructs of this theme

respond to the overall inquiry guided by the third research question.

3- Theme five indicates that key calendar markers, as an important soci-cultural element of

the context, regulate contemporary modes of education in this context. This theme relates

to the overall inquiry guided by question number four.

4- Theme five also indicates that the regulating socio-cultural element of the calendar is a

prominent mode of teaching and learning about ecological literacy in this context. This

point relates theme five to the question five.

It is noteworthy that drawing on Qur’anic references for interpretations was beyond the scope of this study. On the other hand, it is also a methodological response to the narrative approach in

195 this study that the researcher merely draws on Qur’an and Hadith references mentioned by the research participants.

Delimitations of the Study

Delimitations in this study include the population of the participants, the particularity of participants, variables including languages, places and references, and the focus of the research which has formulated the processes of design, methodological approaches and analysis.

One parameter of population includes randomness. On the other hand, the female identity of the researcher facilitated encounter with female participants in gender stratified places such as temples. One other parameter of population includes the particularity of the nominees based on their self identification as Shia persons. Other variables include choosing Farsi as the language of communication with the participants during the research conduct processes. One important variable is the place chosen for conducting this study as it is settled by farmers and/or religious people. The resources for examination of meanings have been bound to local, Shia references in the Farsi language. The positionality of the researcher, and the research frameworks in theorizing a critical approach to ecological literacy and environmental ethics, have defined the boundaries of study in this approach. On the other hand, similar to any other research, methodological choices here have constructed meanings conversed in producing the knowledge emerging from this study.

Limitations of the Study:

There were only a few people who volunteered to participate in this study. Therefore, the findings are limited to those who participated in the study. In other words, the insights cannot be generalised, but instead offer insights that would cause others elsewhere to examine their own

196 local contexts. Throughout this research study, I made decisions about what to do and when, what data to collect and what to ignore, and what lens to bring to my analysis. I acknowledge that during the conduct of this type of research, personal bias is inevitable (Glaser, 1992;

Janesick, 2004; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Hence my study’s findings are influenced by my own beliefs and experiences associated with the research context. While I was aware of these influences and recognized this limitation, I endeavoured to make my account of the contextual experience as real and as unbiased as possible.

197

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Field Notes

Identity destinations:

Departing from Vancouver in Canada and landing in Tehran includes a complex process of layered morphing into different stances of time, place and power. From the first moments of departing to my homeland, time sits in a constant position of comparison with a different but parallel concept of time happening in Tehran. Saturday of the week shifts into the first day of the week in the Solar Hijri calendar, and other ritualistic activities of a daily schedule replace my ordinary Canadian rituals of making meaning of time throughout the day. The spaces and images of coastal rainforest, vested in symbols and agendas of modernity, morph into landscapes of mountains surrounding innocent valleys and flat open ranges. I gradually depart from the strategic absenteeism imposed on my identity, and gently become visible, and gradually I become bold and colorful. The propagated identity of one arrived from the West perpetuates senses of power in the midst of the history-made Oriental gaze. And I don’t happen to lose this title of power as I soon head to do research in the shoes of one researcher from the West.

The research site is on the outskirts of Tehran in the county of Ray. The research site is accessible for me and it possess all the characteristics of particularity for my approach to explore the topic of this study. Such characteristics are as follows:

- Being the main agricultural site in the region nominates this place for explorations of environmental ethics and cultural environmental rituals and practices. - This place is central in Shia history because of its multiple Shia communities, Shia temples and Shia resources.

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Arriving at Fashapouyeh, Ray:

On a warm spring morning, I departed from the city of Tehran and I took the Persian Gulf highway towards the old road to the city of Ghom. I entered Ray and continued to Fashapouyeh county in Southern Ray. I arrived at Hasan Abad village.

i. Hasan Abad village: The houses are one-story traditional Kah-gel cottages with wooden doors. The multiplicity of stable structures reveals the pastoral characteristic of the village besides its vast farm lands. Children are playing soccer in the village square and approach me when I park the car in the shade of Zabangonjeshk trees. I ask them where the village community center is and they give me directions to the Imam-zadeh code, Peace be Upon Him, Temple next to the village community, Deh-yari, center.

The children play, deliberately joyful in the neighborhood. Some of the children seem to be Afghan as I know that this region had a significant population of Afghan immigrants. Their voices are in harmony with sounds of pigeons and whispers of wind swirling in the vast open range.

Imam-zadeh code (P.U.H):

I recognize the monument far from the road. I park the car and walk the distance. The breeze is refreshing and I walk towards the mountain direction where the river used to be. I approach the temple while a family watches me stepping forward. The guardian of the temple is the Afghan Shia family, who are kind and hospitable. The family knows a couple of Afghan Shia families who come to the temple very often and have immigrated to Iran to find Shia communities.

The temple is located at the dead-end of a runway from the main road connecting Hasan-Abad village to the next village. The temple is in the middle of a windy open range, facing the mountains of Ray from the north and farm lands of Ray from the south. The temple is made of Kahgel tiles. The temple is above the surface of the ground and reached by three wide stairs. The entrance is a hallway without walls and is surrounded by soft sofas for pilgrims to rest on. This characteristic is unique to this temple and designed by the Afghan family. The gates to the interior space are wooden doors open wide and the interior space is separated from the hallway by clean green velvet curtains.

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I step into the doorway, and the ritual center, zareeh, is there, in the middle of a small square room. The zarih is made of metal and all the flowers on top of the shrine are artificial. All four walls are decorated with holy verses, prayers and green and gold fabrics. There is one small window facing the mountains in the north side of the monument. The smell of Golaab has filled the air, mixed with smells of metal, paper and Kahgel.

I stayed in the temple and watched people commuting until the sunrise prayer time when two of the Afghan families came to the temple for their daily prayers. The guardians introduced me to both families. One of the families, who had left Afghanistan because of Afghanistan’s unsafe situation for Shia communities, refused to take part in the interview for a foreign university institution. They were concerned about the political issues at play. The other family was interested in taking part in the interview because they liked how the study is related to Shia thought and nature.

Interview number one:

The first interview takes place at Imam-zadeh code. It is night time when all the family members gather at their resident next to the temple. I hand them the consent forms and sit to answer their questions about the research. I explain the process in plain words in Farsi and they all understand Farsi as their second language. The family with a couple of children guard the shrine. The family who takes care of the shrine states that they have chosen such a way of living close to such a holy place in order to serve Imam Mahdi, the twelfth Imam of Shia belief. The refugee family is originally from Afghanistan and they insist that they have true Shia belief and practice, and they are living according to the Quran and Hadith. They choose the mother of the family, who is a young woman with a typical Heratian face who speaks Farsi with an Afghan accent. All nine members of the family, including aunts and uncles of the family, witness the interview process. The answers to the interview are in Farsi and I translated the answers three months later in Autumn. The original scripts and translations are attached in the relevant chapters.

Next morning, we sat for a humble breakfast at the Shrine’s gate in the midst of a sunny 21- degree centigrade spring day. At around 9am, I left the temple and continued to the next village. I took the right road out of Hasan Abad to the village of Sheikh-Kolain.

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ii. Sheikh-Kolain village: The ruins of the old village were spread into the open ranges with merging farm lands. A huge water-reservoir, Ab-anbaar, was standing in the ruins. The only monument, surrounded by tall trees standing in a huge green garden, was the Sheikh-e-Kolain-i temple. This temple belonged to the father of Sheikh Abu Jafar Mohammad ibn-e Yaghoob ibn-e Eshagh Razi, known as father of Sheikh-Kolain. Sheikh Kolain, 258 Lunar Hijri- 328 Lunar Hijri, was a prominent Shia scholar and the author of the reference book of Al-Kafi, the Hadith collection and the encyclopedia to the Shia Hadith. Sheikh Kolain was influenced by his father and mentor, Sheikh Yaghoob-e Kolain-i.

The temple is located at the entrance of the ruins of the Kolain village. The temple is built in the middle of a funeral garden whose oldest gravestone dates back a century. There are numerous birds in the garden. There are bird nests all over the monument building, which indicate the scarcity of the temple visitors and the availability of water in the garden. There are two large pools in front of the temple building. The building is made of cement and traditional tiles. The monument is simple with no decorations and the aesthetics of the space consists of the nature of the garden with its numerous colorful residents, including birds and insects. I climbed up the few stairs and entered the temple doorway. The door was closed. I picked one of the colorful chadors (a one-piece overall scarf used for covering up the hijab). I sat at the doorway waiting for a guardian to show up so I could enter the temple. A middle-aged woman in chador appeared from the garden entrance and approached the temple. She had a couple of food containers in her cloth bag. She arrived at the doorway, we said hi and she offered one of the containers to me. She said “this is nazri (food or drink given out to people for charity devoted to a holy place or person on specific holy days)”. I realized that it happens to be Thursday, which is a holy day to give out Nazri before Friday, the Islamic weekend. I took the food container and thanked her as I said “God bless you”. She reached for the door handle and opened the door. I realized the temple has no guardian on site and the door is always open from dawn to dusk every day. I entered the building, which has a large room as its interior. Sheikh’s grave is situated in the middle of the room under a glass cube. The room is scented with jasmine and the sun shines straight through the south facing windows. The bees are heard in the silence of the room. I looked up and saw the spider nets in the corners of the high ceiling. I felt I liked to pray in that unique genuine silence. It is easy to find Qibla (Islamic prayer direction) as the Sheikh’s burial place is angled right to

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Qibla like all other Muslim burials. The room is decorated with flags depicting holy symbols and verses. The woman was reading the Quran and I sat next to her. She smiled at me and we started a conversation which continued for an hour and led to the interview in the garden.

Interview number two: At the temple of Sheikh Kolain, we sat in the garden, in the middle of graves, and close to the water pool where the farmer lady, who identified herself as local and Indigenous to the region, started her conversation with the story of the evacuation of the village in 1356 Solar Hijri (1978 A.D). She consistently described that she is in love with her lady Bibi Fatemeh Zahra, the daughter and the only child of Prophet Mohammad. After saying her sunset prayers, we sat at the temple’s doorway in the beautiful garden, and I handed the Farsi consent form to her. The interview took several hours as she answered each question through depicting a narrative of the story of her life and belief.

It was dusk time when she generously answered the last question and invited me to meet her family at their house. People started coming to the temple and a young Mulla (religious teacher) arrived to lead the prayers at dusk. The lady introduced me to the Mulla. He told me to stay for a chat after the prayers. We went for Vozu and the prayers. After the prayers, I described my research and showed him the English and Farsi consent forms. The young mulla, who was one of the few who come to the village for religious service, accepted to participate in the study and he explained that on Friday an environmental activist would come to document the Sheikh’s garden species. I drove to the village community center and I stayed there overnight.

The morning of Friday, I woke up with rooster songs and I went straight to the Sheikh’s temple. I walked in the garden and read the stories and poems of people engraved on their graves. Birds were singing and flowers were scattering their kind smell into the space. A middle-aged man arrived from the garden gate and approached me. The gentleman was the environmental activist. Our conversation took several hours and was rich in content about the region, its species and the role of religion in conserving species resources in this place. Unfortunately, the gentleman opted out of the study six months later in Autumn. He called my cellphone and briefly explained that he had thought about the consequences of sharing local information with a North American institution and had decided not to participate in such a study, whose outcomes are unknown and might bring harm to the Shia community in that region or somewhere else. I respectfully deleted

225 the interview file on my recorder and deleted the relevant interview transcription file on my computer.

Nine months later, I received a call from the mulla through which he asked me to opt him out of the study and delete the interview file on my recorder. He apologized profusely, stating that he trusts me and my intention but he is very doubtful about the institution I’m affiliated with. He asked me to accept his apology and Halal him for the time, hope and energy that I had consumed on the interview with him.

iii. Kushk village: On that Friday, I left the Sheikh’s garden at noon and continued East side towards Kushk village. The village is evacuated and now literally a meadow area of multiple isolated shrines, one of which is the Ayyub and Yush shrine, located over the hills in the highest region of Kushk area. The shrine is well maintained and fresh flowers ascent the two holy tombs. In the foothills, there are other shrines, some of which are completely ruined with few remaining elements to indicate the identity of their relative tombs. One shrine-guardian approached me and I realized that besides being local to the village and resisting joining the crowd of immigrants from the village, he’s been guarding the shrines for years and he has been writing the history of the region according to his own witnessing experience. He referred me to a temple guardian author who is knowledgeable of the region, the geography and the history of this place.

iv. Khanlagh village: Interview number three:

I arrived at Khanlagh village, a few kilometers away from Kushk. The gentleman code who is the guardian of temple code is very eager to take part in the interview and volunteers to share his narratives in the form of answers to the interview questions. The temple is among multiple temples located at the end of the Kushk road. Kushk was evacuated long ago and the remnants of the village still reflect its beauty in the play of lights at sunset. We sat for several hours and the interview was over when people were arriving for dusk prayers. But before the interview, he had a few questions that he would like to ask me before signing the Farsi consent form. The questions of the third participant and my answers to those questions are documented in the Appendices.

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After receiving answers from the researcher, the third participant chose to sign the consent forms and welcomed my interview.

It was nine at night when I left the temples, their holy land and the beautiful green farms of Ray, when I drove straight to Tehran after three full days of observation and interviews.

Phenomenological accounts in brief for supporting thick descrition:

The phenomenological approach in this study is inspired by Paley’s (2017) concept of meaning attribution in constructing text from oral interviews. Accordingly, I have focused on two abstract stages of meaning attribution throughout the process of data construction. These include the interviewee’s attempt to make meaning of the concept in converse, and the researcher’s attempt to make meaning of the conversed concept in the process of transforming words to text.

The phenomenon is the interviewee’s lived experience of encountering the interview questions mainly themed about the concept of nature. The act of choosing interviewees is a lived experience of encountering for the researcher, who goes after the moments of encounter in an unplanned three-day trip to the context, in search of various modalities of encountering such lived experience.

The random encounters occur in temples, and whether in a temple’s garden or prayer room, it interrupts a lived experience. The lived experience is guarding a temple (in the case of participant 1), praying (in the case of participant 2), and running a shrine (in the case of participant 3), and the interview is being taken into their living moments.

Nature of interview encounter as a lived experience:

The first interview:

I had a typical appearance in its Iranian urban sense, wearing a dark blue uniform and a black scarf, when we met. She appeared in a black uniform and shawl, we shook hands and started to chat simply after the encounter. We sat and I positioned my seat in an attending and relaxed manner. My challenge in communication with her was my inherent formality which could get in

227 our way, and I struggled to avoid it. It was the first interview and I had preunderstandings about the context and its people, based on my previous short and rushed visits to the place.

The following characteristics were notable for me during the interview experience when both the interviewee and I, as the interviewer, were trying to make meaning of the concepts in converse:

In the case of the participant one:

 The first participant approaches the interview questions in a narrative manner. She elaborately describes her life history.  She attempts to make meaning of questions in relation to her immigrant identity, while she draws on her dual citizenship.  She pluralizes her statements as if she is answering on behalf of her family members who have accompanied her throughout her immigration journey.  She makes meaning of concepts in relation to her religious and family ethics of living.  The definition of identity for her has powerful compartments, but I find her feeling powerless before me. Her quick and defensive responses somehow give me the feeling of an interrogator questioning one’s immigration ideology. The only instances when she feels more powerful are the moments she speaks about her honors in fulfilling her religious duties, prayers and rituals, as well as her responsibilities of womanhood.  She centralizes economy in making meaning of her narrative.  She avoids political discussion.  Her Shia role-model is the twelfth Imam, and she makes meaning of life with the goal of respecting the ethics of this leader.

The second interview:

I was wearing the temple’s uniform when I met the second participant. Both of us looked alike in the temple’s uniform; therefore, the boundaries of appearance somehow were not able to interfere in our encounter. We prayed together and sat for a chat in the temple’s garden where I invited her to participate in the study. During the interview, my senses convinced me that we were communicating smoothly.

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The following characteristics were notable for me during the interview experience when both the interviewee and I, as the interviewer, were trying to make meaning of the concepts in converse:

In the case of participant two:

 The second participant approaches the interview questions in an activist manner. She elaborately protests in defense of the environment, Indigeneity and traditional agriculture.  She attempts to make meaning of questions in relation to her occupation as a traditional farmer, while she draws on her strength as a woman.  She makes meaning of concepts in relation to her religious and work ethics.  I find her feeling powerful and confident before me, as I listen to her knowledgeable and critical responses.  She centralizes environmentalism in making meaning of her narrative.  She draws on political perspectives to communicate the meanings.  Her Shia role-model is the daughter of the Prophet, and she makes meaning of life with the goal of respecting her character and pedagogy.

The third interview:

We met in a formal manner, and we sat for a formal conversation about the interview. The participant seemed doubtful and asked me a couple of questions before trusting me enough to step into the study as a participant. I felt comfortable with his questions and I tried to answer them as honestly as I could. Meanwhile, I watched my hijab to avoid being disrespectful.

In the case of the third participant:

 The third participant approaches the interview questions in a narrative manner. He is knowledgeable of the history of this context.  He attempts to make meaning of questions in relation to his historically informed activism.  He makes meaning of concepts in relation to the concept of water in this context.  He centralizes water conservation in making meaning of his narrative.  He draws on historical and political perspectives to communicate the meanings.

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 His Shia role-model is the martyred third Imam, and he makes meaning of life with the goal of respecting this Imam’s epic.  He replies in poetics.

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Appendix 2 Interview Questions

INTERVIEWS Interview Sheet

Title of the study: Ecological Literacy, Environmental Ethics and Contextual Conceptions of Education: The case of Shia people of Fashapooyeh village, Tehran County, Iran

Interview Questions:

Understandings and practices associated with ecology: 1. How do you interpret ecology? 2. How do you interpret nature? 3. What is your understanding of environment? 4. What do you do to nature? 5. What do you do to the environment?

How are nature and place associated? 6. Where is here? Interrelationships of nature and religion, particularly in relation to environmental concerns: 7. How are you in relation with nature?

8. How are you in relation with the environment?

9. How is your life affecting nature?

10. How is your life affecting the environment?

11. What does the Quran say about nature?

12. What do Hadith say about nature?

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13. What is your religious responsibility towards nature?

Ecological ways of living in relation to cultural, social, economic, historical and political practices: 14. How is your social life affecting nature? 15. How is your economic life affecting nature? 16. How is your political life affecting nature? Daily teachings and learning about ecological practices:

17. How do you learn about nature?

18. How do you learn what to do towards nature?

19. What does your Indigenous traditional knowledge teach you about nature?

20. What does your traditional technology do towards nature?

21. What are some religious rituals in relation to nature?

22. How are those rituals related to nature?

23. How did you learn them?

24. How are they taught?

25. How do you locate yourself in relation to the environment?

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Appendix 3 Interview Answers in Farsi

مصاحبۀ اول:

پاسخها:

1- ما یه خانوادۀ افغان هستیم. سال 89 آمدیم ایران. از کابل آمدیم. کابل بسیار جنگزده بود. ما امنیت نداشتیم و آمدیم ری نزد خویشان ما. شیعۀ 12 امامی هستیم و عاشق امام زمان )عَجّل هللا َتعالی فرجَُه الشریف(. از ظلم و ستم زمانه آمدیم ایران که هم همسایۀ افغانستانه هم شیعه در آن جای امن و آسایش داره. همه گفتند ری اینجا در جوار امامزادههای حسین و اسماعیل و خانوم بیبی خاتون هم کار هست هم آسایش. فقیر بودیم آمدیم اینجا گرانیِ شهرها را نداشت و مردمش کشاورز و دامدار است. آمدیم که زمین کشاورزی اجاره کنیم و صیفيجات بکاریم. ما زنهای افغان صنایع دستی را خوب بلد هستیم. وقتی آمدیم امامزاده حسین چند خانواده شدیم و اینجا متولی میخواست چون متولی قبل آن پیر شده بود و ما برای امامزاده پرده دوختیم و ساختمان را دوباره درست کردیم. مردها بنایی کردند و ما چون کارت قانونی مهاجر افغان داشتیم اینجا سازمان اوقاف ما را استخدام به متولی امامزاده کرد. خودمان چند خانواده اینجا را خانه ساختیم و امامزاده عشق ماست. محبت دارد و ما در پناه امامزادهایم. اینجا برای ما همانجاست که موعود امام زمان میآید و مردم افغانستان را از ظلم و ستم نجات میدهد. هر جمعه ما زنان به زیارت بیبی خاتون میرویم و نذر داریم برای ظهور آقا اما زمان. با قناعت زندگی میکنیم اّما روزی حالل درمیآوریم. زبان مشترک با مردم منطقه داریم. خیلی از مردم منطقه مهاجر شدند به تهران و شهرهای دیگر بزرگ. روستاها متروک شدند. ما عضو تعاونی مسجد حسنآباد هستیم و تعاونی خیلی کمکدست و کمکحال ماست. ما اینجا میمانیم چون برای ما مثل افغانستان است. به امامزاده ِدین داریم و پسرها اگر خواستند بلوغ که شدند میتوانند خودشان انتخاب کنند. همۀ خویشان ما مهاجر شدند به اینجا. دخترها که همینجا میمانند انشاءهللا. 2- ما بیشتر همان آداب و رسوم افغان خودمان را داریم. مادرهامان به ما همین را یاد دادند و ما یاد داریم از آنها. آداب و رسوم آشپزی ما همان افغانی است اّما آداب و رسوم حجابمان مثالً عوض شده. بیشتر ایرانی شده. به خاطر منطقه و مسجد که میرویم. آداب و رسوم

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زیارتمان هم افغانی است هم ایرانی شده. هرچه یاد بگیریم اجرا میکنیم و آدابی هم از پدر و مادر شیعه به ما یاد دادند که یاد داریم. آداب و رسوم خانوادۀ ما از این نظر که زن افغان هستم با زن ایرانی خیلی فرق دارد. هر دو مسلمان و هر دو شیعه و زن هستیم اّما وظایف زن افغان فرق دارد. زن افغان باید هنرهای دستی را همه را بداند مثل خامهدوزی و پرده دوزی و گلدوزی و همۀ خیاطی خانه با زن افغان است. پردههای امامزاده را ما زنان خودمان دوختیم و رومبلیهای درگاه امامزاده را گلدوزی کردیم. روسریها و دامنهایمان را خودمان میدوزیم و خامهدوزی میکنیم. هم قناعت است هم هنر ما زنان افغان است. آداب و رسوم تربیت فرزندان هم افغانیست. ما به پسرها بیشتر از دخترها سخت میگیریم چون باید در آینده مرد خانواده باشند. زن خیلی حرمت دارد در خانوادۀ ما افغان ها. 3- اینجا امامزاده ... هست در روستایی در حسنآباد از توابع فشاپویه شهرستان ری. اینجا آب و هوای دشت دارد، روزها معتدل و شبها سرد است. اینجا آب زیادی دارد و چشمهها قدیم بیشتر بودند. اآلن قنات داریم و آب لولهکشی. اینجا بیشتر زمینهای کشاورزی است که کشاورزی دیم و آبیاری قطرهای دارند. برای ما اینجا ایران است اّما چون شیعه هستند و امامزادۀ کلینی شیعه نزدیک ما هستند برای ما اینجا مثل وطن است. اینجا آقا امام زمان میآیند. 4- بومشناسی یعنی چی؟ مصاحبه کننده: بومشناسی یعنی اقلیم و آب و هوا و گیاهان و جانوران مخصوص منطقه. 4- اینجا آب و هوا شبیه کابل نیست. اینجا خیلی سرسبزتر است. طبیعت خوب و زیبایی دارد. میوه و سبزیجات به خاطر حضور جالیزات خیلی ارزانتر و فراوانتر است. از نظر حیوانات هم شغال و گرگ و مار دارد که ما نگران فرزندانمان میشویم. خارپشت دارد که حاللگوشت نیست. قبالً هم گراز و آهو داشته که همه را شکار کردهاند. 5- طبیعت یعنی زیبایی. طبیعت یعنی آفریدۀ خداوندگار. ما زن و مرد افغان طبیعت را خیلی دوست داریم. زیبایی طبیعت به مرد افغان الهام شعر و نغز میدهد و به زن افغان الهام خامهدوزی و گلدوزی و فرشبافی. طبیعت بزرگترین و کاملترین آفریدۀ خداوند است. 6- محیطزیست یعنی پاکیزگی محیط اطراف را رعایت کنیم. زباله نریزیم. پالستیک را مصرف نکنیم. اسراف نکنیم. حیوانات را آزار نرسانیم. کاغذ را اسراف نکنیم. 7- ما عاشق طبیعت هستیم. به طبیعت احترام میگذاریم چون آفریدۀ خدا است. 8- ما طبق اسالم رفتار میکنیم مثالً اسراف نمیکنیم، به حیوانات آزار نمیرسانیم، درخت میکاریم، گلها و درختها را سیراب مـیکنیم، شاخۀ درخت را نمـیشکنیم چون

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گناه است. آلوده نمـیکنیم. در پاکیزگی میکوشیم و به فرزندان هم همینها را یاد میدهیم. 9- ما افغانها خیلی طبیعت را دوست داریم چون افغانستان درون طبیعت است و ما همه با توجه به طبیعت روزها و شبهایمان را میگذرانیم. در کودکی چون زندگی شهری نداشتیم، همۀ روزهایمان از صبح که با صدای خروس بیدار میشدیم و باید به مرغ و خروسهایمان غذا میدادیم با طبیعت سروکار داشتیم تا غروب که باید مرغ و خروسهایمان را جا میکردیم. به خاطر داشتن مرغ و خروس و بوقلمون همیشه به حیوانات منطقه توجه میکردیم. به پوشش علف و گیاهها دقت داشتیم چون سبزی و میوه میکاشتیم. از وقتی به امامزاده در ایران آمدیم متولی که شدیم خیلی کم کار ما با طبیعت ارتباط دارد. به همین دلیل که کمبود داشتیم از نظر روحی و فکری، کفترهای امامزاده را آوردیم. آخر امامزاده ... دوستدار پرندگان بودهاند و گنبد ایشان را هم مثل حضرت رضا علیهالسالم با کفتر ُپر کردیم. امامزاده برای نوروز و گالبگیری تابستان و شب یلدا حال و هوای طبیعت به خود میگیرد. - مصاحبه کننده: میشه توضیح بدید که اینها چه هستند؟ - پاسخ: نوروز که تحویل سال نوی خورشیدی در آخر زمستان است و آغاز بهار، از یکماه قبل از نوروز ما اینجا درختکاری میکنیم و بذر نو برای میوه و سبزیجات تهیه میکنیم. لباس نو برای خودمان و فرزندانمان میدوزیم و کفش و گالش نو میخریم. برای زیارت اهل قبور نذری میپزیم و آمادۀ بهار طبیعت میشویم. برای نوروز هفتسین میچینیم. آرد گندم را شیرین میکنم و شیرینی را با مهمانها قسمت میکنیم. دید و بازدید میکنیم چون از نظر اسالم هر کس مهمان شود یا مهمان پذیرد گناهان او میریزد. سفرۀ مسلمان شیعه باید پهن و گسترده باشد. در آداب دید و بازدید مردها جدا و زنها جدا مینشینیم و هر گروه به مناسبت حرفهای مشترک خودمان مینشینیم. بعد گالبگیری تابستان است که گلهای محمدی منطقه را با مردان جمع میکنیم و در دیگهای بزرگ ما زنان میجوشانیم. مردان جوشیدهها را صاف میکنند و گالب محّلی شهر ری در تابستان گرفته میشود. به اندازۀ مصرف محّلی کمی بیشتر هم برای فروش در شیشهها میریزیم. تا یک سال گالب داریم و هر پنجشنبه که برای اهل قبور حلوا درست میکنیم با صلوات گالب را مصرف میکنیم. در غذای فرزندانمان گالب مـیریزیم که خاصیت دارد و با صلوات بر حضرت محمّد )ص( تبرّک میکنیم. صلوات به ما آرامش میدهد و ما را از بال دور میکند. بین پاییز و زمسـتان هم شب یلداسـت که از ایرانـیها آموختیم. منتظر طوع آفتاب تا صبح مـینشینیم. میگویند حضرت موعود همان صبح هنگام سحر با بانگ اذان صبح ظهور میفرمایند. در شبهای نزدیک به یلدا به آسمان و ستارهها توجه

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میکنیم و به ساعت روز و شب که کوتاه و بلند میشوند مثل شبهای قدر که فرشتگان به زمین مـیآیند. شبهای قدر در ماه رمضان هستند که ما روزه میگیریم و با طلوع صبح میخوریم و میآشامیم و با غروب شب روزهمان را بازمیکنیم. 10- ما زبالههایمان را در سطل شهرداری میریزیم. در افغانستان زبالهها را تفکیک میکردیم و نخالههایش را میسوزاندیم. پسماندههای سبزیجات و میوهها را هم زیر خاک چال میکردیم و خاک قوت میگرفت. اّما با وسایل جدید که پالستیکی هستند نمیدانیم باید چه کنیم. اینجا شهرداری ساعت 9 زبالهها را جمع میکند. 11- ما به کبوترها غذا میدهیم. غذاهای اضافه را برای حیوانات میریزیم چون ثواب دارد. در مصرف آب اسراف نمیکنیم. آبها را آلوده نمیکنیم. 12- محیطزیست را پاکیزه نگهمیداریم. به قانون احترام میگذاریم. روی چمنها راه نمیرویم. 13- در قرآن مجید سورۀ عنکبوت، سورۀ شمس، سورۀ قمر، سورۀ مائده داریم به معنی آب. قرآن سفارش کرده به طبیعت احترام بگذاریم و آسیب به طبیعت گناه است و کمک به طبیعت ثواب اُخروی دارد. 14- حضرت محمّد و اهل بیت و امامان همیشه فرمودهاند که برای آزار حیوانات و گیاهان در روز قیامت سؤال و جواب میشویم. پیغمبر میفرمایند که حتی اگر گنجشکی را بکشید در روز قیامت مؤاخذه میشوید. امام رضا )ع( فرمودهاند که خردۀ غذا که میماند حقّ جانداران بیرون خانه است. حقّ آنها را بپردازید. 15- تکلیف دینی ما در اسالم رعایت حقوق حیوانات و گیاهان و درختان و آب و خاک و هواست. نیکی به آنها ثواب دارد و به زندگی ما برکت میدهد. 16- وقتی گروهی جمع میشویم با طبیعت مهربانتر هستیم. 17- خوب هر قدر وضع اقتصادی بهتری داشته باشیم بهتر میتوانیم با طبیعت رفتار کنیم و درخت بیشتری بکاریم. از کیسههای زبالۀ بهتری استفاده کنیم. کبوترهای بیشتری را دانه دهیم. 18- ما نگاه سیاسی نداریم. دنبال صلح و آشتی هستیم. از جنگ و نابودی هم بدمان میآید. 19- طبیعت در همۀ دورهمیهای گروهی ما با خویشاوندان، دوستان و مردم هست. نوروز و بهار که مرکز عید ماست. گالبگیری هم ما را دور هم جمع میکند. حرکت خورشید و ماه و شب یلدا هم ما را دور هم جمع میکند. مذهب مثل رمضان ما را دور هم جمع میکند که آنجا هم طلوع و غروب طبیعت برایمان مهم است. 20- ما که سرایدار بقعه هستیم ولی بیشتر مردم اینجا کشاورز و دامدار هستند. بهار و تابستان زوّار بقعه بیشترند و وضع اقتصادی ما هم بهتر میشود. 21- ما نگاه سیاسی نداریم.

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22- در فرهنگ افغانی شعرهای ما همه دربارۀ طبیعت است. کارهای دستی که از مادرانمان آموختیم همه دربارۀ طبیعت به ما چیزهای زیادی یاد میدهند. قرآن و حدیث هم به ما طبیعت را معرّفی میکنند. 23- قرآن و اخالق اسالمی. 24- تعادل و گردش و عدالت در طبیعت را به ما یاد مـیدهد. اینکه هر آسیبـی به طبیعت به خود ما برمیگردد. مهربانی در رفتار را با طبیعت به ما یاد میدهد. فرشتگان رفتار ما را ثبت و ضبط میکنند. نباید با رفتارمان فرشتگان را از خود و خانوادهمان برانیم. 25- ما تمام ابزار سنتی خودمان را که دستگاه پارچهبافی بود رها کردیم و به ایران مهاجرت کردیم. با دستگاه پارچهبافی ما از نخ خالص لباس میبافتیم و لباسهای نایلونی نمیپوشیدیم که قابل بازیافت بود. رنگ لباسها طبیعی بود و آسیبی به طبیعت نمیزد. 26- نماز آیات هنگام خورشید و ماهگرفتگی میخوانیم. نماز شکر هنگام باران میخوانیم و در مصرف آب اسراف نمیکنیم تا نمازهای شکر ما باطل نشوند. ماه رمضان در مصرف غذا و آب صرفهجویی میکنیم و روزه میگیریم. بهندرت گوشت میخوریم و اگر مردم قربانی بدهند گوشت میخوریم. قربانی که داریم خودمان سالـی یکبار در عید قربان، گوشـت چهارپا را بین مردم تقسـیم مـیکنیم و به حقـوق حیـوانات احترام میگذاریم. به نان و سفرۀ نان احترام میگذاریم تا فرشتگان سر سفرهمان حاضر شوند و برایمان ثواب بنویسند. 27- احساس آرامش دارم. 28- پدر و مادر و قرآن و اهل بیت. 29- در جلسات قرآن. در مسجد و در مدرسه. 30- من در درجۀ اول یک انسانی هستم که از نظر خداوند جایگاه مخصوصی در خلقت طبیعت دارم. اعمال و رفتار من میتواند طبیعت را تحت تأثیر قرار دهد اگر خواست خداوند باشد. در درجۀ دوم من یک زن هستم که جایگاه مهمی در نزد خداوند دارم. چون زن معّلم است و مسئول آموزش و پرورش فرزندان دربارۀ قرآن و طبیعت.

مصاحبۀ دوم:

1- من یک زن مسلمان هستم که حرفهام مادری و کشاورزی است. من از خانوادهای بومی کلین هستیم که نسل در نسل پدر و مادرانم اینجا کشاورز بودهاند. ما در

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جوار شیخ کلین زندگی میکنیم و با اینکه همه اینجا را ترک کردهاند اّما خانوادۀ من تصمیم گرفتیم همینجا بمانیم و به کشاورزی و عبادت در جوار آقایمان شیخ کلین ادامه دهیم. ما عاشق امام زمان هستیم و اعتقاد داریم آقایمان اینجا ظهور پیدا خواهند کرد. همینجا در تپههای ری در طلوع آفتاب یک جمعۀ مبارک. 2- همۀ خانوادۀ من پیرو اهل بیت و آموزههای شیخ کلین هستیم. کپی کتابهای حدیث و تفسیر حدیث از قدیم داریم که اصل آنها را تقدیم به کتابخانۀ بقعه کردهایم. من خودم شخصاً پیرو آموزههای خانم فاطمۀ زهرا سالم هللا علیها هستم. 3- اینجا سرزمین موعود است. 4- بومشناسی اینجا به فراوانی آب مشهور است. اینجا قسمتی از سرزمین ری است که در طول تاریخ به دلیل فراوانی آب مورد اهمیت پادشاهان و حکومتها بوده است. بوعلی سینا وقتی به اینجا سفر میکند قصد میکند ماندگار شود چون سرزمین ری به دلیل آب فراوان و جغرافیای سبز دشت زیبا و پربرکتی بوده است. چشمهعلی اینجاست. چشمۀ بیبی شهربانو اینجاست. اینجا سرزمین نیزارهای پر از بلدرچین و کبک است. در مردابهای کنار نیزارها ما انواع حشرات بخصوص پروانههای دشت ری را داریم که خیلی متنوع و منحصربهفرد هستند. من یک کشاورز هستم و خاک را خوب میشناسم. اینجا دامنۀ سرسبز کوه مهر است. در تاریخ بهرام گور اینجا گورخر ایرانـی شکار مـیکرده است و در تاریخ اسطورهای ایران اینجا محـل شاهینهای نایاب بوده است. گراز ایرانی در این منطقه بهوفور شکار میشده است. 5- طبیعت یعنی آب و خاک و جانوران و گیاهان. در کائنات اسالمی، طبیعت مادر است چون زایاست و پرورش دهنده است. از طرف دیگر طبیعت پدر است چون نگهدارنده و نگهبان موجودات است. طبیعت قانون است و قانون آن الهی است و نباید توسط انسانها شکسته شود. طبیعت مظهر تجلی عملی و رفتاری تعادل و عدالت است و قوانین آن که الهی هستند حافظ حقوق جانوران ساکن در طبیعت هستند. برای حفظ حقوق آب و خاک و باد و هوا و آسمان و جانوران و گیاهان، نباید انسانها قانون طبیعت را بشکنند. 6- محیطزیست فضای اطراف ماست که الزاماً قوانین آن الهی نیست. قسمتی از محیطزیست ساخته و پرداختۀ دست انسان است مثل فضاهای شهری، فضاهای کشاورزی و روستاها و مراتع دستساز انسان. تکنولوژی کشاورزی و سدها هم جزء محیطزیست هستند نه جزء طبیعت. قوانین محیطزیست ساختۀ بشر هستند و الزاماً الهی نیستند پس ممکن است صد درصد درست نباشد. دائم قابل اصالح و تغییر است. 7- نمیدانم چه رفتاری دارم. این را خداوند میداند. من یک کشاورز هستم و طبق آیین کشاورزی کهن رایج در این منطقه رفتار مـیکنم. اینکه رفتار من چقدر طبق

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قوانین الهی احترام به طبیعت است را نمـیدانم. بهعنوان یک کشاورز سعی میکنم از دستورالعملهای کشاورزی مدرن که در آن از بذرهای اصالح شده استفاده میشود، دوری کنم. بذرهای اصالح شده دستُبرد به طبیعت حساب میشوند و من این اعمال را طبق قوانین الهی نمیبینم. بهعنوان یک زن رفتار من با طبیعت مانند خانم بیبی شهربانوست که ایشان اسطورۀ عشق به آب و خاک و گیاهان و جانوران بودهاند. اگر به نقش زنان ایرانی در تاریخ نگاه کنید میبینید که آنها با طبیعت دست در دست زندگی مـیکردند. پیوند زن کهن ایرانـی که کشاورز است با طبیعت ناگسستنی است. از طرف دیگر بهعنوان یک زن مسلمان الگوی من خانم فاطمۀ زهرا سالم هللا هستند. ایشان با گیاهان و جانوران با مهر و عطوفت رفتار میکردند. از خانم فاطمه زهرا سالم هللا علیها میدانم که ایشان همیشه سفارش میفرمودند که با آب و خاک و جانوران و گیاهان با تقوی رفتار کنید. برداشت من از این فرموده این است که تقوی یعنی احتیاط که آسیبی به آنها نزنیم. و خداوند و دستورات الهی را مدنظر قرار دهم. 8- من رفتار خودم را با محیطزیست نمیپسندم اّما در زندگی مدرن که حتی به زندگی روستایی و کشاورزی تحمیل شده، چارهای جز رفتارهای تحمیلی با محیطزیست نداریم. رفتار با محیطزیست خیلی بستگی به امکانات دارد. رفتار با محیطزیست یعنی زباله، پسماند، بازگشت به چرخۀ طبیعت، طراحی ساختارهای مدرن مثل پارکها طبق طبیعت منطقه. که متأسفانه در همۀ این موارد خیلی ضعیف عمل شده است. 9- زندگی من از نماز صبح تا نماز مغرب و عشاء با طبیعت گره خورده است. از آنوقت که اذان حیّ علی فالح، حیّ علی خیرالعمل میخواند من سر بر سجده خدا را شکر میکنم که کشاورزی حرفۀ من است. بسم هللا میگویم و به دام و ماکیانم سر میزنم، علوفه و ارزن آنها را میدهم. بعد میروم سر کشت و کارم. گندم و جو میکارم و در میانهها آخر بهار که فصل برداشت گندم است چغندر و ذرت میکارم. آخر تابستان در آخر پاییز گندم میکارم تا آخر بهار محصول جدید را برداشت کنم. روزی من و خانوادهام با 4 فرزند از طبیعت میروید. پس سعی میکنیم با طبیعت مهربان باشیم و طبق اصول قرآن با طبیعت رفتار کنیم. طبیعت یادآور زنده و عملی رستاخیز برای ماست. زندگی زمین با رویش دانهها در خاک و جاری شدن آب باران و چشمهها که دانهها را و جانوران را سیراب میکنند. بادی که در گندمزار میپیچد و چرخۀ زندگی جانوران و حشرات و گیاهان که در کشتزار و مرتع و علفزار و مرداب و نیزار النه دارند، همگی زندهاند تا پاییز و زمستان که خواب و رخوت همه است و بهار طبیعت نمونۀ کامل رستاخیز است. من یک زن هستم و افتخار میکنم که یک مادر هستم. مادر چهار فرزند که هر یک را در تنم پرورش دادم تا به خواست خداوند آنها پای بر این دنیا

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گذاشتند. دوران بارداری برای من یادآور رستاخیز بود. وقتی فرزندم در تنم پرورش مییافت موقعی رسید که دیوارهای دنیایش فروریخت و انگار برای او رستاخیز بود اّما من که مثل خدای تنم بودم میدانستم که این رستاخیز برای جنین من توّلدی نو و جدید است و پای گذاشتن بر این دنیا بهعنوان یک آدم که باید طی طریق کند تا انسان شود. بهعنوان یک کشاورز مسلمان من میدانم که دانه، خاک و آب حقوق اسالمی دارند و من باید طبق حقوق با آنها رفتار کنم. بهعنوان یک کشاورز این منطقه میدانم که خاک خیلی حرمت دارد چون خاک همان باقیماندۀ دنیوی پدران و مادران ماست که زیر خاک خوابیدند و خاک شدند. حاال این خاک دانههای خوراک ما را پرورش میدهد. روح آنها از زمین سفر کرده است تا طبیعت این سرزمین برجاست و چرخۀ طبیعت با عوامل ماّدی میگردد. قوانین معنوی حافظ این عوامل ماّدی و چرخش پایدار آنها هستند. 10- رفتار من با محیطزیست تابع امکانات دهیاری و استانداری منطقه است. اگر امکانات تفکیک زباله برایمان فراهم کنند، رفتار ما عادالنهتر میشود و اگر نه رفتار ما تابع امکانات است. رفتار من با هوای محیط زیست به کیفیت بنزین و سوخت ماشینم برمیگردد که از حیطۀ اختیارات و تصمیمات من خارج است. البته این مسئله از من و خانوادهام سلب مسئولیت نمیکند. ما تالش خودمان را میکنیم که کمتر از ماشین برای جابجایـی استفاده کنیم تا آلودگی هوای کمتری ایجاد کنیم. در مصرف آب خیلی صرفهجویی میکنیم. زبالههای بهاصطالح خودمان زنده را از زبالههای ُمرده جدا میکنیم. پوست میوهها، چای و تفاله چای، باقیماندۀ نان و غذا و هر نوع آب برای ما زبالۀ زنده است که باید به خاک برگردانیم. ما فقط زبالۀ ُمرده را تحویل شهرداری و دهیاری میدهیم. 11- من خوراکی را که از طبیعت برای سفرۀ فرزندانم میگیرم به آن برمیگردانم، با کشاورزی و کشت و کار. 12- من به خاطر امکاناتم در برابر محیطزیستم گناهکارم. بااینکه خیلی تالش میکنم که الگوها را اصالح کنم اّما اجتنابناپذیر است. در مواردی که ابعاد شخصی و زندگی روزمرۀ خودم مطرح میشود، خیلی تالش میکنم که از گناه نسبت به محیطزیست بپرهیزم. بهطور مثال در مصرف آب در آشپزی، استحمام و مصارف روزمره خیلی صرفهجویی میکنم تا حتی قطرهای را هدر ندهم. بهعنوان یک زن به هیچ وجه از مواد آرایشی مصنوعی که میدانم به محیطزیست آسیب زیادی میزند، استفاده نمیکنم. از رنگ موهای طبیعی بابونه و حنا استفاده میکنم. من فکر میکنم اصالً فلسفۀ حجاب برای زن در اسالم شامل حفاظت از محیط زیست هم میشود. زنان شهری بهخصوص آنان که در سبک و سیاق زندگی مدرن دارند مواد آرایشی و بهداشتیای مصرف میکنند که آلودگیهای زیادی برای محیطزیست دارد. اصل فلسفۀ حجاب هم بر

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پایۀ زیباییشناسی اسالمی است. یک زن به دلیل بهداشت باال که با وضو و غسل در آداب مذهبی و عُرفِ فرهنگ ایرانی تأمین میشود میتواند زیبا خوانده شود. الزاماً زنی که انواع کِرِمها و روغنهای مصنوعی و مواد آرایشی ناسالم را به سر و صورت و دست و پای خود میمالد زیبا نیست. در وجود یک زن توجه به آسیب نزدن به دیگران و محیط زیست در نهایت زیبایی منش و رفتار خاصی به او میدهد که همان منظور زیبایی اسالمی و ایرانی است. مثالً زنان نمونۀ اسالم سفارش کردهاند که از آرایش لب با رنگهای سرخ و تند و تیز بپرهیزیم چرا که زنان فرعونان اینگونه آرایش میکردند که در اصل رنگهای سرخ لبهایشان از رنگدانۀ نوعی سوسک و حشرات بوده است. که این از نظر هم اسالم، هم بهداشت ایرانی و هم حقوق جانوران دیگر بسیار قبیح و زشت است. اسالم به همین دلیل به زیبایی درون و حجاب زن و مرد را سفارش میکند. زیورآالت زنان طالها و نقرههای استخراج شده از دل زمین است که استخراج بیش از حد سنگها و عناصر قیمتی، تعادل زمین و خاک را به هم میریزد. اسالم زن مسلمان را بهسادگی و زیبایی درون و عفت دعوت میکند. از نظر من حجاب مدافع محیطزیست است. انواع مواد آرایشی مو که به محیطزیست آسیب وارد میشود. 13- طبیعت آنقدر مقام باالیی در قرآن و سفارشات الهی دارد که نام بسیاری از سورههای قرآن نامهای عوامل و عناصر تشکیل دهندۀ طبیعت هستند. سورۀ آب، ستارگان، ماه، خورشید، آسمان، زمین، گیاهان و جانوران و حتی حشرات مانند عنکبوت. در تمام قرآن سفارش شده که ما در رفتار با طبیعت و عوامل آن با تقوی عمل کنیم. تقوی هر دوی نیّت و عمل ما را در رفتار با طبیعت اصالح میکند. اسالم این مهربانی )رئوفت( و احسان و نیکوکاری با همگان است بهخصوص گیاهان و جانوران و آنها که قدرت کمتری از ما در دفاع از خود دارند. ستم به حقوق آنها بر ما حرام است. حرام یعنی ممنوع و منع شده. مهربانی و نیکی به آنها برای ما واجب است. واجب یعنی سفارش شده و دارای ثواب الهی دنیوی و اُخروی. در سورۀ هود دربارۀ کوشش برای آبادانی زمین بسیار سفارش شده است. قصههای قرآن خیلی پندآموزند. مثالً فرعون به دلیل اینکه در تقسیم آب عدالت را رعایت نمیکند سرانجام توسط آبهای مواج سرنگون میشود. 14- امام صادق علیهالسالم فرمودند که سرچشمۀ زندگی آب و نان است. یعنی اسراف در خوراک زندگی را زایل میکند. و این اصل صرفهجویی و به نحوی خدمت به طبیعت است. حضرت علی علیهالسالم فرمودهاند که هر جاندار و هر نباتی حقّ تن دارد که باید رعایت شود.

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حدیثهای مربوط به بیتالمال را نمیدانم اّما مطمئن هستم که طبیعت از نظر اسالم بیتالمال است و هرگونه تعرض به آن تعرض به حقوق همۀ مردم و انسانهاست. امام علی علیهالسالم تأکید فرمودهاند که آزار جانداران گناه دارد. ایشان فرمودهاند که آب آشامیدنی سالم حق همۀ انسانهاست و با مصرف بیرویه حق انسانها را زایل میکنیم که عقوبت اُخروی دارد. امام صادق هم فرمودهاند که حق کشاورز و کارگر از تمام تودۀ جامعه باالتر است. امام علی و امام صادق حدیثهای فراوانی دربارۀ اهمیت جانوران و نباتات و طبیعت بر استواری جهان دارند که این استواری الزمۀ سعادتمندی انسان است. حضرت پیامبر اکرم صلی هللا علیه و آله و سّلم هم میفرمایند به چهارپایی که برای سواری استفاده میکنید بعد از توقف آب بدهید بعد خودتان بنـوشید. ایشان مـیفرمایند هـرگز به صورت حیوانات نزنید چون تسبیحگوی خداوند هستند. ایشان تأکید کردهاند که هنگام صحبت کردن از روی چهارپا به پایین بیاید و فقط برای رفتوآمد یا باربری از آنها استفاده کنید. آنها را تکیهگاه و استراحتگاه خود نکنید. اّما آدمها حیوانات را برای پوستشان به قتل میرسانند و به این دلیل چرم در اسالم حرام است، مگر از پوست حیوان قربانی شده و نذری داده شده باشد. امام صادق )ع( میفرمایند که آب بینی حیوانات آغل را بگیرید و با آنها با مهربانی رفتار کنید. من در فصول بین کشت گندم انگور میکارم چون حضرت پیغمبر سفارش فرمودهاند که درخت انگور و درخت خرما خویشاوندان انسان مسلمان هستند و باید آنان را گرامی داشت. از نظر پیغمبر صّلی هللا علیه و آله و سّلم آب دادن به درختان ثوابی چون آب دادن به تشنگان دارد. 15- احترام و آسیب نرساندن. این دو وظیفه اگر بخواهیم درست عمل کنیم تمام زندگانی من، حرفهام، رفتارهایم و تمام زندگیام را تحتالشعاع قرار میدهد. احترام یعنی طبیعت و تمام عناصرش را دوست داشته باشم و شکرگزار خداوند باشم. این شکر نعمت امید و پویایی شگفتانگیزی به زندگی روزمرۀ من مـیدهد. بهعنوان یک کشاورز من خاک را نوازش میکنم که دانههای گندم را که مثل فرزندان خداوند هستند در خود مـیپرورد. مهر و محبت به طبیعـت مرا به طبـیعت و جـانوران و گیاهان خیلـی حسّاس کرده اسـت بهطوریکه تحمل بیحرمتی، ظلم و ستم به طبیعت، حیوانات یا گیاهان و حشرات را ندارم. به همین علت اینجا در کلین ماندم و به شهر مهاجرت نکردم چون زندگی شهری مدرن را تمام و کمال بیاحترامی و ستم به طبیعت میدانم. به بچههایم هم این اصول را آموختهام. بچههای من در سرما

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و گرما با دوچرخه به مدرسه و کار میروند. آنها در انتخاب شغلشان سعی می کنند که کاری نباشد که به طبیعت و محیطزیست آسیب بزند. زندگی برای ما با این افکار روزبهروز دشوارتر میشود اّما توکل ما به خداوند متعال است و میدانیم که او راهگشای ماست. من دربارۀ شکار در این منطقه خیلی حسّاسم و اگر شکار ببینم سریعاً به حفاظت از محیطزیست گزارش میدهم. به خانم فاطمۀ زهرا که پناه زنان کارگر و کشاورز است اقتدا انجام میدهم. 16- روابط اجتماعی من بهعنوان یک زن ایرانی مسلمان کشاورز شامل صلۀ رحم، عبادات اجتماعی و گروهی و نذریها و اعیاد و روابطم با همسایهها و مردم منطقه، مسافرهای از راه رسیده و کسبه و خریداران حاصل کشت و کارم میشود. از تمام اینها صلۀ رحم و روابط با همسایهها و میهمانان تأثیر خاصی روی طبیعت و محیطزیست نمیگذارد اّما عبادات گروهی مثل نمازها، نذریها و عیدها با طبیعت و محیطزیست در ارتباط است. نماز شکر، نماز باران، نماز کشت و روزی، نماز عید فطر، نماز آیات هنگام تگرگ و ماهگرفتگی یا خورشیدگرفتگی، نماز عید قربان و خیلی از نمازهایی که اآلن به یاد نمیآورم همگی یادآور وظیفۀ انسان مسلمان به طبیعت و حقوق جانداران طبیعت میباشند. نذریها هم خیلی مهم هستند. نذر فانوس که هر پنجشنبه شب برای رهیابی ارواح و آدمهای ره گم کرده فانوس سر کوچه و برزن میگذاریم تا تاریکی را روشن کنیم. هر بار این نذر را انجام میدهیم بیشتر به صرفهجویی در مصرف برق فکر میکنم و آب که به تولید برق و روشنایی راه مردم منجر میشود. 17- سطح اقتصادی زندگی من روی طبیعت تأثیر مستقیمی ندارد چون رفتار من با طبیعت ناشی از نگرش اسالمی ایرانی زنانه و کشاورزانۀ من است. رفتار خوب با طبیعت از نظر قوانین اسالمی، نیاز چندانی به وُسع اقتصادی باال ندارد. محورهای این رفتار تقوی و پرهیز از آسیبهای شناختهشدهاند. اّما نمیتوانم بگویم که از آسیبهای شناخته نشده مصون هستیم چون آگاهی از آسیبهای غیرمستقیم به طبیعت ممکن است نیاز به سواد خاصی داشته باشد که من آگاهی به آن ندارم. مصاحبهکننده: منظور شما از سواد چیست؟ مصاحبهشونده: به نظر من ما چند معنی برای سواد داریم. سواد در معنی عام خودش به مفهوم توانایی خواندن و نوشتن است. در نسل پدران و مادران ما سواد به معنی سواد قرآنی بود یعنی توانایی داشتن برای خواندن قرآن و دعاها به عربی. سواد فارسی خیلی مهم نبود چون معنی قرآن و دعاها بهصورت شفاهی و سینه به سینه بین مردم میگشت و همیشه مرجع تقلید و شیخ محل میتوانست قرآن را معنی کند. در زندگی روزمره هم نیازی به خواندن و نوشتن نبود چون سبک و سیاق سنّتی بین مردم عادی رواج داشت. مگر فردی دولتی دبو که الزم بود سواد خواندن

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و نوشتن فارسی داشته باشد. شعرها و قصههای شاهنامه و نظامی و مثنوی هم در کوی و برزن توسط پیر کتابدان خوانده میشد و شعرها سینه به سینه از بر خوانده میشد. البته اینها همه معنای جدید کلمۀ سواد هستند که از زمان پدر و مادر همانها رواج یافت. قبل از آن کلمۀ سواد به معنی شعور و آگاهی در فرهنگ کهن ما وجود داشت. سواد کشاورزی به معنی آگاهی از رسوم و تجربیات کشت و کار بود. فکر میکنم شعور از شعر میآید چون آگاهی بیشتر بهصورت شفاهی مثل شعر از نسلی به نسل دیگر منتقل میشد. کلمۀ شعور خیلی مفهوم جامعتری نسبت به سواد داشت. چون شعور مردم هر منطقه برخاسته از فرهنگ بومی، آداب و رسوم و لزومات زندگی همان منطقه بود. درحالیکه سواد بیجا و مکان است و ربطی الزاماً به تجربۀ شخصی فرهنگی ما یا منطقۀ ما ندارد. مصاحبهکننده: منظور شما کدام سواد بود که گفتید سوادی که به شما آگاهی دربارۀ آسیبهای غیرمستقیم به طبیعت بدهد؟ مصاحبهشونده: منظور من از دیدگاه اسالمی ایرانی به طبیعت که ما را ناخودآگاه از بسیاری از آسیبها به طبیعت بازمیدارد و همان شعور و آگاهی نسبت به طبیعت است که توسط آموزههای قرآن و حدیث به ما هدیه شده است. اّما آسیبهایی که ناشـی از زندگـی مدرن ما بهصورت غیرمستقیم به محیطزیست وارد میشوند نیاز به سواد زیستمحیطی داریم که تقویت شود. 18- نگاه سیاسـی یک زن مادر کشاورز شیعۀ مسلـمان ایرانی مـیتواند عملکرد و رفتار او را نسبت به محیطزیست تحتالشعاع قرار دهد نه نسبت به طبیعت. نگاه به طبیعت مستقل از افکار سیاسی یک مسلمان است اّما افکار سیاسی مثالً عضو اصالحگرایان یا اصولگرایان بودن یا نبودن میتواند عضویت من در گروههای حمایت از محیطزیست یا مبارزه با شکار و غیره را تحتالشعاع قرار دهد. افکار سیاسی الینفک از زندگی مدرن است. 19- طبیعت جزء الینفک زندگی یک ایرانی است چون فرهنگ کهن ما که ابتدا زرتشتی و بعد ایرانی اسالمی بوده است همواره بر پایۀ داد و ستد با طبیعت بنا شده است. تقویم ما در ایران و حتی بعد از اسالم تقویم خورشیدی است، تمام روزهای هفته و مناسبتها با تحوالت طبیعت عجین شده است. سال نوی ما بر اساس تحوالت خورشید و طبیعت است. عبادتهای گروهی و فردی ما از زمان طلوع و غروب خورشید است. آب و نور در فرهنگ ایرانی اسالمی ما اعضای الینفک زندگی روزمرۀ ما هستند. آب برای غسل و وضو و شستن گناهان هر روز و هر شب. حوض آب قسمتی اصلی از ورود ما به خانۀ ایرانی اسالمی است که اوّل وضو میگیریم و دست میشوییم و بعد وارد میشویم.

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میزان نور زمان عبادت ما را مشخص مـیکند. مسجدهای قدیمی اکثراً بر اساس زاویۀ نور با محراب و ورودیهای مسجد ساخته میشدند. شب یلداها در انتظار نور میمانیم و ما اعتقاد داریم که ظهور مهدی صاحب زمان همان هنگام طلوع نور بعد از شب یلداست. 20- نگاه ما به طبیعت رویکرد اسالمی ایرانی ما به اقتصاد ما کمک میکند. چرا که احترام به طبیعت ما را به صرفهجویی و قناعت میکشاند که به اقتصاد خانوار ما خیلی کمک میکند. امام حسین علیهالسّالم ما را از شاد خواری نهی میفرمایند. شاد خواری همان زندگی انگلی در چرخۀ طبیعت است. ما باید به اندازهای که از طبیعت برمـیداریم به آن برگـردانیم. اگر با طبیعت مهـربان باشیم خداوند فرشتگانـش را سر سـفرۀ مـا میفرستد، فرشتگان دستمان را در تنگدستی میگیرند. 21- طبیعت رویکرد سیاسی ما را طالب تعادل و عدالت میکند. 22- از خانم فاطمۀ زهرا که با افتخار یک بانوی مسلمان و سرلوحۀ زنان مسلمان بوده و از پدرم که کشاورز بود. از مادرم که کار صنایع دستی میکرد. از برادرم که با شکار در منطقۀ ری مبارزه میکرد. از قرآن، از معّلم مدرسۀ قدیمی ده ما در کلین که در طبیعت با بازیهای محّلی به ما درس میداد. از احادیث و از سخنرانیهای مسجد کلین. از طبیعت و از کشاورزی از مورچههای مزرعۀ گندمم. 23- احادیث. 24- حاال من از شما میپرسم که منظور شما از فرهنگ بومی چیست؟ ببینید اگر از فرهنگ بومی منظورتان آداب و رسوم کلین است خوب ما نسل در نسل کشاورز بودهایم. گندم فشاپویه در منطقۀ ری به گندم طالیی معروف بوده است. در آداب و رسوم ما همیشه مهربانی با طبیعت را برای برکت خداوند آموختهایم. اگر منظور شما از فرهنگ بومی، فرهنگ اسالمی و شیعۀ ماست که خوب احادیث و قرآن سرلوحۀ ما هستند که احترام به طبیعت را گوشزد کردهاند. اگر منظور شما از فرهنگ بومی فرهنگ ایرانی ماست که تمام تقویم و عبادات و اعیاد ایرانی کهن با طبیعت عجین شده است، مثل نوروز و یلدا. مصاحبهکننده: منظور سال من فرهنگ خاص این منطقه است. مصاحبهشونده: مهربانی و داد و ستد عادالنه با طبیعت اصل فرهنگ بومی ماست. آنهم برای رضای خدا و سعادتمندی خودمان. 25- ابزار سنتی کشاورزی که همگی طوری طراحی شدهاند که به طبیعت، حشرات و حیوانات و شاهین آن آسیبی نمیزنند. ابزار دیگر سنتیمان هم مثل دار قالیبافی است که قالیهای دستباف خودمان از پشم گوسفندانمان کف اتاقهایمان را میپوشاند و آسیبی هم به طبیعت نمیزند. همهاش قابل بازیافت است. ابزار دیگر مسلمانان قبله است که همهجا جهت و راه را نشان میدهد.

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آغُلهای ما گِلی هستند که فصل به فصل قابل بازسازی هستند و نیازی به خرید آهنآالت از معادن آهن یا نردهفروشها نیستیم. کاهگِلِ بهکاررفته در دیوارۀ آغُلها آنها را در فصل گرم خنک و در فصل سرد، گرم نگه میدارد. تنورهای ما، ما را از خرید نان ماشینی بینیاز کرده است. 26- نوروز و شب یلدا و ماه رمضان و نماز آیات و دعاهای کشت و کارمان، نماز باران و عید قربان. 27- تقوی و احترام. 28- در فرهنگ ما هست از بچگی در مدرسه و جامعه و خانواده و مذهبمان بوده است. در هویت ایرانی ماست. 29- همهجا در ایران در خانوادهها. 30- من در چرخۀ فلک یک تولیدکننده و پرورش دهنده و به همان اندازه مصرفکننده هستم. خداوند فرموده است که بهعنوان یک انسان اشرف مخلوقاتم. این به این معنی است که جایگاه من در چرخۀ فلک آنقدر باالست که اعمال و رفتار من میتواند کل چرخه را متأثر کند پس حساسیت من به تأثیر و نتایج عملکردم نسبت به طبیعت و اجرای آن باید زیاد باشد و این یعنی مسئولیت من و امثال من از همۀ مخلوقات بیشتر است.

مصاحبۀ سوم:

1- من متولی چندین امامزاده در این منطقه هستم. من بچۀ همینجا هستم. از زمانی که سّد کرج باعث خشک شدن چاههای این منطقه شد و مردمی که یکروز در برابر حملۀ روسها در جنگ جهانی دوم ایستاده بودند همگی اینجا را ترک کردند و به شهرهای اطراف مهاجرت کردند، من تصمیم گرفتن بمانم و همۀ وقایع را ثبت کنم و از امامزادهها مراقبت و نگهبانی کنم. مردم مرا مسئول آباد نگهداشتن امامزادههای این منطقه میدانند. آباد یعنی آبدهی، سبز نگهداشتن و پررونق داشتن. نه به معنی مدرن آباد کردن به مفهوم آسفالت و ماشین و تخریب بافت روستایی و قدیمی. من از سالها پیش که جوان بودم کتابهای مربوط به تاریخ این منطقه، جغرافیا و نقشه و زمینشناسی منطقۀ فشاپویۀ ری را جمعآوری کردهام. اطالعات خوبی از بافت گیاهی و پوشش جانوری منطقه دارم. 2- من یک مسلمان هستم و کتابهای زیادی دربارۀ نگاه قرآن به طبیعت و زندگی جمعآوری و مطالعه کردهام. یکی از این کتابها کتاب حسن معتمدنیا در این وادی است. من شیعه هستم و عاشق امام حسین علیهالسالم هستم و مـیدانم که امامزاده

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بیبی خاتون شجرهنامۀ کاملـی دارد که به زمـان امـام حسین علیهالسالم برمی- گردد. من زندگیام را وقف بیبی شهربانو همسر امام حسین علیهالسالم کردهام. من هرگز شرایط اقتصادی مشرّف شدن به حرم مقدس امام حسین )ع( را نداشتهام اّما افتخار خادمـی همسر ایشان بیبی شهربانو را داشتهام. من یک همسر و یک دختر دارم که در تمام مسیر زندگی همراه و همقطار من در زندگی بودهاند. شغل پدرم نسل در نسل میرآب بود و وقتی آبانبارها جمع شدند و سیستم لولهکشی به منطقۀ ما آمد من به احداث چاه آب بهصورت حرفهای روی آوردم. شاهچاهها را میشناختم و به وضعیت کشت و زرع منطقه و زمینشناسی اینجا خوب وارد بودم. تا اینکه 1335 )1957( سّد کرج را بنا کردند و کمکم در طول دو دهه مادرچاههای آب خشک شدند. کمکم سطح آبهای زیرزمینی پایین رفت و کشاورزی این منطقه که عمدتاً گندم دیم بود بیآب ماند و از رونق اقتصادی افتاد. در اصالحات اراضی 1341 )1963( خانها زمینها را به رعیت واگذار کردند و رعیت نه سواد نگهداری، آبیاری، کشت و زرع و نه قدرت اقتصادی مجهز کردن وسایل کشاورزی و تأمین مایحتاج کشت و زرع سالیانه را داشت. بنابراین رعیت از نگهبانی از کشاورزی در برابر موج صنعتی شدن و مدرنیته عاجز ماند. کمپانیهای صنعتی سروکلهشان پیدا شد و کشاورزان زمینها را با قیمت ارزان به آنها فروختند و به شهرها مهاجرت کردند. بافت کشاورزی سنتی، زندگی دهقانی، زندگی شبانی و ... در کل بافت روستای پررونق به کلّ از بین رفت و از هم پاشید. با مهاجرت مردم این منطقه که شیعه و عاشق شیخ کلین و بیبی شهربانو بودند کمکم امامزادهها متروک شدند و ناشناخته شدند. موج عظیمی از مهاجران افغان و عراقی به این منطقه آمدند که دو دسته بودند، دستهای برای کارگری در کارخانجات صنعتی آمدند و دستهای بخصوص از عراق به خاطر پناه گرفتن در منطقۀ شیخ کلینی آمدند که این گروه همه شیعه بودند. با آمدن شیعههایی که شیخ کلین را میشناختند امامزادهها دوباره کمی رونق گرفتند. امامزاده ملک یکی از امامزادههایی بود که فقط مردم محّلی با شجرهنامه و تاریخچۀ ایشان آشنایی داشتند، با متروک شدن روستاها و رفتن این مردم، امامزاده ملک به کل متروک شد. البته شهر با شهر فرق میکند، شهر به شهر تراکم جمعیت مهاجرنشین نسبت به بومی بیشتر وابسته به صنعتی یا کشاورزی بودن این مناطق است. مثالً شهر خانلق بیشتر ساکنانش مردم مهاجرند، این شهر خیلی صنعتی است و همهجا پارکهای مصنوعی و ابزار صنعتی آبی زرد دیده میشود. خالصه که قصۀ شهر ری و بخصوص اینجا خیلی دراز است. حاال شما بقیۀ سؤالهایتان را بپرسید. 3- اینجا همان است که من در قصۀ چه کسی بودنم روایت کردم. چون بودن من و هوّیتم از کجا بودن اینجا جدا نیست. این دو سؤال از نظر من یکی هستند و جواب به هر یک پاسخ دیگری را هم میدهد. اینجا از قدیم از هزاران سال پیش هم مقدس

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بوده و زادگاه زرتشت بوده است. در زمانی که ایرانیان زرتشتی بودند، اینجا مثل واتیکان زرتشتیان بوده است. اینجا از قدیم هم پر از معبدهای مقدس بود. اصالً به همین دلیل هم امامزادگان به اینجا میآمدند چون قداست دین کتابدار زرتشت برای امامزادگان شیعه هم قابل احترام بوده است. آنها به همان مکانهای مقدس میآمدند و با درگذشتگان در آن مکانها، قبور آنها آن مکانهای از قبل مقدس را مقدستر میکرد. در الیه الیۀ تاریخ این سرزمین فرشتگان به این مکان آمد و رفت داشته و دارند. اینجا هم در کائنات سرسبز و پررونق بوده هم در زمین ماّدی و سرسبزی و آبادانی. اینجا قطعهای از بهشت است، مثالی از بهشت روی زمین. قصههای اساطیری ایرانی کهن هم خیلیهایشان در این مکان و حوالی آن در محدودۀ ری اتفاق افتادهاند. داستان بهرام گور، قصۀ بهرام و آزاده و خیلی اسطورهها و افسانههای دیگر. اینکه اینجا کجاست یعنی مجموعهای از قصۀ نیروهای کائنات حاکم بر این سرزمین، ارواحی که آمده و رفتهاند، فرهنگ و آداب و عادتهای مردم اینجا، تاریخ اینجا، جغرافیا و طبیعت اینجا و خالصه هزار و یک قصۀ تودرتو. 4- بومشناسی اینجا یعنی فقط قسمت ماّدی و زمینی اینجا. یعنی آب و هوا و مردم و جانوران و گیاهان، یعنی الیههای زمینشناسی اینجا و آبراههای زیرزمینی، چشمهها و نهرهای اینجا. یعنی باران فصلی اینجا و مصرف آب مردم در کشاورزی و مصرف آب در صنعت. 5- طبیعت یعنی اجزای متصل به هم در چرخۀ فلک. طبیعت یعنی تعادل جهان هستی. طبیعت یعنی ُبعد زیباییشناسی زندگی ماّدی. طبیعت یعنی حُلول کائنات و نیروهای کائنات بر محیطزیست. محیطزیست تنها جسم ماّدی طبیعت است و طبیعت روح محیط- زیست. 6- یعنی فضاهای ماّدی موجود در طبیعت. 7 وظیفۀ من عمل به قرآن و حدیث دربارۀ طبیعت است. یعنی رفتاری مذهبی با طبیعت دارم. در غیر این صورت هر راهی اشتباه است و به طبیعت آسیب میزند. 8- هرچه در وُسع ماّدی داشته باشم طبق قوانین شهری، روستایی، بهداشتی و زیستمحیطی عمل میکنم. رفتار من با محیطزیست بیشتر از اینکه متأثر از اعتقاداتم و سلیقههای شخصی و فردی من باشد یک امر اجتماعی است که متأثر از طراحی فضاهای شهری، روستایی و صنعتی هر منطقه با توجه به سیاستگذاریها و اقتصاد آن منطقه است. 9- من متوّلی امامزاده هستم، آسیبی که به این منطقه وارد شده است یک آسیب محیطزیستی فقط نبوده، بلکه آسیب به طبیعت وارد شده چون نگاه مردم و ایدئولوژی اونها تغییر کرده، طبیعت اینجا از قداست افتاده و در سیل مهاجران و صنعت گم شده. قداست گمشدۀ طبیعت، قداست امامزادهها را هم گم کرده. اینجا هوّیتش

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را گم کرده. من که متولی امامزاده هستم، حفاظت از امامزاده برایم حفاظت از طبیعت است. چون نگاه مذهبی به طبیعت اگر حفظ شود، طبیعت را از آسیب نگهمی- دارد. 10- بهعنوان یک شهروند این منطقه رفتارهای بهداشتی و قانونی من در تفکیک زباله و مصرف آب و نوع زندگی همه و همه روی محیطزیست تأثیر میگذارد. 11- من با حفاظت از امامزادهها و تالش برای احیای آنها، سعی دارم دیدگاه اسالمی به طبیعت را به این منطقه برگردانم. همین طبیعت را احیا میکند. 12- من بیشتر در حرفۀ آبراهی خودم چاههای آب را از خشک شدن حفظ میکنم و این نقش عمدهای در حفظ محیطزیست دارد. 13- طبیعت از نظر قرآن آنقدر مهم است که سورهها که همان گفتارهای کتاب قرآن هستند بسیاری از آنها با نام و دربارۀ عناصر طبیعت هستند. مانند خورشید، ماه، آب، خاک، کوه و غیره. ولی آنچه برای من از همه چیز آموزندهتر بود پدیدۀ رستاخیز طبیعت از دیدگاه قرآن است. دو نوع رستاخیز در قرآن مطرح میشود. یکی رستاخیز طبیعت است که در حقیقت در بهار رخ میدهد. طبیعت که در زمستان طبیعت مرده دوباره بیدار میشود و زندگی دوباره مییابد و این تمثیلی از زندگی انسان است و قرآن بارها آن را نشانهای از صحت رستاخیز انسان میداند. رستاخیز دوم در قرآن همان آخر زمان است، که رفتار ما از ذرهای مانند رفتار با یک مورچه در کفۀ قضاوت خداوند قرار میگیرد. قرآن به عدالت در رفتار با همه چیز و همه کس از جمله طبیعت سفارش میفرماید. قرآن به تفصیل حقوق گیاهان و جانوران و آب و خاک و کوه و چرخۀ فلک را بر انسان میشمارد. 14- این سؤال شما خیلی مهم است. من متولی امامزاده هستم و مردم زیادی برای سؤاالت مذهبیشان نزد من میآیند اّما هرگز کسی نظرات حدیث را دربارۀ طبیعت و محیطزیست از من جویا نشده است. درحالیکه تعداد زیادی از احادیث به این مباحث پرداختهاند و دربارۀ حقوق طبیعت و جانداران و گیاهان است. من به این مسئله بارها فکر کردهام. امام حسین علیهالسّالم بارها دربارۀ قبیح و زشت بودن زندگی انگلی در چرخۀ جهان فرمودهاند. اصل تکریم نان در احادیث بارها تأکید شده است. پیامبر اکرم صلی هللا علیه و آله و سّلم میفرمایند که نماز جز با نان گزارده نمیشود. امام صادق علیهالسّالم میفرمایند نان را بزرگ دارید چون از عرش تا زمین برای تهیۀ آن کار میکنند.

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اسالم انسان را شهروند کائنات میداند و از اسراف نهی میفرماید. اسراف فرد، جامعه را به بردهسازی اقتصادی میکشاند، این فرمایش امام حین علیهالسّالم است. پیامبر اکرم )ص( میفرمایند نماز جز با نان گزارده نمیشود. پیامبر )ص( میفرمایند که برای بجا آوردن حقّ تن هم روزه بگیرید، هم افطار کنید و حق تن خویش را بجا آورید. حقّ تن هر جاندار اعم از آدمها و حیوانها و نباتات را هم رعایت کنید. اصل دیگر در رفتار با طبیعت، اصل بینیازی است. صفتی که مسلمانی بر پایۀ آن بنا شده است. بینیازی مسلمان به دلیل داشتن خداوند بجای مادّیات دنیاست که حضرت علی )ع( فرمودهاند. امام علی )ع( باز هم فرمودهاند انسان مسلمان با ترک آرزوهای دور و دراز به بینیازی میرسد. پیامبر اسالم از این بینیازی به بینیازی نفس که نوعی بینیازی روحی است نام میبرند. در نهجالبالغه امام علی )ع( یکی از وظایف مسلمان را مبارزه با رانتخواری طبیعت میفرمایند. همچنین مسئولیت نظام حاکم بر جمعیت مسلمانان نظارت بر مبادالت تجاری مؤثر بر طبیعت و استفادۀ بهینه از منابع طبیعت بهعنوان بیتالمال ذکر شدهاند. نظام اسالمی باید حقوق کشاورزان و کارگران را در رأس تودۀ جامعه قرار دهد. حضرت علی فرمودهاند که نظام طبقاتـی در جامعۀ انسانـی در نهایت مایۀ تباهی طبیعت هم میشود. در سورۀ مائده خداوند میفرماید زیادهروی و اسراف حالل را حرام میکند. امام علی و امام صادق میفرمایند که جانداران اهمیت زیادی در استواری طبیعت و تعادل جهان دارند که اگر حفظ شـود به سعادتمندی انسان مـیانجامد. امام صـادق علیهالسّالم احادیث متعددی دربارۀ دریاها و ماهیها و جانوران دریایی و اهمیت آنها در چرخۀ فلک دارند. پیامبر اکرم )ص( دربارۀ پرندگان و حقوق آنها احادیث زیادی دارند که از جملۀ آنها میفرمایند پرندگان در آشیانۀ خود باید در امنیت باشند و شکار آنها حرام است و اینکه جوجۀ پرندگان مهاجر هرگز نباید کشته شوند. در حکومت حضرت علی )ع( اگر چهارپایی را بیدلیل میکشتند شالق در حد مجازات آنها بود. امام صادق تأکید میفرمایند که شکار حالل نیست مگر برای رفع گرسنگی مرگآور. امام رضا )ع( میفرمایند که خردۀ غذا اگر بیرون از خانه در طبیعت بریزد حقّ جانداران دیگر است. پیامبر اکرم فرمودهاند که اگر سوار بر چهارپایی شدید اول غذا و آب حق اوست بعد حق شما. امام صادق سفارش میفرمایند که با حیوانات آغل به مهربانی رفتار کنید و وظیفۀ شماست که حتی آب بینی حیوان آغل را تمیز کنید. پیامبر اکرم میفرمایند که آب دادن به درختان تشنه ثوابی چون آب دادن به انسانهای تشنه دارد. امام صادق میفرمایند که ُبریدن درختان میوه که زنده و باردارند عذاب الهی را بر شما نازل میکند.

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در اسالم گوشتخواری افراطی مکروه است. امام رضا )ع( میفرمایند که الزمۀ حالل ماندن همهچیز محدود بودن آنست. 15- عمل به حدیث تکلیف دینی ما را در رفتار کامل و واضح مشخص میکند. دین از ما میخواهد که حقوق طبیعت را رعایت کنیم، به طبیعت ستم نکنیم و با طبیعت همکار و همراه باشیم. قرآن در قالب تمثیل و قصه قوانین را بازگو میفرماید و حدیث به زبان مردم عامی خیلی ساده همان تفسیر قرآن در مسائل جزئی و در حیطۀ زندگی روزمرۀ ماست. قرآن قوانین کلی کائنات را توضیح میفرماید و حدیث جزئیات در حّد زندگی روزمره و کاربرد قوانین در زندگی انسانها است. 16- روابط اجتماعی من روزگاری بود که به جشنها و عبادتها و نذریهای دستهجمعی محدود میشد که با طبیعت در ارتباط بود و در تعامل و داد و ستد عادالنه. اّما امروزه بهعنوان یک متولی مبارز علیه تخریب طبیعت که منجر به تخریب مراکز دینی شده است. روابط اجتماعی من به مبارزاتم و سخنرانیهایم بر علیه مدرنیسم، فرهنگ شهری غیربومی و مصرفگرایی آب بیش از اسراف و مبارزه با نابودی کشاورزی، جلسات با جهاد سازندگی برای بهبودی کشاورزی منطقه. در معنای معنوی خودش مبارزۀ من برای حفظ تعادل کائنات است. روابط اجتماعی و ُبعد اجتماعی زندگی یک مسلمان شیعه همیشه بنا به زمان و مکان تعریفهای متفاوتی دارد. اگر ایجاب کند مسلمان نباید ساکت بماند و به جشـنها و نذریها بسـنده کند. وظیفۀ ما فراتر از روابط روزمره است. وقتی اآلن طبیعت و محیطزیست در خطر آلودگی قرار گرفتهاند، ما موظفیم که تعاریف جدیدی برای روابط اجتماعی تعریف کنیم. این وظیفه برای مسلمان میتواند هم سازنده و هم مخرّب و خطرناک باشد. مثالً خیلی از NGOها آمدهاند که ادعای کمک به طبیعت و محیطزیست را دارند با نیّت خیر یا غیر خیر. برخی از آنها سواد و شعور کائناتی و معنوی ندارند و راهکارهای آنها منشعب از دیدگاههای سکوالر غربی، صنعتی و مدرن است که در نهایت حقوق طبیعت را رعایت نمـیکنند و صدمات دیگری به طبیعت میزنند. من در جمع سخنرانیها همیشه به لزوم در نظر داشتن حقوق اسالمی در برابر طبیعت تأکید میکنم. مثالً آب و نور دو عنصر بسیار مقدس برای مسلمانان شیعۀ ایران بوده و هستند. یک مسلمان هرگاه جرعهای آب مـینوشد مـیگوید: »سالم بر امام حسین« که همین حرمت نگهداشتن، به اصطالح رفتار در اسراف آب به سمت صرفهجویی در مصرف آب میانجامد. در قرآن مجید 64 بار به آب اشاره شده است. در ایران کهن هم معبدهای زرتشتی کنار آب بنا میشدند چون آب بسیار مقدس شمرده میشده است. 17- ببینید ما مناسـکـی بهنام »مراقـبه« داریـم که 40 روز که عدد کمـال در کائنات اسـت به مـراقبـه میپردازیم. مراقبه یعنی از صبح تا شام حتی خوردن و آشامیدنمان برای هللا است که بدنمان را به ما امانت سپرده است. چون خوردن و

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آشامیدن برای نفس خودمان نیست و برای سالمتـی تن اسـت پس اسراف نمیکنیم و پرخوری و شکمپروری و شاد خواری نمیکنیم. طرز درست زندگی یک مسلمان شیعه اینست. پس در هر سطحی از اقتصاد و درآمد که باشد فرد مسلمان اسراف نمیکند پس به طبیعت آسیب نمیرساند. 18- نگاه سیاسـی یک مسلمان شیعه دیدگاه امام حسـین است و هیچ حزب و رنگ و گروهـی را عضـو نمیشود. رویکردهای سیاسی مشروط به مکان و زمان است و بههیچوجه ربطی به دیدگاههای اسالمی به طبیعت و حفظ حقوق آن ندارد. مگر اینکه عضویت ما در یک گروه سیاسی باشد که آن گروه به طور غیرمستقیم عملکردی نامتقارن با طبیعت و محیطزیست داشته باشد. 19- در نوع نگرش اسالمی به طبیعت، انسان شهروند کائنات است و طبیعت تجّلی مکانی، ماّدی و نیروی کائنات است. طبیعت تعامل مفهوم معنوی زندگی در قالب مادّیت دنیا را به ما میآموزد. و این تعامل و رسیدن به تعادل، پرهیز از افراط و تفریط و اطاعـت محض از خالق یکتا به ما قوانین رفتار اجتماعـی و جمعگرایی را میآموزد. 20- اقتصاد ما در این منطقه کامالً وابسته به طبیعت است و آسیب به طبیعت وضعیت اقتصادی مردم منطقه را دچار بحران کرده است. 21- نمیتوانم به این سؤال شما پاسخی بدهم. مصاحبهکننده: چرا؟ مصاحبهشونده: نمیتوانم توضیحی بدهم. 22- طبیعت در طول عمر من معانی متفاوتی به خود گرفته است. در کودکـی که پدرم خدابیامرز مقنّی چاههای آب منطقه بود، طبیعت برای من معنی آب بود که روی خاک روان میشد. وقتی در مراسم تعزیۀ امام حسین علیهالسّالم شرکت مـیکردم و از خاک تشنۀ کربال صحبت میکردند، این معنی برای من متجّلیتر میشد. سالها بعد در نوجوانیام طبیعت برای من قصههای قرآن بود و روایت معاد و رستاخیز عالم. در جوانی تجّلی چاههای آب منطقه، آبانبارها و شکارگاهها و بیشهزارها و نقشۀ آبهای زیرزمینی برایم شد. در میانسالی مطالعات علمی اسالمی خودم را دربارۀ آب و طبیعت بیشتر کردم و آنوقت بود که طبیعت برای من تجّلی چرخ فلک همگی و همه چیز در ارتباط با هم شد. همه چیز تحت قانون خداوند. قرآن را دوباره خواندم و معنی چرخ فلک طبیعت و زنجیرهای همه متصل به هم در کائنات برایم متجّل یتر شد. حاال در کهنسالی بیشتر حقوق اجزای طبیعت برایم جالب است. حق آب، حق خاک، حق نور و وظایف فردی و اجتماعی یک مسلمان شیعه در نگهداری این حقوق.

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23- من فرزند جدش امام حسین، حضرت مهدی عجل هللا تعالی فرجه الشّریف را ناظر بر رفتار ما، طبیعت، گیاهان و حیوانات و آب و خاک میبینم و به احترام آقایم سعی میکنم حقوق را رعایت کنم و از حّد تعریف شده برای خودم، تعّدی نکنم. 24- شما وقتی میگویید فرهنگ بومی، برداشت من فرهنگ شیعه اسالمی ایرانی منطقۀ ری فشاپویه است. این فرهنگ آداب و رسوم خاصی برای شکار دارد چون شرایط اقلیمی و بومشناسی منطقه ایجاب میکرده است که شکار در این منطقه رایج باشد. ما در فرهنگ بومی خودمان به تشریح دربارۀ تکتک گونههای گیاهی و جانوری منطقه قانون شکار داریم. چند نمونه که در خاطرم هست مثالً خارپشت که بومی منطقه است از قدیم مادر کبیر بیشهزارها نامیده میشده است که خود شکارچی مار و عقرب و حشرات خطرناک است و چون در کنترل آفت خیلی مهم است اجازۀ شکار آن در اسالم حرام است. نمونۀ دیگر گرگ است که از نظر فرهنگ بومی ما مظهر پلیدی و نیرنگ است و شایستۀ دوستی و اهلیگری با انسان نیست. اّما از نظر اسالم شکار گرگ حرام است. در منطقۀ ما کشتن گرگها جمعیت کالغها را افزایش میدهد که کالغها واسط چرخههای بیماری و آلودگیهای بیشماری هستند. کالغها از گرگها خطرناکترند. شغال نیز در بهداشت محیطزیست بسیار مهم است؛ چون در واقع رفتگر طبیعت است و از زوائد حیوانات و زبالههای کشاورزی روستایی تغذیه میکند. شکار آهو در اسالم فقط برای رفع گرسنگیای که دارد منجر به مرگ فرد میشود مجاز آنهم مکروه است. همۀ ایرانیها و مسلمانان ایران روایت حضرت امام رضا )ع( را که ضامن آهو میشوند تا آهو را از شکارچی نجات دهند میشناسند و میدانند. اینها همه مثال بودند. فرهنگ بومی من منشعب از جنبههای کاربردی همان قوانین اسالم است. رعایت حقوق جانداران طبیعت اصل این فرهنگ است. 25- ابزار سنتی ما مانند ابزار سنتی تمام اقوام کهن دنیا، چون در مقیاس کوچک زمین، خاک و آب را تحت تأثیر قرار میداد هرگز آسیب جدی به طبیعت وارد نمیکرد. اّما از زمانی که ابزار تبدیل به صنعت و تکنولوژیهای ابرعظیم مانند سّدها، کودهای شیمیایی و هواپیماهای سمپاش شدند، طبیعت تسخیر و متأثر از آسیبهای انسان شد. 26- تمام عبادات اسالمی دیدگاه اسالمی به طبیعت را یادآور میشوند چون در همۀ عبادات دستکم مسئلۀ توحید بارها و بارها تکرار میشوند و توحید یعنی یگانگی خداوند و اینکه تمام عالم شامل این کهکشان و این ستارگان و ماه و خورشید آفریدۀ پروردگار است. یعنی پروردگار حقوق چرخ فلک و اجزای طبیعت را مشخص میفرماید و دانستن این حقوق بر هر مسلمان واجب است. ما عبادات خاص طبیعت هم داریم؛ مانند نماز شکر نعمت، نماز باران و نماز آیات در هنگام پدیدههای دشوار طبیعت. ما دعاهای بسیاری هم در باب طبیعت

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داریم مثالً در شروع سال نو، میخوانیم که: یا محوّل الحول و االحوال، یا مدّبر اّلیل و النّهار، حوّل حالنا إلی احسن الحال. در جایی از این دعا میگوییم که خدایا تو تدبیر گردش روز و شب را مشخص میکنی. عََلم یا عالمت در عزاداریهای امام حسین )ع( هم حضور جانوران و پرندگان را به همراه دارد. 27- این احساس که من مخلوقی از مخلوقات خداوندم و جز حق حقیر خویش حق بیشتری ندارم. اینکه من شهروند جهان بیانتهای پروردگارم و ذرهای بیش در فلک نیستم. 28- قرآن و حدیث. 29- در خانواده و مدرسه و جامعه. در هویت بودن. در مکانی جدا از رفتارهای ما نیست. این فرهنگ است یعنی جزئی از .... 30- من ملک بودم و فردوس برین جایم بود آدم آورد در این دیر خراب آبادم. اینجا قطعهای از زمین خداست که فرشتگان در اینجا زیاد ترّدد میکنند و من متولد این سرزمین هستم. اگرچه برای یک شیعه اینکه چه مکانی از این دنیا متولد شده باشد یا کجا زندگی کند زیاد توفیری ندارد؛ چرا که دیدگاه غیرزمینی و آسمانی ما، ما را از تعّلق به جا و مکان بینیاز میکند. البته آداب و رسوم بومی ما وابسته به هر منطقه با منطقۀ دیگر متفاوت است و از این نظر مهم است که کجا به دنیا بیاییم و زندگی کنیم. تجلی بومی آداب و رسوم شیعه و قوانین خداوند تنوع و زیبایی خاصّی به اسالم میدهد. این گونهگونی در عین دیدگاه واحد در اسالم زادۀ همین تنوع مکانی است. جایگاه من بهعنوان یک انسان در طبیعت طبق قرآن و حدیث اشرف مخلوقاتم. این مفهوم نیاز به تفسیر حرفهای و دقیق دارد. اشرف مخلوقات یعنی مخلوقی که به سایر مخلوقات شرف دارد یعنی قابل احترام و اعتبار است. شرف داشتن بر سایر مخلوقات به معنی داشتن مسئولیت نسبت به سایر مخلوقات است. چون عمل و رفتار انسان، هستی سایر مخلوقات را تحتالشعاع قرار میدهد. البته نه هستی آنها را، چون هستی به معنی بودن در کل عالم شامل عالمهای مادی و معنوی در کائنات است. بیشتر منظورم اینست که »زندگـی« سایر مخلوقات را تحتالشعاع قـرار میدهیم. زندگی یعنی آنچه منشعب از زنده بودن است و تنها به عالم ماّدی در این دنیا محدود میشود. شرف داشتن انسان نسبت به سایر مخلوقات بیشتر ُبعد معنوی و غیردنیایی دارد که همان مقام انسان در برابر خداوند و درجۀ دوست داشتن خداوند نسبت به انسان است. خداوند انسان را درحالیکه در کمال مفهوم انسانی یا در تالش برای رسیدن به آن کمال باشد بیشتر از سایر مخلوقات خویش دوست میدارد. پس شرف داشتن به مفهوم عشق بیشتر میان انسان و خداوند است.

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در ُبعد ماّدی و زمینی این مسئله، شرف داشتن مسئولیت بیشتری در انسان نسبت به سایر مخلوقات در طبیعت به وجود میآورد. بهعنوان یک مسلمان شیعه اعتقاد من این است که بر طبق قرآن، هر انسان دیندار که ایمان آورده و اعمال و گفتار و رفتار نیکو و صالح داشته باشد در عالم مورد مدد و یاری فرشتگان و مالئک قرار میگیرد. مدد مالئک از نظر قرآن در این مورد به معنی اینست که فرشتگان به آن فرد دیندار بشارت میدهند. بشارت یعنی مژده؛ یعنی دادن نیروی مثبت و در فردی ایجاد نشاط و امیدواری و انرژی مثبت میکنند. انسان دیندار یعنی انسانی که به هر یک از کتب آسمانی و پیامبران فرستادۀ خداوند ایمان آورده باشد. از نظر قرآن ایمان قانون زندگی در کائنات را برای فرد تعریف مینماید و این آگاهی از قوانین زندگی در کائنات، به انسان در سختیها و دشواریهای زندگی در این دنیا کمک میکند. از طرف دیگر یک شیعه در عالم یعنی داشتن چند شاخصۀ مهم که یکی

یادآوری تاریخ امام حسین )ع( و دیگری انتظار و امید بر ظهور حضرت

مهدی سالم و درود خداوند بر ایشا

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Appendix 4

Interview translations from Farsi to English:

Interview number one

The first interview takes place at one of the shrines in Hasan-Abad. A family with a couple of children guard the shrine. The family who takes care of the shrine states that they have chosen such a way of living close to such a holy place in order to serve Imam Mahdi, the twelfth Imam of Shia belief. The refugee family is originally from Afghanistan and they insist that they have true Shia belief and practice, and they are living according to the Quran and Hadith. They choose the mother of the family, who is a young woman with a typical Heratian face and speaks Farsi with an Afghan accent. All nine members of the family, including aunts and uncles of the family, witness the interview process while we sit at the Shrine’s gate in the midst of a sunny 21-degree centigrade day in spring.

Answers to the interview questions:

Answer 1:

Ah…, We are an Afghan family from Kabul. We immigrated as refugees to Iran in 1989. Kabul was very destroyed and disfunctional from the war. We did not have security and we came to Iran and we chose Ray because our relatives were already settled here. We are Shia of twelve Imam 82 and we live in love with our hero, Imam Mahdi 1, God rushes his ultimate arrival. We came as refugees to Iran in order to live in peace and security away from discrimination and horror. Our relatives told us that we can find peace and happiness here close to the shrines of Ismael, Hossein and lady Bibi-Khatun 11. We were poor when we came here and we found here good and suitable for us as living here is cheaper than living in cities, and the people here are farmers or herders. We came to rent farm land and grow seeds to eat and have a simple tranquil life next to multiple religious temples. We, Afghan women, are very good at hand crafts, sewing, threading and weaving. It is a part of our identity. Afghan women are not apart from arts as Afghan men are not apart from poetry. When we came to Hasan-Abad, we were a couple of new

256 refugee families and local people said that this temple needs a new guardian as the old keepers were retiring. We, the women, sewed beautiful curtains for the temple and our men fixed the monument. We got the job and the Ministry of Temples and Shrines hired us legally and officially. We all started working hard and we were and we are happy that we are working close to our love, the temple and we are being paid, which affords our simple and basic life. As we think we are taking care of the temple, it is actually the holy son of Imam who takes care of us and our children. Our belief is that here is the exact place on the earth where Imam Mahdi and their assisters will arrive to save the world from discrimination and bloody war. And then our people in Afghanistan will have peace again. We, Shia women, have our very special culture of visiting Bibi’s shrine as she is our Lady and we devote food and artefacts to her temple every Thursday at sunset, which is the anticipation time for the ultimate Friday sunrise. We leave with Ghana-at and we use less and we gain Halal income. We speak the same language as the local people and although our cultures differ they are based on the same fundamentals and beliefs, so they don’t oppose. We live here in friendship with the locals and away from any conflict or stress in our relations. A lot of locals immigrated to big cities or Tehran, and the villages here are getting evacuated and isolated. The village unions are quite helpful in this situation and their financial assistance is a big help. We will stay here as we love this land as much as our birth land in Afghanistan. We owe the temple and we will continue to serve its community, and our sons are free to choose if they will want to return to Afghanistan when they grow up. Our daughters are to stay here Insha’Allah as it is safer for women and when they grow mature and have their own families, they may return if that would be their wish. Me and my husband will stay here and will grow old and retire and we will die here and we will rise when Imam Mahdi arrives.

Answer 2:

Our culture and its do’s and don’ts are almost still Afghani. The way we live is encrafted in us by the way our mothers have educated us. For Afghan girls’ education occurs at home by our mothers and grandmas and aunties. They have taught us and we value our learnings. For us, Afghan women, our main household culture is preparing food and eateries. We stick to our learnings from our mothers so our cooking culture is still Afghani. Another everyday living factor which stems from our culture, is our Hijab. Our Hijab is more or less Iranian as it had to be changed in order to match the local culture and the norms and the respect to the mosques and

257 holy places. Another cultural factor is the cultures of visiting temples and mosques. The prayers and rituals are a mix of what we knew and what we learned here. Overall, the culture of living for an Afghan woman is different from an Iranian woman. Both of us might be Shia from Islamic belief, and both of us are women, but our responsibilities are defined differently in our families. An Afghan woman is expected to learn handcrafts such as sewing, Khameh-doozi, lachak-zani, gol-doozi and many other arts. When we arrived at the temple, we made curtains and sofas for the temple. An Afghan woman doesn’t regularly buy dresses or skirts; we usually make our own necessities. This is not only an artistic approach to life, but also aligns with Islamic values of needlessness and anti-consumerism. I forgot to say that an Afghan mother’s main responsibility is to educate healthy good children. Afghan mothers have a stricter discipline towards their sons compared to their daughters, as boys will be responsible men for their families when they grow up. Women are important for Afghan families and they are respected from childhood. The discipline towards daughters in a family is towards teaching them hand arts and life skills.

Answer 3:

Here…here is the temple of the son of Imam in the village of Hassan-Abad from the county of Fashapouyeh in the city of Ray in the Province of Tehran. This region is an open range with mild weather with very green and fertile lands. Days are mild and nights are cold. This region is very rich in its water resources, although the number of water springs were numerous in the past. These days the water resources are limited to drinking water and Ghanat. The lands are mostly farm lands and watering systems are Deim. For us, here is Iran as we are Shia and because Kolain temple is close to us, here is the same as our homeland. Here is where Imam Mahdi will arrive to bring peace for everyone.

Answer 4:

What do you mean by ecology?

The interviewer explains:

Ecology means local weather, local lands, local plants, insects and animals. It means the locality of nature in this region.

The interviewee answers:

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The weather here is different from Kabul where I grew up. Here is much greener and has more water. The nature is very beautiful here and fruit and vegetables are cheaper and more accessible. Several animal species live here in wilderness. Wolves and snakes make mothers fear for our children’s safety when they are playing out in the fields or forest. Hedgehogs are not Halal for hunting and eating. Gazelle and dear were numerous here but hunting is nearly putting them in extinction.

Answer 5:

Nature means beauty. Nature means the art and creation of Khodavandegar 2. Women and men of Afghan culture are in love with nature. The beauty and wonder of nature inspire poetry and music in an Afghan man, and in an Afghan woman nature inspires hand arts, carpet weaving and flower sewing. Nature is the most perfect and the greatest creation of God.

Answer 6:

Environment means our surroundings and the hygiene of nature. It is about recycling and trash management, and avoiding plastic and paper usage and avoiding consumerism. Environment is also about animal rights.

Answer 7:

We love nature and we respect nature because nature is the greatest creation of God.

Answer 8:

We treat the environment according to Islamic laws. We avoid consumerism which is Haram and forbidden in Islam. We don’t bother animals. We plant trees. We water plants and flowers, trees and seeds. In Islam, even breaking tree branches is a sin. In Islam one main symbol of belief is cleanness and hygiene. We try not to pollute, and we teach all of this to our children.

Answer 9:

We Afghans love nature because Afghanistan is situated in the beauty of nature, including mountains and greenery. We live paying attention to nature during days and nights. We lived a peasant life during childhood and our days started with the singing sounds of birds when we were to feed our chickens first after waking up. We spent the whole day in nature and our jobs

259 were all based on interaction with nature, until night when we were to put our birds and animals in to sleep before leaving for home. Having herds and chickens at farms, we had to pay close attention to nature’s animals, plants and insects in order to protect our living belongings against wilderness danger. We paid close attention to plants and changes of weather and seasonal factors in nature in order to have successful farming. When we grew up and immigrated to Iran, here as a temple guardian we have less relationship with nature compared to our past. Missing my past, I felt the gap which affected my soul and emotions. So we brought pigeons to the temple. I know that the son of Imam was in love with birds, just like Imam Reza, Salam and peace be up on them. Now the dome of the temple is the nest of these pigeons and they breed and live here praying to God. The temple attaches to nature in Nowruz, Yelda, and Golabgiri ceremonies.

The interviewer:

Could you please explain what these are?

The interviewee:

Nowruz is the turn of the solar new year at the end of winter and it is the natural and cosmological beginning of spring. The Iranian culture is to grow new and numerous trees from one month before the moment of Nowruz. We buy new seeds for different sorts of vegetables and fruits. We sew new clothes for children and ourselves. We buy new scarves and shoes for the arriving spring. In our Islamic culture it is very important not to forget those who have left us for the eternal world. We devote food for their peace and forgiveness. We set Haft-seen which is the symbol of bringing nature into our house and at our tables. We sweeten grains and share the sweets with neighbors and friends and passersby and visitors. For a Shia, new year and spring start with Sele-Arham, which means visiting and inviting relatives, neighbors and friends and feeding them with the best you can afford. In Islam, one’s sins are forgiven when visiting or inviting guests. Men and women sit in separate groups to share their stories and exchange knowledge.

Golabgiri is the culture of treating flowers at the beginning of summer. The ceremonies are held where people gather to harvest flowers, especially roses which have been the favorite flowers of the holy Prophet Hazrat Mohammad 3, Salam and peace up on them. Women and girls boil the flowers which have been prepared by men and boys. Then the extract is put in bottles. Half of the

260 bottles are devoted and donated to holy shrines and mosques, and the other half is sold to local shops. The extract, Golaab, lasts for the whole year for our own usage, which includes cooking grains with Golaab for donation every Thursday sunset, when we pray and whisper Salawat to the soul of the prophet and their sons and daughters. We serve Golaab in children and baby foods which is good for their health and it enhances their virtuous spirit.

Yelda is the night at the end of fall season and in the beginning of winter. Cosmologically, it is the longest night of the year, which proceeds to the ultimate sunrise, and in the ancient Iranian belief, it is the night anticipating the arrival of the ultimate saviour of humanity. After Islam, Iranians realized that the ultimate saviour will be Imam Mahdi. Iranians celebrate Yelda night by staying awake until the sunrise, when the Azan announces the arrival of light and people say their morning prayers. We pay close attention to natural changes of time, the length of day and night, and the positioning of the stars, when the solar calendar approaches Yelda.

I forgot to mention Ghadr nights which are very important for us as Shia people. These are the nights when angels land on the earth from the skies. They are close to us human beings and they hear us well and when we pray and help other people, they witness. Ghadr nights are in the midst of our fasting month Ramadan.

Answer 10:

We throw daily garbage into designated district bins. In Afghanistan, we separated sorts of garbage before dumping them, and we burned what could be burned without messy smoke, and we made burials from piles of wasted fruit and vegetables in the places where soil could be rejuvenated. In today’s life we can’t handle managing garbage as we don’t know what to do with the left overs containing plastic and polymers. All we do is prepare garbage to be picked up by the district trucks at 9 pm.

Answer 11:

We feed pigeons and wild birds. We share our food and all the left overs with animals because it is Sawaab according to Islam. We avoid consuming water more than our very basic needs. We don’t pollute soil and water.

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Answer 12:

We clean the environment and try not to have a share in polluting its elements. We respect the designated rules of the Ministry of Environment. We respect the greenery around us.

Answer 13:

In the Qur’an many chapters are about nature. For example, chapters of the sun, spider, the moon, water are all about different natural phenomena. The Qur’an advises us that harming nature is a sin and we are required to respect and help nature and its belongings in order to be counted as Islamic people of God. Assisting nature in anyway has an eternal Sawaab.

Answer 14:

Our holy prophet Hazrat Peighambar Mohammad 5, Salaam and peace be upon them, their Ahl- e-Beit 7 and our Shia Imams have continuously advised us to respect the rights of non-human beings and we will be held responsible for our behaviors and actions towards non-human beings on the judgement day. Our dear prophet Mohammad, Salaam and peace be upon them, have stated that even harming a little bird will hold us responsible on the judgement day. Imam Reza 4 has stated that any leftover food is the inherent right of the birds outdoor and we are to honour their right.

Answer 15:

Our religious duty in Islam is to respect the rights of animals, plants, trees, insects, water, soil and the air. Treating them well is our duty and this goodness enriches our material and immaterial life.

Answer 16:

When we are in a group or community, we are kinder and humbler to nature.

Answer 17:

Well, the better economics we live in, individually or in a family, we can afford to treat nature better. We can afford to grow more trees and feed more creatures. We can use better degradable garbage bags.

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Answer 18:

We don’t have a political view. We want to live in peace away from bloody war.

Answer 19:

Nature is present and attended to in all of our gatherings in family, relatives, neighbors, friends and community. Nowruz and spring are all about nature and the essence of new year for us is to celebrate it in a group. Extracting flowers’ Golaab is a community culture which is all about plants and the knowledge of growing and protecting and treating them. The movement of sun and moon make Yelda gatherings for us. The Islamic month of Ramadan gathers us in communities which are centered around the rise and the dawn of the sun and the moon.

Answer 20:

We are temple guardians in here but most of the neighbors are farmers or herders. There are more visitors in spring and summer seasons and we have better economics in those seasons as well.

Answer 21:

We know nothing about politics and we do not want to know.

Answer 22:

In our Afghan culture, all our poems are inspired by nature and are about nature. What we have learned from our mothers in the field of hand crafts and arts are all about nature patterns and nature stories. The Qur’an and Hadith teach us a lot about nature.

Answer 23:

Qur’an and Islamic ethics of living.

Answer 24:

It teaches us about balance, reciprocity and justice in nature. It teaches us that every harm to nature will return to ourselves. It teaches us humble and kind practices towards nature. Islam reminds us that we are living in a world in which one dimension of it is an angelic world and we should not live in a way that angels turn their backs and leave us.

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Answer 25:

One of our main Indigenous technologies was our fabric threading machine. We left them and immigrated to Iran. We used to thread our own fabric from cotton farms and that fabric was made of pure cotton that lasted for several years. Now we buy clothes that most of their fabric is made of nylon or polyester or other sorts of polymers. Their quality is poor and they are not biodegradable. Even the dye for our clothes was from natural sources, now they are from polymer colors and they cause allergies and respiratory diseases.

Answer 26:

We say Ayat prayers at the time of eclipse. We say Shokr prayers at the time of rain and snow. We avoid consumerism to keep our prayers of value. Every year, during one full month of Ramadan, we eat and drink less and share with the poor and donate to charities and we fast. Consuming too much meat is forbidden in Islam and we are advised not to buy meat on a daily basis. Instead it is better to use Ghorbani meat which is prepared ethically and according to the Islamic rights of animals. Angels watch us eat and drink, so we respect our food table and the bread and water on it, so angels continue to come over and count Sawaabs for us.

Answer 27:

I feel calm.

Answer 28:

Our parents and the Qur’an and Hadith.

Answer 29:

In Qur’an learning classes, in Mosque and school.

Answer 30:

First of all, I am a human being and I have a high rank of being in front of God. My belief and practice can affect nature if God’s will allows. Second of all, I am a woman and women have a high rank in front of God. God has stated that heaven is beneath a mother’s feet, and I am a mother. What makes me being at a high rank in front of God is that I fulfill my responsibility of loving and teaching my children. I need to teach them about the world, ethics and the Qur’an.

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Interview number two

At the temple of Sheikh Kolain, I met the farmer lady who identified herself as local and Indigenous of the region. She is in love with her lady Bibi Fatemeh Zahra 8, the daughter and the only child of Prophet Mohammad. After saying her sunset prayers, we sit at the temple’s doorway in the beautiful garden, and the interview takes several hours as she answers each question through depicting a narrative of the story of her life and belief.

Answers to interview questions:

Answer 1:

I am a Shia woman and follower of Prophet Mohammad, Salaam and peace up on them, and Imam Ali and my lady Bibi Fatemeh Zahra 8, Salaam of God up on her. My occupation is motherhood and farming. My ancestors have been farmers here in Kolain, back to back. My family has been living here neighbouring the temple. Most of the local people left Kolain and immigrated to towns and cities, but me and my family decided to stay and continue farming. Praying close to Agha Sheikh Kolain 6 is not something we can lose throughout our living. My ancestors have long kept their faith in the belief that Agha Imam Zaman 1 will arrive at this place, and we wait for that day, that sunrise of that holy Friday over the mountains of Ray.

Answer 2:

All my family and my ancestors have been followers of the school of Shia thought, Ahl-e-Beit 7 and teacher Kolain 6 has been our reference for Hadith interpretations. My father had one original copy of the Hadith interpretations by Sheikh Kolain 6, which he read to us every evening in our childhood. My siblings and I decided to donate the book to the temple’s library. I am particularly a follower of Hadith from Bibi Fatemeh Zahra 8, Salaam 58 upon her soul.

Answer 3:

Here is the ultimate land of arrival, the land of Mo-uude 9.

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Answer 4:

The ecology of this place is known for its numerous water resources. This place is a part of Ray region which has been of importance to the residing communities, kings and governments throughout history. Ibn Sina 10, when passing by this land, decided to stay for its beautiful open ranges and holy places, each next to a water resource. Cheshmeh-Ali lake is here. Cheshmeh- Bibi-Shahrbanu 11 is here. Here is the land of chukkers and deer. In niches at the edges of green open ranges, Ray butterflies are numerous, various and particular to this region. I’m a farmer and I have a good knowledge of the soil in this region. Here the farm lands are located in the foothills of Mehr mountain. We know from the history of the region that Bahram e Gur used to hunt Persian zebra in this land. Persian Zebra is unique to this place. We know from the mythological history of this region that scarce Persian eagles used to live here. A lot of stories exist among Indigenous people of this region about Persian Gur zebras, Persian Shahin eagles and wild Goraz boars.

Answer 5:

In Islamic cosmology, nature means water and soil and fire and wind plus all the beings living in and among them. Nature is a mother because of its fertility and care. Nature is also a father because it is guardian and protector. In Islam nature doesn’t have gender because nature is the grand book of law. The law which is from God and this law should be respected by humans. Nature is the practical and behavioral manifestation of balance and justice from God. The grand law of nature protects the rights of animals and plants and humans and all other citizens of this realm. I have a couple of Zoroastrian family friends and I know from them that in Zoroastrianism, which was the old belief in this region, water, soil, wind and fire, each of these nature forces were seen as separate realms and the holistic view of looking at all of these as a whole body called nature was brought by Islam to people’s thought and belief systems.

Answer 6:

Environment is our surrounding whose rules are not necessarily of the divine. Environment is partially human made like village, town and city structures, even farm lands and grazing lands made by humans. Farming technology and water dams are also not natural but human made. There is not a grand law governing and ruling environment, but there are rules that are not of

266 divine and they can be right at a time and wrong at another time or place. Environmental rules are to be changed, modified and corrected at all times.

Answer 7:

I don’t know how I’m treating nature. God knows. All I know is that I’m a farmer woman and I practice farming according to the farming culture used for a long time in this place. I’m not sure how much of my practice aligns with the divine law of nature. There is no scale to compare and evaluate my farming practices with the so-called standards of the divine law of nature. As a woman knowledgeable about the harm of modern farming technologies and Genetically Modified seeds, I avoid following modern ways of farming. Genetically Modified seeds are produced in unethical ways of changing the divine structures and they harm and they have mortal and long-term side effects. As a woman, I follow the ethics of lady Bibi-Shahrbanu who is the epic of justice towards water, soil, plants and animals in the history of this region. In ancient Iran, women lived hand in hand with nature in the peasant and royal life. Both groups were connected to water temples of Anahita, where there were sacred places of preserving, managing and praising water. As a farmer peasant woman, my connection to the land and nature is inseparable. On the other hand, as a Shia woman, my role model is my lady Bibi-Khatun Fatemeh Zahra, Salam upon her soul. They would treat plants and animals with care, kindness and justice. I know that they have advised us to treat all the creatures with Taghwa 12. My understanding of this statement is that we treat nature with care and caution to avoid harm and treat it according to divine rules.

Answer 8:

To be honest, I’m not happy with my own behaviour towards nature. In today’s life, modernity is imposed even on peasant life, and we ordinary people are left with habits and ways that get integrated into our lives. The habits that are against the law of nature. Our ways of treating the environment are very much dependant on our economics and facilities because treating the environment is about garbage management, avoiding polluting, consuming and choosing biodegradables that are hard to afford. Designing modern facilities like parks according to or at least in respect to locality, Indigenous culture and nature of this place.

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Answer 9:

My life is entangled with nature from early morning at the time of sunrise when I wake up for my morning prayers, until sunset when I stop working to do my sunset prayers. From the moment Azan 13 announces “Hayya ala falah”, “Hayya ala khayr-e-alamal”, I bow to God thanking Him for guiding me to be a farmer. Then I say “Besme Allah Alrrahman Alrrahim” 59 to start working, which begins with feeding the animals and birds on my farm. I feed them with greens and seeds. Then I start farming according to the seasonal tasks that have been designed and assigned by experience and the knowledge transferred from my parents and ancestors. I generally grow wheat and barley, and corn in between. The end of spring is the harvest time and I grow beet and corn instead. I grow new wheat and barley at the end of summer when the first autumn breeze blows in the air. This process provides me and my family of four children with enough and not more than enough income to live for a year. Nature feeds us and we try to compensate by being humble and kind to the nature according to Qur’an law of living in relation with non human beings.

Nature is the living reminder of “Rastakheez”14 for us. The living and breathing of earth, the hospitality of soil and rain flows water into the veins of the soil and fills the lakes that feed the fish and animals. The wind that breathes through the greens and the cycle of life that turns the wheels of lives of animals and birds and seedlings and tiny insects. All sleep like dying in winter and they wake up at their “Rastakheez”14 in spring when they “kheeze” again.

I am a woman and I’m honored to be a mother as well. Mother of four children who each were juvenated in my body and I grew them there until they were born according to God’s will. Pregnancy was a symbol of “Rastakheez” for me. The whole process was the story of a living fetus that gets used to the life inside my body and then all of a sudden the walls of her nest are falling and the rivers and the mountains in her environment are falling. The little one thinks her life is getting over but what she doesn’t know and can’t imagine is that her actual life is just going to begin. The story of the little fetus is just like the story of humans living on earth, and then when the time comes, “Rastakheez” transfers us to our actual permanent life. I have told this story to my children many times and they know that they are here to journey from “Adamyat” to “Ensanyat”.

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As a Shia farmer, I know that the soil and water and sun and the seeds have their own particular rights and treating them should be according to Islamic laws of living in relation to others.

As a local farmer, I respect the soil in this place because I believe the soil is the earthly remnant of my ancestors. They were buried in this soil and now they are food for the seeds that we grow. Their souls have left this earthly life but the material cycle of nature includes the earthly remnant of their being. Islamic law protects this earthly and material cycle and has the knowledge of protecting the sustainable cycle of nature.

Answer 10:

My behavior towards the environment is very much dependant on the facilities and designs provided by the village and provincial muncipalities. If they provide us with biodegradable garbage bags, then we will be able to manage garbage in a more just way. My behavior towards the air, which is an important element of nature, very much depends on the quality of fuel provided by the authorities in charge. These are not governed or even influenced by one’s own ideology or integrity of submitting to Islamic laws of treating our surroundings. Of course, this fact does not discharge me and my family from our own responsibilities. We try to use cars less often and we fix our home facilities to have less pollution for the air. We submit to the rule of “Ghana at” in order to use less water. We divide so called dead garbage from living garbage. Fruit skins, remainders, and leftovers of bread, food and tea leaf are living garbage and we burry them under the soil. We deliver dead garbage to the pick up trucks of the municipality.

Answer 11:

I return the food that nature provides us to the nature through ethics of farming, which is a combination of Islamic ethics and local Indigenous ethics of treating land.

Answer 12:

I feel guilty for my behavior and treatment towards the environment. The shortage of facilities has imposed this guilt on my life. I try to avoid becoming guiltier when it comes to my daily individual life. For example, I save water in cooking and cleaning. I try not to waste even drops of water. I never consume any make up because I am aware of its environmental and animal harm. I use henna and other coloring plants as my hair dye. I firmly believe that the whole

269 concept of “Hijab” 60 in Islamic laws for women includes protecting the environment. I tell you how. You know in modern cities and towns, women consume a lot of make up, hair dye and ornaments to decorate themselves in order to be confident to present themselves in public. The environment has to pay the price because all of these decorative ornaments are produced at the price of harming animals or are made of polymers and artificial ingredients and chemicals which are harmful to the environment and also nature. Islam has designed the rules of Hijab which are all based on the concept of beauty in Islam. The meaning of beauty for a woman in Islam is very different from ornamentalism, and it is much deeper and meaningful than being decorative of one’s self. A woman with purity, virtue and high hygiene which is about “vozu” 29, “ghosl” 61 and cultural identity is called beautiful inside and outside. Beauty should be healthy and free of harm, in Islam. Consumption of lotions and oils and chemicals with unknown sources do not bring beauty to a woman’s being. According to Orf 15 in Islam, Iranian beauty is in caring for other beings, and protecting nature and environment in the kindness and humbleness which is unique to the woman’s being. For example, we know that the women in Islamic early ages used to avoid red based and dark color lipsticks because they believed that these colors on lips belonged to Ferron women who used to kill insects and smash them into their lipstick in order to make ark red and red based colors for their lips. This is disgusting, unjust and discriminatory in Islamic Iranian culture which defines Hagh 22 for animals and other beings. On the other hand, we know that our lady Bibi Fatemeh Zahra did not use silver and gold ornaments and used to be a lover of simplicity and virtue and Effat 23 instead of luxury, while these days we know that extracting too much silver and gold from earth mines has made our planet imbalanced and hollow. Mines have affected the quality of soil and the quality of farming. As a woman when you live in Hijab, then you won’t need to decorate yourself on a daily basis and even for a short presence in public. Covering our hair in public helps us become free of numerous kinds of hair creams, conditioners, anti-solar and sprays for decorating or fixing our hair in public.

Answer 13:

Our holy Qur’an highlights the importance of nature by naming some of its chapters in the names of natural elements. Chapters like water, moon, sun, skies, earth, and even names of plants, animals and insects like spider. The Qur’an guides us how to treat nature and its beings with “Taqhwa” 12. Taghwa has to be apparent in our “Neeyyat”62 as well as in our action. Islam is

270 the religion of kindness, humbleness and “Raufat” 63 to those of less power and this includes plants, animals and insects. In Islam it is Haram to discriminate against the less powerful. Haram means it is strictly forbidden and there is no way around it. The Qur’an advises us to be kind to nature and it is counted as our “WA jib” 64 which means it is our duty and it has several earthly and immortal Sawaab 21. In the “Hood” chapter in the holy Qur’an, people are advised to make continuous attempts to green-construct and help lands on the earth. The narratives of the Qur’an are very educational because they narrate true stories of the past of the groups, communities and nations of the earth and how their fate is depicted by their own manners and practices towards nature. For example, Ferron was unjust in sharing water among communities and ultimately he becomes a victim of floods of water falling all over his kingdom.

Answer 14:

Imam Sadiq emphasises that the origin and survival of life on earth is dependant on water and bread. The cultures of consumerism of food cause some life to be extinct and our duty is to practice “Sarfehjuyi” 27 in the face of consumerism. Sarfehjuyi 27 is practiced in order to serve nature. Imam Ali states that every and each being, even plants, has the right of body which needs to be respected and not discriminated. I don’t recall any Hadith about the concept of “Beit-al- maal” 46, but I’m sure nature is counted as Beit-al-maal 46 in Islam. This means that nature belongs to every one and any discrimination towards nature is discriminating people’s rights. Imam Ali 16, Aleihe-alsallam 24, has stated that annoying animals is a sin. He has also stated that having access to pure drinking water is the right of everyone on earth and wasting drinking water is a sin. Imam Sadiq has stated that the right of a worker and farmer is of a high rank in a society. I know that there are several Hadith from Imam Ali and Imam Sadiq 17 which emphasize the importance of the influence of animals and plants on the balance of the earth, and they have said that this balance is crucial for the health of human beings. Our dear and holy prophet has told us that if

case we ride a horse or a camel, we need to provide them with fresh water every milestone and they take priority over us in drinking turn and it is forbidden to annoy or hit the animal, especially in their face since they pray to God and they are all good prayers. They have stated that we are required to get off the horses or any riding animal when we speak or when we take our time and we are permitted to ride on the riding animals only when we travel or commute. We

271 are not allowed to use them for sitting or leaning. In Islamic ethics, killing animals for their fur, leather or skin is against the law. We are only allowed to use the leather which is Halal 47 and this means the leather is from a cow or a sheep that is ghorbani 19 for meat, and this process should be done according to Islamic ethics of treating the animal with care before devotion, nazri 20 and feeding the animal with water and enough food. The animal should not be pregnant, nursing, a child, young, very old, a mother, thirsty, hungry or sick. The process of devotion should not impose pain on the animal, and the blood of the animal should never be consumed or even contained in the meat. Imam Sadiq has stated that if we keep animals at a farm, we are required to be humble to them to the extent that we even clean their running nose.

I always grow grapes in the in-between seasons of growing grains, because our dear holy prophet always stated that grapes and palm trees are relatives of Moslem humans and we are to honor them. For our prophet Mohammad Salli-ala-Mohammad-va-aal-e-Mohammad 18, watering trees has the same Sawaab 21 as watering thirsty human beings.

Answer 15:

Respect, honoring and not harming. If I want to submit to these, my whole life, farming style, my behavior and manners should be affected by these. Respecting nature means I love nature with all its beings and I continuously thank God. This thanking and praying provides a wonderful hope and continuity to my daily life. As a farmer, I touch the soil and the land who grows seeds in its body. Being in love with land and nature has made me sensitive to harm against nature, its beings, plants and animals. I have no tolerance to witness discrimination of nature and its beings and that’s exactly why I chose to stay here in Kolain and avoid immigrating to city and town life. The reason for my resistance against immigration is that I firmly believe that town imposes modernity and secularity on our lives and these life styles are against the rights of nature, plants and animals and seeing disrespect to nature is socially inevitable in town life. I have taught these fundamentals to my children and they act responsibly towards nature and the environment. They commute by bicycle in cold or hot seasons, and even in choosing their career they have chosen jobs that maintain respect towards nature and its beings. They know that their income needs to be Halal. Keeping our faith makes life harder day after day, but we Tawakkol 25 upon God and we trust that God guides us to everyday solutions.

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I myself am very sensitive to hunting that takes place in this region. If I witness or find out about a minor hunting, I report it to the municipality. My role model is lady Fatemeh Zahra who always stood for the rights of the less powerful, workers, farmers and peasants. If I ever have a question or confusion about practicing Hadith, I refer to the life story of lady Fatemeh Zahra who lived Islam fully and beautifully as woman.

Answer 16:

As an Iranian Shia farmer woman, my social life is very vast and includes Seleye-Arham 26, the mosque community, group and community prayers, donation ceremonies, holy celebrations, neighboring gatherings, local women, travellers and visitors, sellers and Bazaar people, and my farm product customers. From all of these, my relationship with relatives, neighbors and guests has almost nothing to do with nature, but I think community prayers, donations and celebrations are all intervened with nature. For example, prayers like shokr-e-barakat prayers at the time of growing new seeds and harvesting plants, Fetr prayers at the end of fasting month, Ayaat prayers at the time of thunderstorm or eclipse, Ghorban prayers at the time of ethical preparing of meat, and many others that I don’t remember now, are all reminders of respecting nature, its beings and elements and its circle of life and the right of animals in Islamic law. All sorts of Nazri 20 are very important too. There is a Nazri called lantern Nazri in which we light lanterns at every road and sub-road and the burning oil in the lantern is devoted to the soul of those who have passed away, and the light of the lantern is donated to passersby who need light to find or walk their way. This ritual always reminds me of the preciousness of light and electricity and the preciousness of water that makes power. And I try to do Sarfejuyee 27 by less consumption of water and electricity.

Answer 17:

My economics do not have a direct influence on nature because my behavior is managed by my ideology and belief which are directed by my Islamic, feminine and Iranian approach. According to Islamic laws, good, fair and right behavior towards nature does not necessarily require high economic abilities. The axis of this behavior are taghwa 12 and avoiding harm. But this does not guarantee unknown harm that is indirectly deviated from our actions. Knowing about these harms may require special literacy that I do not know about.

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Interviewer:

What do you mean by literacy?

Interviewee:

I think there are numerous meanings for the word literacy. Literacy may generally mean the ability to read and write. In our parents’ time literacy was all about he tability to read the Qur’an and the ability to read prayer books and references. The ability to translate the Qur’an and prayers was not an issue for the general public since the main translations in Farsi were orally transferred among generations and in the case of question, there were mosque trustees who would help people understand the meanings of the Qur’an and prayers. The ability to read and write was not needed in every day life because our culture of living was devoid of reading and writing in traditional style. There were only government workers who needed to know literacy in the sense of the ability to read and write. Poems and stories of Shahnameh, Nezami and Mathnawi were in our folk lore and orally rehearsed and narrated in kuy-o-barzan 28. All of these are related to new meanings of literacy. In older times, in our old grand culture, literacy was known as having knowledge and consciousness. Farming literacy meant having knowledge of practicing good farming. I think the older word literacy in Farsi, Shour, deviates from the word poem, She’r. I think it is because, in the past, knowledge was oral and transmitted through poems and the more poems you knew, the more knowledge you had about different things. The older meaning of literacy had a deeper meaning and practicality in the life of people. The older meaning was intertwined with people’s locality, Indigeneity, and daily life practices, but the new meaning of literacy is remote from people’s life, places, and local cultures.

Interviewer:

Which meaning of literacy did you mean when you mentioned a literacy that gives knowledge about indirect ways of harming nature related to one’s actions?

Interviewee:

I meant the literacy about nature that is provided to us in lessons of the Qur’an and Hadith. But to know about environmental harms in our actions, we need more environmental literacy based on our locality.

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Answer 18:

The political view of an Iranian Shia farmer woman can affect her behavior towards the environment not nature. Viewing and treating nature is independent of a Shia’s political view. But political views, for example membership in neoliberal or conservative parties, can affect my membership in environmental groups, green groups or hunting associations. Political views are intertwined with modern life, because everything is politicised in modern life.

Answer 19:

Nature is intertwined within an Iranian person’s life, because our ancient grand culture, which was first formed by Zoroastrian belief and then Islamic thought, has always been at close interaction with nature. Our calendar was solar at the time of Zoroastrian belief and then it remained solar even after Islam. Every week day parallels a natural occasion. Our new year is based on changes of nature and sun. Our individual and group prayers and rituals are all at the time of sunset or sunrise. Water and light are the natural elements that manage our daily life. Water for Wozu 29, and Ghusl 61 clean sins off our lives for hopeful continuation of our living. The small pools at the entrance of our houses have been an inseparable segment of Iranian architecture. In our Islamic Iranian culture, home is a place of virtue and we clean the dust off before entering our homes. Light decides timing and scheduling of our lives as light dictates prayer time. Mosques used to be built based on light angel with Mehraab 30. We celebrate light at the time of Yelda 65 as we believe that Imam Mahdi will arrive at the time of sunrise some Yelda someday.

Answer 20:

Our view of nature and our Islamic Iranian approach helps the economy in general, because our respect towards nature requires us to consume less and practice Ghana-at 31, which also helps the family’s finances. Imam Hossein 32 warns us against Shaadkhaari 68 which is a parasitic life in the cycle of nature. We are required to return as much as we receive to nature. We are required

275 to be kind to nature and God sends angels to our residence, and those angels keep us safer from danger and misery.

Answer 21:

Our view of nature affects our political view shaping it towards balance and justice.

Answer 22:

First of all, from my lady Fatemeh Zahra, who is the honor of Shia women and the role model for Shia women of all races. Then my father who was a well-known and knowledgeable farmer, and my mother who was a skillful local weaver and artisan. Then my brother who, as a brave local ranger, boldly stood against hunting. From the Qur’an and from my childhood teacher who educated us in nature and through local plays in the village of Kolain. From Hadith and the lectures in the village mosque. From nature and from farming and from the ants living and working in my wheat farm.

Answer 23:

Hadith.

Answer 24:

Now I have to ask you what do you mean by Indigenous culture? If what you mean is the culture of Kolain people, well, we have been farmers generation after generation. The wheat product of this place has always been well-known as golden wheat. We have learned from our local culture that in order to receive Barakat 33 from God, we need to be kind to nature.

If what you mean by Indigenous culture is our Shia culture, then the Qur’an and Hadith teach us to respect and act responsibly towards nature. If what you mean by Indigenous culture is our Iranian culture, I can say all our calendar and rituals and celebrations like Nowruz and Yelda are intertwined with nature and its elements.

Interviewer:

By Indigenous culture, I mean the specific culture of this place.

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Interviewee:

The basic pillars of our local culture are kindness and fair exchanges with nature. These pillars are necessary for reza 34 of God and for the goodness and Sadat of ourselves.

Answer 25:

Our Indigenous technologies are all about farming and all are designed in a way that they align with nature and do not harm nature beings like insects, plants and animals. Some other technologies are carpet weaving stands and accessories and we weave carpets from real sheep wool that covers our floors and the carpets are completely recyclable and biodegradable. Another technology is ghebleh 35 that shows our way in any direction at any place.

Our stables are all made of mud and they are portable and replaceable from season to season. We never need to buy monument building material and we do not support mines. Kahgel 36 which is a local old material of building keeps our homes cold in summer and warm in winter. We bake our own bread at home tanoors. We don’t need to buy bread from bakery shops that consume a lot of energy to make industrial bread.

Answer 26:

Nowruz, Yelda, Ramadan month, Ayaat prayers, and harvest rituals, rain prayers and Ghorban rituals.

Answer 27:

Taghwa and respect.

Answer 28:

It exists in our culture. It has been in our schools, society, family and our religion. It is in our Iranian identity.

Answer 29:

Everywhere in Iran in families.

Answer 30:

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In the circle of life, I am a producer, grower, care woman and a consumer. On the other hand, God has stated that as a human, I can be Ashraf of creatures. It means my rank is so high in nature that my decisions and actions can affect nature in large ways. So is my responsibility is high and so should be my sensitivity towards my actions in relation to nature and nature beings.

Interview number three

The gentleman x who is the guardian of temple x close to Kolain village is very eager to take part in the interview and volunteers to share his narratives in the form of answers to the interview questions. The temple is among multiple temples located at the end of the Kushk road. Kushk was evacuated long ago and the remnants of the village still reflect its beauty in the play of lights at sunset.

The third participant asks me some questions before signing the consent form preceding the interview. The questions of the participant and my answers to them are as follows:

Questions of the interviewee:

Interviewee number three had several questions for the me. The questions of the third interviewee and my answers to them are as follows:

Interviewee Question 1:

Where are you from?

Researcher’s Answer 1:

I’m from …. My father is from a middle-class family of high education and with a governmental occupation. My mother is from a Khan family with a pedigree of one local Indigenous parent and one Indigenous nomad. I identify myself from all over Iran since, after childhood, I’ve been spending most of my life across mountain lands, open ranges, deserts, towns, villages and sea- sides from one side to the other side of vast Iran. I’ve been in close connection with Indigenous peoples, local cultures across Iran and even in Afghanistan and Syria.

Interviewee Question 2:

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Are you a Muslim?

Researcher’s Answer 2:

I am Mosalman and I am Shia.

Interviewee Question 3:

Why did you choose this topic for your research?

Researcher’s Answer 3:

My answer to this question is included in a large segment of my writings. But to put it in a nutshell for you, I have to say that I respect Indigenous culture, locality, religion, and the religious rituals and tradition which are meaningful to manifestation of everyday-life-needs in one’s life. I believe nature and the environment are dealing with serious difficulties and I’m curious to know if locality, Indigenous culture and religion have been able to help deal with these difficulties, even on the small scale of this Shia region in Ray. And if they haven’t been able to help, do they at least have the potential to be helpful?

And how to educate about these potentials?

Interviewee Question 4:

Why in your affiliated university?

Researcher’s Answer 4:

I didn’t start with such a topic at this university. I went after my questions about the nature of education, how it is located in that side of the world and the problems concurrent in the realm of education in today’s world. The story of my life unfolded in a way that getting a degree from this institution has provided me the chance to explore this topic as an intersect in my journey at this time and place.

Interviewee Question 5:

Aren’t you afraid of the consequences of sharing information about a Shia Moslem community with a Western university situated in Canada?

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Researcher’s Answer 5:

To be honest with you, this has been one of my main concerns during the design of the research approach and the ethics related to it, and this concern will stay with me during the process of codifying and analyzing the data. But, on the other hand, despite knowing a lot about the political aspects of this concern, I decided to pursue this research hoping that my experience opens new links of dialogue which may help to educate about the harms of Islamophobia.

Interviewee Question 6:

Will this research help us or them?

Researcher’s Answer 6:

It truly depends on who, where and how this data will be used, interpreted and followed up.

Answers to interview questions by the third participant:

Answer 1:

I am the guardian, motewalli 67, of a couple of temples in this region. I was born and grew up here. I decided to stay here since the master-wells in this region started to dry out because the Karaj dam came into existence. The people who once stood against Russian attacks in the Second World War, then started to leave their lands because of dried out wells that threatened their life and occupation. I stayed to witness and document the process and I started to take care of isolated temples after people had left this land. Today, people know me and my colleagues as the safe keepers of the temples in this place. They say we Abaad these sacred places. Abaad means providing with water, but as a phrase it means keeping green and going. It is different from its modern sense as making road and making a city and ruining the peasant and village style of a place.

From years of being young, I gathered references, books and documents narrating the history, geography, topography and geology of Fashapooyeh region in Ray town. I have a fair knowledge of the plants and animals local to this region.

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Answer 2:

I’m a Moslem and I have collections of books about the Qur’anic view of nature and life, that I have studied them all. One of these references is the book by Hasan Motamednya in this field. I am a Shia and a follower of Imam Hossein Salaam and peace of God to his soul, and I know that the shrine of Bibi Khatoon has a complete and reliable pedigree document that dates back to Imam Hossein’s era. I have devoted my life to Bibi Shahrbanu, the wife of Imam Hossein. I have never been able to afford visiting Imam Hossein’s holy shrine in Karbala, but I have been honored to be Khadim to Bibi Shahrbanu all my life so far. I have a wife and a daughter who have been accompanying me shoulder by shoulder throughout this journey. My father used to be a professional Miraab 69 whose occupation disappeared with the arrival of water pipes, and I decided to continue his way of living in connection with water, and I became a well digger in its most professional sense. I knew the master wells, their stories and topography and I was good at the geology of this region. Life was going well until the authorities built the Karaj dam in 1335 SH. (1957 AD.). The dam gradually dried the master wells over two decades and the water plate of this land sank deeper, making it unreachable for plant roots and basis. Agriculture started to be extinct due to lack of water plates and the farming of this region, which was once known as the best in the province, began to lose its quality and market. Another big harm to national agriculture was the land reform of 1341 SH. (1963 AD.). In this reform the government ordered farming landlords to divide their land acres among their farmer workers per family and only a small portion of their property remained under their ownership. This reform put farming lands in the hands of the farmer workers who did not have enough funding, facility and knowledge of the rules in order to keep, water, manage, run and protect farm lands in long term. As a result, the farmer remained incapable of protecting lands from industrial currents, modernity and land bargainers. Industrial companies purchased lands at a low price from stranded farmers and farmers became jobless and ultimately immigrants to towns and cities. This was how traditional farming, and its related cultures, peasant life style, Dehghani 37and Shabaani 38 life styles, herding and village living gradually became extinct. When local people immigrated, their Indigeneity and its related cultures began to fade and with the immigration of people who were in love with Sheikh Kolain and Bibi Shahrbanu, the local temples started to be isolated and abandoned. After industrialisation of this region, two groups of immigrants started to arrive at this place. One of these groups was the crowd of people coming here for labour work in

281 industrial centres. They were from different places in Iran and came here to live close to the capital but at a lower cost of living. This group have rarely anything to do with the temples beyond random yearly visits and rituals. The second group were Shia people from Iraq and Afghanistan who specifically came here for the Kolain temple. The temples came to life again with the arrival of these families. The Malek temple was one of the temples which was known to local people by their pedigree and local history. Newcomers did not know anything about Imamzadeh Malek, and the temple was ruined completely after being abandoned. It was never revived again. The percentage of immigrants to locals varies a lot from village to village and from town to town, for example, Khanlagh village has more immigrant families and the village is getting more industrialized and industrial parks and facilities are more in that area and everything is getting yellow-blue colored. The bottom line is that the story of this place is very complicated and long, now you ask the rest of your questions.

Answer 3:

Here is where I depicted in answering to your identity question. Because my being and my identity is not devoid of where here is. I believe both these questions are the same and answering to one suffices the other one. This place has been holy throughout history, from the times since this place was known as Zartosht’s 39 birth place until today. When ancient Iran was Zoroastrian, this place was acting as the whole nation’s Vatican. This place has been identified by its numerous temples from early ages. This is why Imamzadehs came to this region for the respect that Shia Imamzadeh had towards other prophets and Abrahamic religions. The more holy persons came to this land, the more holy temples were built and the more holy the land became. In every layer of the history of Iran, angels have been commuting in this region. This region has been green and heavenly in the immortal and Kaenaat 40, cosmetic face of life and also in the material and earthly face of life. This land is a piece of heaven in its material sense. A lot of Iranian mythological stories have taken place in this region and the neighboring areas, all in Ray. The epic stories of Bahram Gur, Bahram and Azadeh, and a lot more of mythological narrations. Where this place is, has more to do with the cosmetic forces governing this place throughout time, the souls landing at this piece of earth, cultures and traditions of the people living here, history, geography and nature of this place. Ultimately a thousand and one stories each in the heart of the other.

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Answer 4:

Ecology means only the material aspect of this place excluding the cosmetic. Ecology means weather, water, people, plants, animals, geology, water wells and beddings, lakes and rain, seasonal changes, water consumption of people in farming and industry.

Answer 5:

Nature means the chain segments of the wheel of life interworking together. Nature means the balanced outcome of the cosmos being. Nature means the beautiful aesthetics of the material aspect of being. Nature is the blooming of the cosmos and its energies out of the environment. The environment is only the material being of nature, but nature is the spirit of the environment.

Answer 6:

It means the material spaces that exist in nature.

Answer 7:

My duty is to submit to and follow the Qur’an and Hadith about nature. It means I need to have a religious behavior towards nature. Any other way can lead to wrong and harm nature.

Answer 8:

It depends how much I can afford financially as this is about legalities, municipal rules and designs. My treatment of the environment is not affected by my belief, my life style and individual understandings, as much as it is affected by municipal designs based on the politics and economics of a region.

Answer 9:

I am a guardian of this temple and I have a fair knowledge of the harms done to this land. The harms have not just been environmental but the harms have been against nature as well, because the ideology and vision of people towards the whole nature has been changed. Nature is not respected anymore and nature and its ghedaasat 41 have been lost in the midst of immigrant and industry currents. The lost respect of nature has led to the loss of respect for temples. The identity of this place is lost. As a religious guardian, my duty also includes guarding nature because true religious ideology also guards nature from harm.

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Answer 10:

As a citizen of this place, the hygiene rules govern my life, for instance in treating garbage, water and generally my whole life style affects the environment.

Answer 11:

I try to revive the temples, so religion will be back to the region and then the religious view of nature will protect nature from harm and further destruction.

Answer 12:

This one relates to my water management skills related to my job. I try to predict and preserve water wells and resources and this is how I serve the environment.

Answer 13:

Nature is so important in the Qur’an that a lot of Surahs are named about nature and its elements. For example, sun, moon, water, earth and etc. But the most educational for me, in the Qur’an about nature, has been the concept of Rastakheez, judgement day, in its Qur’anic approach. There are two kinds of judgement day in the Qur’anic view, one is the judgement day of nature and the second kind happens on the last day in this world. The nature one happens every year with the start of spring, when the dead and sleeping beings start to bloom and grow and rise again. This is a metaphor of human living and the Qur’an refers to it as a sign of resemblance to human fate. The second kind is the actual day when is the end of time and every and each thought and action of us, humans, will be judged and rewarded. The Qur’an states that our actions towards nature and all its beings will also be evaluated and rewarded with true justice in judgement. The Qur’an specifically counts the rights of plants, animals, water, earth, mountains and the whole wheel of life.

Answer 14:

This is a very important question, I think. As a temple guardian, I meet with a lot of people who approach me for their religious questions, but no one has ever asked me about the opinion of Hadith on nature and the environment, even though there exist numerous numbers of Hadith

284 about these concepts and the rights related to them. I have thought about these concepts many times. Imam Hossein, Salaam upon his holy soul, has reminded us to avoid a parasitic life style in the wheel of life. There have been many Hadith about the fundamental concept of Takreeming 42 bread. Our holy prophet has taught us that daily praying is not devoid of bread. Imam Sadiq has taught us to respect bread because from arsh 43, heavens to earth, all are at work to provide bread. Islam has taught us that humans are citizens of the cosmos and the rights of this citizenship are well defined and one taboo is esraaf 44 and over-consumption. Over- consumption leads individuals and their society to economic slavery according to Imam Hossein’s hadith. Our holy Prophet Mohammad salaam upon his soul has stated that there is a right to our body and that is fasting and eftar after fasting, and you should submit to the right of your body this way. Also, we are to respect the right of bodies of other beings like animals and plants. Another fundamental pillar of behavior towards nature is submitting to needlessness in one’s life. Islam is based on this important characteristic. A Muslim’s needlessness is a cause of having God instead of all materials according to Imam Ali. Imam Ali, Salaam upon his soul, has reminded us that one can reach the state of needlessness by abandoning their endless wishes. The holy prophet calls this Nafs 70 needlessness as a kind of spiritual needlessness. In Nahj Al- balagha 80, Imam Ali has invited each Muslim to stand against wasting nature for one’s profit. One main responsibility of authorities governing Islamic communities is supervising economic trades with nature towards the benefit of nature, and the better use of natural resources as Beit al- mal 46. Islamic governments are required to protect rights of workers and farmers as top priorities. Imam Ali teaches us that a hierarchal system in human society can result in human’s and nature’s destruction. In Maedeh chapter in the Qur’an, God advises us to avoid over consumption which makes our halal 47 belongings haram 20. Imam Ali and Imam Sadiq remind us that animals and plants have a crucial role in the balance of nature and protecting them from harm can lead humans to a good and healthy life. Imam Sadiq has many hadith about marine beings and seas and their role in the wheel of life. The holy Prophet Mohammad advises us that birds should be safe when they shelter their nests and hunting a nested bird makes its meat haram and then it is forbidden, and also the chicks of immigrant birds should never be hunted. In Imam Ali’s code of justice, killing an innocent animal without a justified reason has the hadd 48 punishment of stealing something. Imam Sadiq emphasises that hunting is not allowed unless it is for one’s hunger. Imam Reza has advised us to share everyday meal leftovers with other

285 beings. The holy Prophet Mohammad guides us how to treat riding animals, for example food and water are the inevitable rights of the animal one has been riding on. It is the turn of that animal to eat and drink before the rider. Imam Sadiq has stated that stable animals have the right of their hygiene on our shoulders, we are to even clean their nose as they are not able to. The holy prophet has stated that watering trees has the value of providing water to a thirsty human. Imam Sadiq emphasises that cutting live trees, especially those bearing fruit and blooms, has an immortal punishment from God. In Islam eating too much meat is Makruh 49. Imam Reza teaches us the important fundamental that the necessary factor for keeping everything halal in our everyday life is to limit consumption of everything.

Answer 15:

Aligning our actions with Hadith defines our religious duty towards nature. Religion wants us to respect the rights of nature, not harm nature, avoid discriminating nature rights, and accompany nature. The Qur’an describes the rules in the form of stories, metaphors and examples. The Hadith is the interpretation of the Qur’an in a language style understandable for the general public, and about the practicality of Qur’anic rules in one’s daily life. The Qur’an describes the grand rules of the cosmos and hadith explains these rules in particulars.

Answer 16:

My social life was limited to ceremonies, rituals, donations, devotions and community once in the past. They were all about and around nature and at a balanced exchange with nature. But these days, as a temple guardian who fights against nature’s destruction which can lead to the destruction of religious temples, my social life is expanded to my activism and speeches against modernism, against the non-Indigenous culture of city life, against bourgeoisie, and against over consumption of water, against the death of traditional agriculture, and my meetings with Jehad- Sazandegi for better farming. The immortal meaning of my fight is all about trying to keep the balance of the cosmos.

The social life of a Shia Muslim obtains various meanings in different times and places. In the necessary circumstances, a Shia’s social life should be limited to rituals and community ceremonies. Silence is not appropriate when a harm is being done to nature. Our religious duty is beyond daily life. Now when nature and the environment are in danger, we are to define new

286 emerging meanings of social life for a Shia life style. This can be constructive as well as destructive and dangerous. For example, there exist NGO’s that claim to stand for the rights of nature and the environment, claiming right or wrong, many of them have no literacy and knowledge of the cosmos and their solutions are secular and bring secularity and modernity, while ultimately the rights of nature are not protected by their views and actions and more harm is done long term to the nature. In my speeches, I always emphasise that Islamic rules of treating nature should be considered in having relations with nature as those rules have a divine reference that consider holistic views of nature in the cosmos. For example, water and light have been two important respectful and holy elements for Shia in Iran. A Shia tries to always remember Imam Hossein while drinking water or dealing with water. We always send regards to Imam Hossein and their accompaniers. This holiness and respect towards water can lead us to better consumption of water and to avoid over consumption. In the Qur’an water has been mentioned 64 times. In our ancient Iranian culture, temples were built close to water sources like lakes, wells and springs due to the holiness of water, and meaning of cleanness and virtue attached to the concept of water.

Answer 17:

Look, we have a cultural ritual called “Moraghebah” when we practice Moraghebah in 40 days which is the number of perfection in the cosmos. Moraghebah means that one decides to specify 40 days to God and only God. It means one eats and drinks and does all daily activities for Allah 50 who has gifted us our bodies and breath of life. We have borrowed our bodies from God and we need to purify our bodies from harm which is guilt and anything not good. During Moraghebah we learn that eating, drinking, making income to supply food and accessories are all not for ourselves but for a healthy life which is what we have borrowed from God. So then we won’t harm our bodies and health by eating and consuming too much, then we avoid specifying our lives to Shaadkhaari. This is just one example of Shia rituals that help Shia believers to have a balanced life without harming nature. No matter at what level of income Shia people are, they try not to over consume and this helps nature resources a lot.

Answer 18:

The political view of a Shia is the view of Imam Hossein Salaam upon his soul. It takes no membership in any clubs of race and color. Specific political approaches emerging from the

287 holistic Imam Hosseini view vary according to time and place and they are not related to Islamic ideology about nature and the rights of nature, unless we are a membes of a group that has an indirect influence on nature and the environment.

Answer 19:

In Islamic ideology about nature, humans are citizens of the cosmos. In this view, nature is the manifestation of cosmos in its aspects of place, material and energies. The balance of nature teaches us the immortal meaning of life in the form of sustainable cycles. Nature, as a manifestation of exchange based on justice, teaches us very fundamental rules of community membership and citizenship like becoming balanced, avoiding extremes and submitting to God’s rules.

Answer 20:

Economics in this region is very much dependant on nature and harm to nature has influenced the economy of people in this region to the extent of crisis.

Answer 21:

I can’t answer this question.

The interviewer:

Why can’t you answer this question?

The interviewee:

I can’t say anything in this regard.

Answer 22

Throughout my life, nature has been defined in numerous meanings. In childhood watching my father digging wells and fixing waterways, nature meant water flowing in currents on the body of the soil. When I attended Imam Hossein memorials they would talk about the thirsty soil of the Karbala desert and nature was more manifested as water to me as a child. Years later in my teenage-hood, nature was what was described in Qur’anic tales and stories and especially the

288 concept of Rastakheez. In my youth, my understanding of nature was closer to how it was narrated and depicted in the region’s mythological stories, epics and love stories of this place. In those years, nature was the water wells, Aabanbar, niches and water runways underground, their connection and the ecologies related to them. In my middle ages, I started to study the Islamic references to water and nature and it was then when I reached the understanding of nature as Charkhefalak, holistic and interconnected with everything and every being. Everything under the law of God. I studied the Qur’an again and this time I found meaning of nature as Charkhefalak and its interconnected chains of relatioality with every being in the cosmos. Now in my elderly years, I’m more interested n the rights and justice related to the segments and nature and Charkhefalak. The rights of water, rights of soil, rights of lands, rights of light and responsibilities emerging from these rights on Shia shoulders.

Answer 23:

In Shia belief, the true son of his ancestor Imam Hossein, my majesty Mahdi 51, God rushes his anticipated arrival, Ajjal-Allah-Taali-farajah-o-alsharif 52, is constantly witnessing our behavior and actions towards everyone including plant and animal beings and the whole nature, water and soil, so in respect to his highness we try to be fair to all beings and to avoid discriminating their rights.

Answer 24:

When you say Indigenous culture my understanding is that you mean our Iranian Shia culture in Ray Fashapooyeh. This is our local culture and it has its special rules of hunting in accordance to the ecology and locality of this region. Hunting was a common practice in this region and as a result we have specific rules about each and every animal and plant in this region. Some examples that I can recall are for instance hedgehogs are local to this region and they were called mother of greatness from long ago. They have been hunters of snakes, scorpions and insects and hunting them is forbidden in Islam because they have an important role in pest management and the health of ecology of their niches. Another example is the wolf, which is the symbol of badness and trickery. In our culture having a friendly relationship with a wolf is not appropriate as wolves are untameable in our culture, but despite all of this killing and hunting wolves are not allowed in Islam. In our region killing wolves can lead to the rise in population of crows. Crows are middle carriers of lots of diseases. Crows are more dangerous than wolves. Another example

289 is the local Jackal which plays an important role in hygiene of the region. Jackals are cleaners of nature as they feed on animal remnants and agricultural garbage in villages. Another example is the gazelle, whose hunting is sinful but allowed in the case of a stranded human threatened with hunger. All Iranians, Moslems and Shia know the tale of kind Imam Reza and the wandering gazelle. Imam Reza has been known as Zamen 53 for his exclusive kindness with animals and birds, as Imam Ali is known for his kindness with children. These were just few examples from my Indigenous Shia Iranian culture of Ray people. My Indigenous culture follows the Islamic ethics of treating other beings with specific rules of practice related to the ecology of this place.

Answer 25:

Our local technologies, just like the technologies of other Indigenous groups and nations, were influencing earth, water and air at a small scale and even if they were not designed well in accordance to nature, but their harm was minor and could be eliminated by nature in a large scale. But modern technologies like industries, super grand structures like oil wells, dams, chemical fertilizers, GMO’s, poison dispersing airplanes and recently the earthquake inducing bombs like GTU 4, radioactive polluters used by the US army against Iraqi Shia communities, can harm nature at super scales and their harm affects the cosmos and is not repairable.

Answer 26:

All Islamic rituals have a reminder about respecting the rights of nature in them. I say this because in all rituals at least the concept of Taw-heed 54 is conveyed, which means all creatures including cosmos, earth and stars, moon and sun are all created by one God and God defines the rights of these creatures and it is the religious duty of all Muslims to be aware of these rights. On the other hand, we have special rituals specifically devoted to nature like Shokr prayers, natural disaster prayers and many others. For example, at the beginning of our new year, we pray and say “Ya mohawel al howle wa alahwal, ya modabber allayle wa nnahar, hawwel halana ela ahsane alhal” 55. In a part of this praying, we say “you God, this is you who plan and manage the change of days to nights and nights to days, everyday and forever”. This gives the prayers this feeling that they are just one creature of the numerous creatures of God and there are defined rights for them and they are not allowed to feed on the rights of other creatures. During these prayers I feel that I am only one citizen of God’s endless cosmos and I am no one more than who I am related to the cosmos.

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Oh and I have to mention about Alam which is a religious structure we use in our Ashura rituals, which also means symbol, and it has all sorts of animals and birds figure statues on it.

Answer 28:

Qur’an and Hadith.

Answer 29:

In my family, at school, society. In my howiyat 56, identity, it is not separate from our behavior and this is our folklore which means it is us.

Answer 30:

I was an angel of God and my place was the highest paradise

Adam brought me to this land of disperse and wandering

This place is a piece of God’s land where angels commute and I was lucky to be born here. Although for a Shia it does not hugely matter where he or she has been born or is living because our Shia view of life as immortal and un-earthly somehow makes us needless of belonging to a place or a time. Of course, our local and Indigenous cultures and traditions differ over our lives at one place and time from the other. From this point of view our place of birth and living can become important because it affects our becoming. These different manifestations of living as Islamic Shia in various cultures and traditions have made Islamic life colorful, varied and beautiful. Shia Islamic communities differ in their cultures of living as much as they resemble each other in their ideology of living. According to my Shia belief, my position in nature is Ashraf e Makhlooghat. This expression needs a lot of precise and knowledgeable explanation. Ashraf e Makhlooghat means a creature who has Sharaf over other creatures which means he/she is credited and respectful. Having Sharaf over others means having a high responsibility towards others and this is because human actions have crucial consequences and critical influences for other beings in the world. Human actions influence other beings’ zendegee 57 “life” but not “being” because their “being” is divine and earthly and the divine part is out of the influence of

291 any human. But their “life” can be affected by human actions. Life means the earthly branches of being alive and is limited to this material world. Having Sharaf means that the rank of human is the highest of all creatures for God, in the case that human makes attempts to achieve that rank and God loves humans more and most of all. So having Sharaf means that God loves humans more than any other being. So this high rank in love and respect gives humans a lot of responsibility towards other beings in nature.

On the other hand, as a Shia Moslem, I believe that according to the Qur’an every Moe-men 81 human with good actions, words and thoughts is constantly helped and assisted by angels of God. Assistance of angels means angels constantly provide him/her with hope, good energies and spirit. Moslem means having Eemaan which means seeking refuge in one of God’s books and one of God’s prophets. Eemaan defines the rules of living in the complicated material and immaterial cosmos and knowing these rules helps us practically when dealing with hardship and difficulties in our earthly life.

I have to add that being a Shia means having specific characteristics in life which mainly include remembering Imam Hossein’s epic and living in anticipation and belief of the arrival of Imam Mahdi, Salaam and peace of God upon their soul.

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Appendix 5

Figures

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Figure 1. The study’s theoretical approaches to ontological discourses on ecology

Ontological

Discourses on Ecology (page 28)

Eco-Criticism Eco-Theology (page 29) (page 38)

Shia Islamic Nasr's critique conception of (page 33) ecological literacy (page38)

Ontological Bateson's critique discourses & (page 29) environmental crisis (page 38)

Religious historicism (page 39)

Enviromental crisis & Religions (page 41)

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Figure 2- The guiding concepts for methodology

Progressiveness (page 72) Ontological appropriation (page 69) Essentialism ( page 72) Avoiding oriental methodology (page 75) Ecological Orientalism (page 77)

Modern Orientalism Geographical (page 76) Orientalism (page 77)

Oriental methodological Topological dogmas (page 78) Orientalism(page 78)

Decolonizing strategies page 79

Critical self-reflexivity

(page 83) GuidingConcept s Narrativity ( page 84)

Narrative analysis (page 85)

Language as discourse (page 95)

295

Figure 3. The stages of data construction.

Audio -recordings

Interview-scripts in Farsi language

Data construction

identificationData

All codes

Index Code 3 Index Code 1  Explanation

 Holy names &  Reasoning holy places  Emerging Index Code 2 Practices

Special meanings

296

Figure 4- Constructed themes.

Hijab Nazri Eftar

Morag Raoufat hebeh

Beit-al- mal Actions towards/ Esraaf about/ for/with nature are Reza governed by Ghena- ethics of religion at (page 101) Ethical Hagh farming

Sawaab Namaaz

Takree Halal m

Living in the angelic world Hasti vs Ashraf Zendegi

Actions towards/ Reverse Human about/ for/with theories of nature are governed otherness and vs by Shia Conception of anti- Adam humanism Narcissism in Islam (page 117)

Rasta High sense of cosmos Kheez citizenship

Taw-heed

297

Taghwa

Actions towards/ about/ for/with nature are governed Needless- Tawakkol by follwoing Islamic ness spritnal well-being (Page 124)

Hope because of hozour & Zohour

Taw-heed

Imamat Actions towards/ Nabowat about/ for/with nature are governed by Agendas of maintaining balance (Page 128)

Adle Ma-ad

298

Annual nowroz

Annual Hasti vs Rose Zendegi extraction ritual Actions towards/ about/ for/with nature are governed Daily by key Calender markers Annual time Yalda remarks ( Page 129)

Annual Anual Ashura Ramadan

Contemporary discourses are a function of interaction between Indigeneity and Modernity (page 136)

299

Appendix 6

Index

This index is constructed based on the local reference of Dehkhoda dictionary. The version used for this study is the original 16-volume dictionary of Dehkhoda located in the royal archives of Hosseinyeh Ershad central library in Tehran.

1- Imam Zaman: The one who owns time in its earthly sense. The phrase implies to the twelfth Imam in Shia belief, the twelfth Imam who is constantly ever present but remains of unknown identity until the judgement day. 2- Khodavandegar: God who owns time and place. 3- Hazrat Mohammad: The last prophet who brought the Qur’an and Islam belief. 4- Imam Reza: The eighth Imam in Shia belief. Symbol of kindness, and humble to birds and animals. 5- Hazrat Peighamber: Prophet Mohammad. The phrase implies to the state of being the last prophet and of a high rank in virtue. 6- Sheikh Kolain: The religious teacher who researched and collected references to Shia Hadith at the time of the twelfth Imam. 7- Ahl-al-Bait: The family and children and grandchildren and the pedigree of Prophet Mohammad, including his wife, lady Khadijeh, his daughter, Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra and her husband Imam Ali, the children of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra and Imam Ali including Imam Hasan, Imam Hossein and Hazrat Zeinab, peace be upon them. 8- Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra: The only child, daughter, of prophet Mohammad, and the wife of the first Imam in Shia, Imam Ali.

300

9- Hazrat Mo-uud: The holly Imam who has been promised to all Shia. The one who returns to bring true justice to the ones who have been discriminated throughout the history of human life. The one who comes accompanied by Jesus and all the truly good people. 10- Ibn-Sina: The Iranian philosopher known as Avicenna in Western literature. 11- Bibi-Shahrbanu: The wife of Imam Hossein and the mother of the forth Imam, Hazrat Sajjad, to the Shia. She was the Persian princess as the daughter of the last king of the Sassanid dynasty, king Yazdgerd Ⅲ. Her temple hosts millions of religious visitors from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India each year.

12- Taghwa: Belief according to the rules of Islam. The faith that is kept through belief and action. Avoiding sins defined in Islam.

13- Azan: The poems and verses read at the time of dawn, dusk and noon in order to awake people from ignorance and to invite them to prayers.

14- Rastakheez: To grow again. Seedling. It is a connotation for the judgement day.

15- Orf: The norm in Iranian culture.

16- Hazrat Ali: The first Imam in Shia belief. Chosen by the prophet Mohammad.

17- Imam Sadiq: The sixth Imam and the one who defined Shia Jafari culture in Islam.

18- Sali-ala-Mohammad-va-aal-e-Mohammad : Health and peace be upon the prophet Mohammad and his children and proceedings.

19-

301

20- Haraam: Any thought or action that is forbidden by God. The one that is not permitted by Islamic law.

21- Sawaab: Goodness and virtue. The thought or action that leads to an immortal reward in the eternal world.

22- Hagh: The right of human and non-human that is defined in Islamic law.

23- Effat: The manner of keeping virtue and hayaa.

24- Alyhe-al-salaam Health and peace up on them.

25- Tawakkol: To believe and trust that every matter can be in hands of God.

26- Selleh-Arhaam: To visit relatives in a continuous and regular manner.

27- Sarfeh-jouyi: To research and find a way towards better consumption. To consume without wasting the goodness of things.

28- Kuy-o-barzan: Every corner of a village or town.

29- Wozu: The proper washing ritual for maintaining hygiene before prayers according to Islamic rules.

30- Mehraab: The holly pure place for prayers.

31- Ghena-at: An Islamic life style of simple living and feeling happy about one’s lifestyle in order to avoid over-consumption and materialism.

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32- Imam Hossein: The third Imam in Shia belief. Imam of martyrdom and liberty.

33- Barekat: Being at the state of merriness towards God which leads to more accessibility in earthly life.

34- Reza Being at the state of admiration and convincement towards God.

35- Ghebleh: The direction assigned for collective rituals and prayers in Islamic culture.

36- Kah-gel: A building material that is organic and natural used in Iranian architecture.

37- Deh-ghan: The guardian of a village, herder and nomad in open-ranges.

38- Shabani: A pastor and herder.

39- Zartosht: The very first prophet with a holly book of laws. The Iranian origin prophet whose religion ruled in ancient Iran for centuries.

40- Kaenaat: The cosmos consists of the material world and the eternal world and skies.

41- Ghedaasat: Having the respectful characteristics of the eternal world.

42- Takreem: To respect for religious reasons.

43- Arsh: The skies of the eternal world.

44- Esraaf: Over-consumption. Changing the goodness of things into uselessness.

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45- Hadith: Islamic knowledge about various aspects of daily life, fundaments of belief and Qur’anic interpretations are provided by the prophet and 12 Imams in Shia thought in the format of quotations. Hadith is the documented citation of these references in Islamic oral and written literature.

46- Beit-al-maal: The economic bureau of Islamic community whose wealth belongs to each and every citizen in that community.

47- Halaal: Having the estate of being allowed according to Islamic laws.

48- Hadd: The scale of measurement for reward and punishment according to the justice rules in Islam.

49- Makruh: Having the state of being close to sin, according to Islamic ethics of living.

50- Allah: Holly God who deserves prayers.

51- Hazrat Mahdi: The Imam who comes to guide. The connotation for the twelfth Imam in Shia belief.

52- Ajjal-Allah-taali-farajah-o-al-sharif: May God rush his true and anticipated arrival.

53- Zamen: The guardian, the supporter and holder in security

54- Taw-heed: The very first foundation of belief in Islamic culture which is the faith in uniqueness and oneness of God.

55- Ya-mohawel-al-hawl-e-val-ahwal, ya-modabber-al-lail-e-va-alnahar, hawel-halana-ela- ahsan-al-hawl:

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You, God, the reviver of our status of being, You the guider of nights and days, please refresh our status to goodness.

56- Howyat: A collection of characteristics by which one’s identity and manners are known.

57- Zendegi: The material and physical life which is just one dimension of being in Islamic Iranian thought.

58- Salaam: This term is used to send salutation when meeting with someone. The term is derived from words meaning health and peace.

59- Besm-Allah-al-Rahmaan-al-Araheem: This term is used at every commence when a Moslem intends to start an action or speech. It means in the name of God, the compassionate and the merciful.

60- Hijab: The cover which protects virtue.

61- Ghosl: The ritual of washing all over the body in a specific order defined in Islamic ethics of hygene in order to prepare for prayers.

62- Nyyat: The state of thinking and deciding about doing an action.

63- Raoufat: To treat other beings with humbleness, patience and kindness.

64- WA jib: What is advised to according to Islamic ethics of living.

65- Yelda: The longest night of the year in a solar Hijri calendar when is celebrated for its proceeding sunlight. It is a connotation for the victory of light over darkness.

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66- Nowruz: The ecological start of spring which is celebrated as the start of new year in Iranian culture.

67- Motewalli: The guardian of a holly shrine or temple who has the honor of living close to that temple.

68- Shaadkhaari: To live pleasure oriented in a happiness which is the result of ignorance.

69- Eftar: To break fasting and start eating. The time of eftar is at the time of Azaan aligned with the times of dusk and dawn of the sun and varies rom season to season.

70- Nafs: Selfness which includes the eternal self and physical self in Islamic philosophy of being.

71- Nahj-al-balagha: The reference book of Shia written by Imam Ali, the first Imam of Shia. The encyclopedia to the ethics of governance and leadership.

72- Moe men: One who believes in God and prophets with holly books including Christians, Zoroastrians, Moslems and Jewish people.

73- Imam: The saints in Islam who are the proceedings of the prophet Mohammad’s family.

74- Ketab Alkafi: The reference for Hadith including direct citations from Imams and the prophet.

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