For those who are interested in how religion and ethical values can make a profound contribution in mitigating the disastrous effects of climate change this book is a compulsory read. It is a thoroughly holistic account of the “why” of climate change and the “how” to do something about it and helps people of faith to relate to the urgent issues of our times. Fazlun Khalid provides an integrated perspective combining faith with environmental, economic and historical narratives thus contributing fresh thinking in these unpredictable times. Prof. Dr. Azizan Baharuddin, Director General, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia At last an authoritative statement on this crucial matter from a vital constituency whose voice has, up to now, scarcely been heard at all. Muslims make up a quarter of the world’s population and, owing to the areas where they live, are in many cases disproportionately affected by global warming and climate change. Drawing on sources deeply embedded within Islamic tradition, Fazlun Khalid shows that the vast body of knowledge and experience contained within it has much to offer to the contemporary discourse on the ecology of our planet and he provides a perspective that is surprisingly original and extremely relevant to those who care about the future of the world in which we live. Shaykh Abdalhaqq Bewley, Islamic scholar and co-translator with Aisha Bewley of The Noble Qur’an: A New Rendering of its Meaning in English For years, Fazlun Khalid has been the world’s leading voice for Muslim environmental action. He has taught us about Islam’s beautiful and sacred teachings on the Earth. He has told us, with urgency, to respond. Signs on the Earth is his magnum opus. It is electrifying, frightening, challenging, and deeply imbued by decades of reflection and scholarship as a Muslim. As the azaan calls the Islamic community to prayer, Fazlun Khalid’s voice calls us to action, provokes us to see, feel and act in a manner appropriate to the grave crisis we face. We all need to listen to what he is saying and heed his call to work together. The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith, New Jersey, USA 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd i 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM This book contributes much to an understanding of the holistic nature of the Islamic worldview. The insights it brings to bear sheds much light on the path to discovering solutions to the global environmental crisis. Professor Odeh Al-Jayyousi, Head of Innovation and Technology Management, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Member of UN GEO6- Scientific Advisory Panel Climate change and ecological collapse are no longer future theoretical risks, but real and present threats to our security now. If we are to avoid disaster it will be necessary not only to present reason to power, but also to awaken the great faiths. Fazlun Khalid’s excellent writing reveals why environmental concerns should be at the heart of Islam, its teachings, its sense of the divine and sacred and its moral and spiritual authority. Tony Juniper CBE, Executive Director at WWF and former Director of Friends of the Earth A Great Book indeed! Fazlun Khalid rewards us with the benefit of almost forty years of reflection and activity on the root causes of the formidable environmental problems we have created for ourselves. He also points to where our responses lie drawing inspiration from readings and reflections in the Quran. The book argues that understanding the Signs on the Earth and reflecting on their implications will at the very least open the way to perceiving the challenges that face us today in the manner it led the early Muslims to face the challenges of their time. It is a book that moves the senses and certainly deserves careful study especially, but not only, by those who are interested in an Islamic approach to the environment and climate change. ˙Ibrahim Özdemir, author of The Ethical Dimension of Human Attitude towards Nature: A Muslim Perspective. Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd iiii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM SIGNS ON THE EARTH ISLAM, MODERNITY AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS FAZLUN M KHALID 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd i 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM Signs on the Earth: Islam, Modernity and the Climate Crisis First published in England by Kube Publishing Ltd Markfi eld Conference Centre Ratby Lane Markfi eld Leicestershire, LE67 9SY United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1530 249230 Fax: +44 (0) 1530 249656 Website: www.kubepublishing.com Email: [email protected] © Fazlun M Khalid 2019 All Rights Reserved The right of Fazlun M Khalid to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988. Cover Image: Shutterstock Cataloguing in-Publication Data is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84774-076-2 Casebound ISBN 978-1-84774-075-5 Paperback ISBN 978-1-84774-077-9 ebook Cover Design: Inspiral Design Typesetting: S4Carlisle Printed by: Clays Ltd, UK 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd iiii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM iii The inspiration for the title of this book was drawn from the following verses in the Qur’an: There are signs on the Earth for people with certainty. And in your selves as well. Do you not then see? (51: 20–21)1 To my daughter Shireen Laila – for always a child and All the children of the world 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd iiiiii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd iivv 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM CONTENTS Foreword and Acknowledgements ix Introduction xii Chapter 1 A House of Cards 1 Hegemony 1 Encirclement 1 Consolidation 4 Humiliation 7 Brains, black holes and the Enlightenment 9 Knowledge overload 9 Science to the fore 12 The Bridge 14 The middle nation 14 The sacred and the secular 18 A Lethal Cocktail 22 Makings of a monoculture 22 The colonies revolt 26 Democracy and the nature of money 28 Endnotes 32 Chapter 2 A Ravished Earth 38 A Disconnected People 38 Are we culpable? 38 A closed system 41 A wake up call 43 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd v 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM vi Signs on the Earth The Pollution Boomerang 46 The hole in the sky 46 People, poison and plastic 49 Rape of the Forests 53 Plantations and cash crops 53 Carbon sink 54 Ecocide 56 Bio diversity 56 Extinction 57 The Nectar of Life 60 In space and time 60 Deep oceans and biodiversity 63 A Delayed Reaction 65 Global responses 65 Abusing abundance 68 Endnotes 69 Chapter 3 Prosperity in Perspective 76 Happiness and the Good Life 76 Happiness and GDP 76 Happiness and GNH 79 The Progress Trap 83 Lifestyle change 83 Progress has a price 88 Development and Delusions 90 Corralling the world 90 Colonized psyches 92 Ideology 94 Hope and sustainable development 95 A cautionary tale 97 Feedback loop 99 The Fantasy of Growth 100 The ‘Holy Grail’ 100 Planetary overload 103 Endnotes 105 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd vvii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM Contents vii Chapter 4 How History Accelerated 111 All the Time in the World 111 Transactions 111 Gifts or barter? 113 Keeping accounts 114 Trade evolves 116 Enter the Greeks 117 The Venetian connection 119 Signs of Impatience 120 Enter the Portuguese 120 Chinese in the fray 121 A new world in the making 123 A Spurt 126 Wealth flows one way 126 Revolutions 128 Acceleration 130 Fast forward 130 Enter the banks 133 Fantasy land 136 Endnotes 139 Chapter 5 Islam and The Natural World 142 Mobilizing Faith 142 Biodegradable Earth 142 A vital alliance 144 Pushed by climate change 146 The Muslim contribution 147 Rediscovering the Natural World 148 A holistic approach 148 The sacred 151 Ethics 155 Political economy 157 Producing Results 160 Exploring the legacy 160 ‘Ilm’ul-Khalq (Knowledge of Creation) 163 Fiqh al-Bi’ah (Jurisprudence of the Environment) 166 The Shariah in perspective 172 A way forward 173 Endnotes 175 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd vviiii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM viii Signs on the Earth Chapter 6 Surviving the Anthropocene 180 Collapse 180 The human epoch 180 Heads in the sand 181 What Now? 184 Connectedness 184 Search for a better life 185 Growth without limits? 188 Capitalism: A debtocracy 192 Hope Springs Eternal 197 The turning 197 Working together 197 The Islamic contribution 200 Endnotes 201 Appendix: Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change 206 List of Acronyms 216 Glossary of Arabic terms 218 List of quotations from the Qur’an 220 Bibliography 228 Index 238 000_Frontmatter.indd0_Frontmatter.indd vviiiiii 110/20/20180/20/2018 12:47:0012:47:00 PMPM FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alarm bells are ringing, presaging an irreversible human-induced climate change threatening the world-wide collapse of ecosystems. Previously ignored and marginalized, faith communities are now emerging as significant contributors to the restoration and protection of the biosphere. This volume is a contribution to this process from an Islamic perspective. It has been gestating for nigh on forty years and its birth pangs have lasted five. Looking back, the world in the pre-foetal stage of the book was of a different order. I am not alone in this journey, but the need is urgent and requires a rapid response. It entails lifting our consciousness to another level of reality.