Islam on Sustainability

By Dora Marinova, Amzad Hossain and Popie Hossain-Rhaman.

Published by The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability

Format	Price
Article: Print	$US10.00
Article: Electronic	$US5.00

Islam is a complete way of life for those who are spiritual, peace loving, modest and follow the guidelines of the Supreme Sustainer of nature and beyond. It is the dominant religion of 45 countries and an estimated 20% of the world’s population. Despite the deeply rooted sustainability principles in this religion, the lifestyle adopted by its followers varies widely. The paper investigates how the sustainability concept can be reinforced through Islam in light with the Quranic guidelines in the Sharia (system of divine low; way of belief and practice) and Sufism (perfectionism, mysticism). It depicts the Quran as the tree of sustainability visible through the state of social and ecosystems’ health as a tree is visible through its roots, stems, branches, leaves, fruits and seeds. The Sharia laws highlight the general ways as to how to practice sustainability actions for protection, restoration and conservation of the natural resource-base. Sufism shows how to practice spiritual perfectionism, which informs a sustainability ethics. The Sharia literature, mysticism, sayings and doings of Sufis, including the mystic Baul singer-philosophers of Bangladesh are reflected in the discussion. The paper concludes that Islamic spirituality can inform, enrich and guide the millions of its followers towards sustainability as a concept, understanding, educating and practicing.

Keywords:	Spirituality, Sharia, Sufism, Sustainable Development

The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Volume 4, Issue 5, pp.123-130. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 866.142KB).

Prof. Dora Marinova

Associate Professor and Head of School, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

Dora Marinova is a Professor and Deputy Director of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute where she teaches in the areas of sustainability and the application of new technologies. She is currently supervising more than 15 PhD students on topics related to sustainability. Her research interests cover technology policy and development, sustainable business and partnerships. She has published over 90 refereed journal articles and book chapters and has conducted research for Western Australian and Commonwealth Government departments.

Dr. Amzad Hossain

Honourary Researcher, ISTP, Curtin University of Technology, Australia

Dr. Amzad Hossain is an action researcher and sustainability scholar whose interests cover simple lifestyle, appropriate technology, ecotourism and values with relevance to social, technological and environmental sustainability. In 1995 Amzad completed a PhD on the role of Mazar culture in Bangladesh, and in 2002 was awarded a second PhD for his work on renewable energy and self-reliance. Amzad is an Adjunct Researcher at the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute and the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University, Australia and a Visiting Professor at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh, where he teaches and supervises post-graduate students.

Popie Hossain-Rhaman

PhD student, ISTP, Murdoch University, Australia

Popie Hossain-Rhaman is currently undertaking her PhD studies at the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University exploring the issues of values education in achieving sustainable development. She is also a teacher at the Australian Islamic College.

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