Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, known for his academic work on environment in the international arena, attended the Oxford Interfaith Forum. He chaired the conference titled “Environment from a Quranic Perspective.”
This year, the Oxford Interfaith Forum is organizing a series of panels and conferences under the title “Scripture and Ecology in Interfaith Contexts.” The conference held on October 31, 2022, took place under the moderation of Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, Director of the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Environmental Ethics Forum.
In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, Director of the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Environmental Ethics Forum, provided information about the studies on climate and environment conducted at Üsküdar Üniversitesi and about Al-Mizan: The World Environmental Covenant. Prof. Dr. Özdemir emphasized that the Quran has historically been a source of inspiration, enlightenment, and guidance for Muslim philosophers, theologians, Sufi masters, scholars, jurists, and ordinary Muslims.
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir stated that the Quran is also, for Muslims, a book of law, wisdom, worship, supplication, prayer, and entreaty; in short, it is a unique and comprehensive sacred text that encompasses everything essentially related to the human condition. He expressed that it can guide us in solving the problems we face today, stating that today's conference is a beautiful example of this.
Prof. Anna Gade was the guest of honor at the conference titled “Environment from a Quranic Perspective”
Who is Prof. Anna Gade:
Prof. Anna M. Gade serves as the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Associate Dean in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Prof. Anna M. Gade holds a master's degree from the University of Chicago and completed her doctorate in the history of religions, specializing in Islam, from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Professor Gade has academic works in the fields of religion and Islamic studies.
She has worked as a lecturer at various institutions in the United States and abroad, including Cornell University, Princeton University, Oberlin College, and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She has two book works to date, including "Introduction to the Quran". Her latest book, "Muslim Environmentalisms: Religious and Social Foundations", was published by Columbia University Press in 2019.
In her book "Muslim Environmentalisms: Religious and Social Foundations", Anna M. Gade investigates the religious and cultural foundations of Islamic environmentalisms. Gade presents ethnographic studies, drawing from the Quran and Hadith, to the reader. She attracts attention with her book, in which she attempts to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary explanation of the legal, moral, social, and empirical principles underlying Muslims' commitments to the Earth.