Üsküdar Üniversitesi Head of Philosophy Department Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir is part of the core team preparing the Covenant. Disasters caused by Global Warming and Climate Change remain a top global agenda item. In recent days, unprecedented floods have affected developed countries as much as underdeveloped and developing ones. Hundreds of people lost their lives in Belgium and Germany. Extreme rainfall, which also affected China, India, and Sudan, caused significant material and moral damage in Rize and Arhavi in our country. Scientists and environmentalists worldwide are diligently working to mitigate the effects of Climate Change and enlighten society on this issue.
Disasters caused by Global Warming and Climate Change remain a top global agenda item. In recent days, unprecedented floods have affected developed countries as much as underdeveloped and developing ones. Hundreds of people lost their lives in Belgium and Germany. Extreme rainfall, which also affected China, India, and Sudan, caused significant material and moral damage in Rize and Arhavi in our country.
Scientists and environmentalists worldwide are diligently working to mitigate the effects of Climate Change and enlighten society on this issue.
In this context, a core team of Muslim environmentalists is working on the document Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth. The document will be submitted to the United Nations in the autumn. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Head of Philosophy Department Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir is part of the core team preparing the Covenant. Once finalized, the Covenant will be presented in detail to all stakeholders.
The team forming the core staff:
Dr. Iyad Abumoghli, Founding Chair of UNEP (UN Environment Programme) Faith for Earth Initiative. (Kenya)
Sidi Fazlun Khalid, Founder of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences. (UK)
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Head of Philosophy Department (Turkey)
Prof. Dr. Abdelmajid Tribak, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), (Morocco).
Aishah Ali Abdallah, an expert wildlife leader and environmental educator. (Saudi Arabia).
Dr. Evren Tok, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. (Qatar).
Dr. Fatima Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Founding Chair of the Qur’anic Botanic Garden (Qatar).
Kamran Shehzad, Co-Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences. (UK).
The purpose of Al-Mizan is to provide an Islamic perspective on the environment to strengthen local, regional, and international actions addressing climate change and other threats to the planet. For the development and adoption of this Call, Islamic scholars and Muslim institutions will also be involved, symbolizing a global effort.
Al-Mizan - A Covenant for the Earth consists of rephrasing the principles governing the protection of nature in a way that addresses current challenges. Emphasis is placed on the moral principles behind the social order of human existence.
It explores how to live in harmony with the heartbeat of the natural world, which Allah created and entrusted to us for its protection. It calls for an understanding of sustainable development in line with the fundamental principles of the Qur'an.
The call of Al-Mizan - A Covenant for the Earth highlights that environmentalism is deeply embedded in the veins of Islam. It emphasizes reverence, protection, and responsibility in our personal conduct as well as in our relationships with others and all living beings.
It calls for altruism in our relationship with the natural world and other living beings; reverence for the created due to the Creator.
The fundamental principles emphasized by the Qur'an, from the foundations established by Prophet Muhammad, evolved into a set of rules and institutions exhibiting a truly holistic expression of life. These fundamental values based on the Qur'an can be divided into three categories: promoting public good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and always acting with moderation.
The core principle motivating Muslim environmentalists is the following verse from the Qur'an: “Let there be a community among you who call to good, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong. It is they who are the successful ones.” (3/104)
The Covenant takes its name from the Qur'anic concept of “al-mizan.”
AL-MIZAN literally means “to estimate the weight of something, to measure, to weigh.”
The Qur'an frequently emphasizes how cosmological creation is perfected with a perfect balance; and that social balance and justice should also be built upon these principles.
In Surah Ar-Rahman, the concept of al-mizan is explicitly and clearly emphasized:
Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful Allah)
Taught the Qur'an. Created humanity. Taught him clear expression.
The sun and the moon (run on) a precise calculation. And the herbs and the trees prostrate.
And the heaven He raised; and He set up the balance.
That you may not transgress (the limits of) the balance.
So establish weight with justice and do not fall short in the balance. (55:1-9).
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, a member of the core team, commented, considering the natural disasters we are experiencing, “We are concerned for the future of our world, our children, and our grandchildren. Time is running out. Environmental problems are our common problem. We Muslims will also be part of the solution.”
“It is our greatest wish that Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth, which Üsküdar Üniversitesi is proud to contribute to, will contribute to the formation of environmental awareness in society,” he added.
Web address: Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth: https://www.unep.org/al-mizan-covenant-earth