ISLAMIC DECLARATION TO CALL ON 1.6 BILLION MUSLIMS TO FULFIL RELIGIOUS DUTY AND TAKE ACTION
Compiled in wider previous consultation with leading Muslim scholars, academics and faith groups, the declaration will explain why climate change is the world’s most pressing challenge, why Muslims have a religious duty to play their part in tackling it and how they can fulfil this duty.
The declaration will be the key outcome of a two-day symposium in Istanbul (17-18 August) on climate change co-organised by Islamic Relief Worldwide, the Islamic Forum for Ecology and Environmental Sciences and GreenFaith. Participants will be Islamic scholars, academics, policy makers and Muslim activists as well as representatives of the UN, civil society and other faith leaders.
The Declaration will:
Underscore the need for urgent global action in mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) to emphasise the role that Islam can play in creating a world free from the ravages of climate change, free from polluting fossil fuels and built on a foundation of 100% clean, safe, renewable energy.
Call upon the richest and most powerful countries to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as well as to support vulnerable communities, both in addressing the impacts of climate change and in harnessing renewable energy.
Speaking ahead of the event, His Eminence Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Grand Mufti of Uganda says: “Every person must recognise the role they are playing in harming our planet and the devastating impact this is having on some of the world’s most vulnerable and other communities. “Islam teaches us: ‘man is simply a steward holding whatever is on earth in trust’, therefore man should ensure that we do everything possible to protect for this and future generations in order to leave this world a better place than we found it”.
Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations says: “In this pivotal year, when the international community will agree on how to bring about sustainable development and tackle climate change, it has been heartening to see growing consensus among faiths that humanity’s development trajectory needs to be fundamentally altered in line with moral and spiritual values. The declaration to be made by Muslim leaders, calling on the world’s 1.6 billion adherents to Islam to tackle climate change as an inherent part of their religious duty, will, I hope, bring increased momentum to efforts to address the greatest challenge facing humanity today.”
Key VIP guests available for interview at the site of the press conference include:
Makbule Kocak, Deputy Director General; Energy, Water & Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey
Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, Immediate past Ambassador of South Africa to the USA
Dr Mohamed Ashmawey, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide
Dr Tahir Salie, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Relief Worldwide
Fazlun Khalid, Founder, Islamic Foundation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences
Professor Din Syamsuddin, President of the Indonesian Council of Ulema
His Eminence Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, Grand Mufti of Uganda (phone interview only)
Halldor Thorgeirsson, Director for Strategy at the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Environment Programme Deputy Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Wael Hmaidan, Director of Climate Action Network International
Abdelouahed Fikrat, Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment in Morocco
Dr Mohammed El Arwadi, Representative of the Grand Mufti of Lebanon
Ambassador Razim Colic, Director of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Community of Bosnia
Dr Abdulkadir Balonde, Chairman of Uganda Supreme Muslim Council
Martin Kopp, Climate Justice Advocacy Officer, The World Lutheran Federation
Nana Firman, GreenFaith Fellow & Climate Change Champion
FAQs