Islam, Environmental Science and Conservation

Abstract

Islam, Environmental Science and Conservation Salah D. Hassan (bio) The 13th Annual Conference convened by the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University (MSU) took place on October 15 and 16, 2020 on "Islam, Environmental Science and Conservation." Initially planned as an on-campus meeting to be held in East Lansing, Michigan in April 2020, the conference was moved to a synchronous online format as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. In order to accommodate participants in different time zones, most notably panelists located in Indonesia, the four conference sessions were held between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm over two days. Despite the many difficulties caused by the pandemic, researchers studying the environment have continued to do their important work and share knowledge in the face of the tragic global situation. Indeed, the challenge of the global health crisis has affirmed the urgency of building and maintaining connections with international students and scholars committed to expanding ecological awareness. The importance of the topics discussed was in part confirmed by the numerous papers proposed, including the participation and attendance of scholars from many universities globally. The conference had 105 registered attendees from the US, Canada, UK, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Morocco, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Germany, Iraq, Israel, Brunei, Belgium, Finland, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Austria, and Qatar. [End Page 129] The conference received significant support from MSU's academic programs with co-sponsorship by the African Studies Center, the Asian Studies Center, the Citizen-Scholars Program, the Department of Forestry, the Department of Religious Studies, the Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities, the Honors College, James Madison College, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. Jay Samek and David Skole, faculty members in the Department of Forestry at MSU who have worked on forestry projects with colleagues in Indonesia since 2016, proposed the conference idea to the Muslim Studies Program. Samek has been involved in a partnership with the University of Palangka Raya and Muhammadiyah University of Palangka Raya that deals with forest restoration and climate change. Professor Skole's research looks at "the relationship between forests, land use change, the global carbon cycle and climate change." The conference addressed general issues at the intersection of Islamic religious traditions and environmental science to better understand the convergence of the theological and material foundations of Muslim ecological practices and the emerging academic approaches to climate-change being developed by scholars studying Islam. This conference highlighted an area of research in the field of Muslim and Islamic Studies that does not receive enough attention, but it can contribute crucially to addressing environmental concerns effecting all communities across the globe. The dialogue was enriched by the interdisciplinary character of the program, which included scholars from the fields of Islamic studies, medicine, religious studies, philosophy, forestry, political science, languages, history, anthropology, and geography. October 15, 2020: Welcoming Remarks, Session 1 and Session 2 Professor Mohammad Khalil (Michigan State University) opened the conference by welcoming all participants and attendees. He noted the extensive participation of scholars from around the world and the large number of attendees who had registered for the virtual event. Professor Khalil then introduced Steven D. Hanson, Associate Provost and Dean of International Studies and Programs at MSU. Dean Hanson emphasized the important work of the Muslim Studies Program, which has enhanced the stature of MSU in international studies. He also noted the thematic strengths, regional expertise and global partnerships of the conference. He concluded by highlighting the exemplary nature of the conference, which has the potential to generate solutions beyond the academy and have influence on environmental policy and on communities facing ecological crises. Session 1: "Islam and Environmental Activism-Part I: Looking to the Sources" included presentations by Natana Delong-Bas (Boston College), [End Page 130] Abdalmajid Katranji (Michigan State University), Sarra Tlili (University of Florida), and Sami al-Daghistani (Columbia University; Brooklyn Institute for Social Research; Center for Advanced Study of Religion in Oslo, Norway). Delong-Bas's paper on "Intertextual Scriptural Reading as Inspiration for Interfaith Cooperation in Water Conservation and Management" analyzed references to water in the Qur'an and Bible, showing how water figures in religious texts as "God's gift...