Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

The Center for International and Regional Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar hosted a lecture by Iranian scholar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, on the relationship between Islam and the natural environment, on January 26, 2009.

Nasr is a professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University and a world-renowned intellectual in the fields of Islamic science and mysticism.

To commence, Nasr addressed his lecture’s unusual topic choice. “The Persian Gulf is home to one of the richest and most diverse ecological sites of the world,” he said. “Those living in Qatar and nearby have a very special responsibility to protect this ecology.”

Speaking from an Islamic perspective, Nasr attributed the crisis to a disregard for Islamic teachings, stating that any solution must stem from an Islamic foundation and must change the way Muslims view themselves and their Reality.

In his lecture, he highlighted the “serious disconnection between what Muslims consider nature and science to be, and what they really are.” He attributed this disconnect to a 19th century Western-import termed “scientism,” which generalizes the view of modern science so as to embrace the whole of reality. He traced the early application of this concept to a number of Muslim thinkers who wrongly believed they could save the Islamic world from Western colonialism by equating Islamic understanding of knowledge with modern science. With a growing focus on Western science and technology on one side and Islamic law (Shari’a) on the other, a vacuum emerged in between with humanities being cast aside as irrelevant. This was exacerbated by large technology transfers from the West, especially between 1960-1980, which, he explained, “created a worship of modern science and technology.”

Nasr then advocated the development of an Islamic view of nature which, he explained, must draw on three different sources; the Quran, Prophet Muhammad’s tradition (hadith), and the Shari’a.

He singled out the Quran and distinguished it from other scriptures for containing the most references to nature and cosmology. This, however, does not imply that the Quran is a book of modern science. He mentioned that many in Islam’s history have reduced the Quran to the science of the day in an injudicious attempt to aggrandize it. But this, he said, “equates the permanent with the changing,” and that such reduction to present day civilization would result in Islam “committing intellectual suicide.” In essence, the Quran has served as a basis for the remarkable development of various sciences in the last 1300 years of Islamic civilization. He emphasised the tremendous intellectual freedom enjoyed during that period from which different schools of thought and science developed, all related to cosmologies issued from the Quran. “These men functioned within a cosmology which had God at its centre always…without alienating humans from the world of creation, which modern science and technology have done,” he said.

The second source, the hadith, he explained, must be read and interpreted simultaneously with the Quran in order to extract true meaning. Here, Nasr elaborated on Prophet Muhammad’s exemplary care and respect for animals and the environment. He also stated that the Islamic civilization was the first to create a hospital for animals.

The Shari’a, as a third source, sets limits on one’s actions. He pointed to the Shari’a-based concept of protection and privacy of space which played a major role in rise of traditional Islamic urban design and architecture, both thoughtful of environmental implications.

Yet perhaps the gravest problem that faces the Islamic world, he explained, is the intrinsic belief and understanding amongst many Muslims that the West will eventually, when necessary, come to the rescue. “This is not the case and any solution must be created and applied from within the Islamic world,” he said. This, he confirmed, is a difficult task as the Islamic world is under enormous pressure to “buy from the West the crumbs from its bread table.”

As a solution, Nasr proposed that we reformulate and recast in contemporary language, the philosophy of nature as a present day reality. This would require tremendous knowledge, intellectual effort and know-how of Islamic intellectual tradition, as well as a widespread understanding of Western technology, and finally; the gift of creativity to express the above in a way Muslims will understand and accept.

In terms of application, he cautioned against being “blind idealists.” He proposed looking at existing opportunities. One example is changing urban design and architecture such that it incorporates and complements Islamic principles. Another such example is re-evaluating inefficient technologies in use. He also proposed reviving handicrafts, which would engage many large Muslim societies while inflicting less impact on the environment. Most importantly he explained, “Muslims must be selective in what they accept as technology from the rest of the world.”

“No protection of the environment can come around without reviving the Islamic view and understanding of nature,” he said. “We need to make use of our own tradition. The fact we have not done so is certainly evident in the Islamic world.”

He returned, as a closing point, to remind the audience of the ecologically diverse body of water in the region, urging that we preserve the water as a model of coexistence. “In the long run, no life is possible unless we learn to live and let live,” he concluded.