Faced with the increasingly apparent shortcomings of ‘modern’ regulatory models for combating the climate crisis, Samira Idllalène advocates a renewed role for Islamic environmental law in this concise and timely book. She argues that Islamic norms resemble those of modern environmental law but base their legitimacy in the sources of Islam (p. 86). Underlying her contribution is the idea that Islamic law could be used to reframe environmental law approaches in states with large Muslim populationsFootnote 1 so as to further motivate efforts for climate action. In the context of this premise, the book offers a roadmap for Islamic environmental law that is drawn from the Sharia and Muslim states’ own ecological traditions. Idllalène suggests that ‘[t]apping into the ecological potential of Islamic religion and law is essential to enforce environmental law and protect the planet's resources’ (p. 9).
Idllalène's book explores a highly pertinent but overlooked subject. Firstly, religion has long been closely entangled with (international) lawFootnote 2 and with human approaches to the environment.Footnote 3 Secondly, a great majority of the world's population identify as religious (with Islam being the second largest but fastest growing religion), and studies indicate that religiosity is experiencing a revival in public life.Footnote 4 Thirdly, as a social institution, religion is able to inform the values, views, and behaviour of its adherents, promoting voluntary compliance with its norms.Footnote 5 Despite this normative promise, Idllalène laments the scarcity of legal research examining religion and climate change in the preface of her book – a concern which I echo.Footnote 6 Idllalène's proposition that climate change must be addressed in conjunction with its cultural and religious roots (p. 2) is supported by numerous scholars, including a recent report by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights.Footnote 7 While I am optimistic about the potential of Islamic environmental law, certain caveats apply, which I address below in my discussion of the book.
Idllalène's book is structured into six short and accessible sections that address the substantive aspects of Islamic law regarding the environment and explain the distinct contribution of ‘Eco-Islam’. She convincingly makes the case for adopting the latter paradigm and sketches the impact that it could have in Muslim states and around the world (pp. 12–28). The book introduces and explains Arabic and Islamic terms and compares them throughout with common law concepts. Despite this aid, parts of the book may be somewhat of a challenge for those new to Islamic law – one well worth the effort, however. It is particularly important that the book is written in English in order to introduce long-standing and well-known Islamic concepts and ideas to new audiences.
According to Idllalène, there are some 675 verses of the Qur'an that contain environmental norms relating to water, land, air, plants, animals, and other natural resources (p. 35). Additionally, the Qur'an prohibits wastage and all types of pollution (p. 36). Common to all the Abrahamic faiths, Islamic law appoints humankind as stewards of the earth, tasked with caring for God's creation.Footnote 8 Unsurprisingly, therefore, the book dedicates special attention to this idea, starting with the Qur'anic verses that identify humans as God's deputy on earth: ‘The principle of Khilafa (viceregency or trusteeship) confirms the responsibility of human beings for the protection of the environment with which they have been entrusted’ (p. 35). This role appears particularly pertinent in the light of both large carbon polluters in the Middle East,Footnote 9 as well as several climate-vulnerable states in Asia and Africa having a majority Muslim population.
While the Qur'an is the primary source of Islamic law, it is not the only one. Others include the Hadith Footnote 10 (sayings of the Prophet) and Fiqh (a form of jurisprudence produced by learned Islamic scholars). Fiqh, especially together with Ijtihad (independent reasoning),Footnote 11 make Islamic law dynamic and applicable to contemporary settings such as climate change. Ascertaining and applying norms regarding the environment from across the sources of Islamic law is now a major task for Islamic scholars. This is because, Idllalène argues, Islamic environmental law has largely fallen into disuse in the Muslim world. While Islamic law is still commonly used for family law in Muslim states, a Western legal model is typically adopted for environmental law (p. 32). This is an example of the epistemic losses flowing from colonialism and persistent Western hegemony. As such, Idllalène's book is also a call-to-action for Islamic scholars.
One solution that Idllalène highlights is the role of fatwas (non-binding Islamic rulings) in ‘paving the way for a new understanding of Sharia’-based environmental law’ (p. 119). Numerous so-called ‘green’ or ‘eco-fatwas’ have been issued in ‘pioneer countries’ like Indonesia.Footnote 12 There, the Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) has issued eco-fatwas on pressing environmental topics, which include illegal logging, mining practices, endangered species, forest burning, waste management, and clean water and sanitation.Footnote 13 Idllalène specifically foresees the use of eco-fatwas in order to ‘green’ Islamic finance, which is used in many high-carbon polluting Muslim majority states (p. 132). She suggests that eco-fatwas could be relied upon by potential Muslim investors to approve (or disapprove) of proposed finance projects based on their environmental impact (p. 133).
A significant part of the book – Chapter 5 – is dedicated to mapping out potential areas of growth for Islamic environmental law; this represents the book's main contribution. Here, Idllalène advocates the revival of the Islamic concept of Waqf to protect the environment. As a pious endowment, Waqf is ‘a permanent dedication by a Muslim of any property for religious or charitable purposes, or for the benefit of the founder and his [sic] descendants, in such a way that the owner's right is extinguished, and the property is considered to belong to God’ (quoting Hussain, p. 24). According to Idllalène, Waqf could be leveraged to protect the environment in a similar way to how the National Trust protects historical spaces and places in the United Kingdom (UK) (p. 27). She argues that, like public trusts in the UK, Waqf are dedicated ‘to the public interest for present and future generations’ (p. 74). Environmental Waqf have already been used in several Muslim majority states and could be extended to other contexts (p. 139). For example, Indonesia has a Waqf that addresses water supply and purification (p. 131).
A Waqf could also be created to fund environmental research and development, to provide goods and services related to climate mitigation and adaption, or to protect animals (p. 135). A Waqf could be established to serve as a fund for pursuing environmental litigation (p. 135), which is a growing practice in Muslim majority states such as Pakistan and Bangladesh,Footnote 14 or to support legal interventions via amicus curiae briefs in ongoing cases (p. 127). Idllalène suggests that Islamic verses could be relied upon in legal arguments before courts and in drafting new legislation (p. 36). Islamic verses have already been used in international declarations, such as the 1986 Islamic Declaration on NatureFootnote 15 and the 2015 Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change.Footnote 16 This latter declaration ‘framed the issue of environmental stewardship in both scientific and religious terms, thus containing a message that could resonate with a very wide audience’.Footnote 17
Given that Islamic jurisprudence and scholarship transcend state borders, they can have significant influence throughout the Muslim world. As such, I suggest that Islamic environmental law tools like Waqf could be adopted in several states and even become a regional norm that influences international environmental law. Cross-fertilization between sacred and secular legal norms has been well documented,Footnote 18 with religion having long influenced international law.Footnote 19 While Islamic law has a universal character and applies to all Muslims, I argue that modesty is necessary when considering the transferability of concepts and practices from one Muslim context to another.Footnote 20 Despite many commonalities, Muslim majority states are hugely diverse: what works in Indonesia may not work in Jordan, let alone Malaysia. Islam contains great intra-plurality, including multiple branches and schools of thought. Therefore, any assumption that Islamic-styled environmental legislation could be cut and pasted from one Muslim context to another should be tempered. Unfortunately, the book does not engage in detail with these issues of generalizability of concepts across the Muslim world.
The premise of Idllalène's argument is that ‘[t]he law is best enforced when it stems from the culture and beliefs of society’ (p. 18), which is supported by a range of scholarship,Footnote 21 including my own empirical work in Indonesia.Footnote 22 Other scholars have similarly hypothesized that Islamic environmental law is ‘likely to win greater respect than conventional environmental law due to the fact that the legislator of Islamic principles is Allah’.Footnote 23 Religious leaders often enjoy widespread support and credibility within their community, which makes them influential in public debates, and they often lead organizations with (sometimes) signification resources to be mobilized around a cause.Footnote 24 To Idllalène, employing Eco-Islam across the Muslim world may be an answer to the poor implementation and enforcement of statutory environmental law (p. 11).
Despite expressing enormous hope for the potential of Eco-Islam, Idllalène also flags some potential weaknesses. For example, while relying on Islamic sources to compel or enforce environmental laws can be effective based on their legitimacy among Muslims, compliance is not guaranteed. Scholarship has indicated that the authority of religion is sometimes weaker than supposed and that social practices may diverge significantly from stated norms.Footnote 25 Idllalène concedes that even in states ruled by Sharia’ there are ‘appalling cases of environmental abuse, over-indulgent lifestyles and waste’ (p. 60, citing Kula). Despite the many Eco-Islam initiatives in Indonesia, research has shown that environmentalism is not always well received and tends to be taken up only in small groups.Footnote 26 Furthermore, empirical research demonstrating the actual environmental impact of initiatives like eco-fatwas is lacking.
To this I would add that Muslims, like other social/religious groups, hold the full spectrum of views on the environment and climate change.Footnote 27 Islam supports a wide range of views, as there is no uniform interpretation of Islamic law but rather a range of different schools of thought and no single leader like the Pope in Catholicism.Footnote 28 Some religious people interpret the climate crisis as sent by God and therefore something to be welcomed – a sign for some Christians of the Biblical ‘end times’.Footnote 29 This has led scholars to warn against presuming a ‘simple, unidirectional relationship between religions and climate change’.Footnote 30 Finally, both believers and non-believers may push back against the idea of giving more space to religion in the public sphere/legal system and seek to uphold a divide between the state and religion. Idllalène notes that some secular actors may be particularly reluctant to engage with or endorse religious views on the environment given more controversial aspects of Islamic law and a perceived link with terrorism (pp. 138–9).
Given the multiple environmental crises facing the planet, a diversity of tools and norms are needed to redress the situation. While certainly not a silver bullet, Islamic law has much to say about the relationship between humans and the environment, and offers significant untapped ecological potential in creating and enforcing norms (p. 144). Despite this, ‘Eco-Islam is still in its infancy’ (p. 11) and much more needs to be done ‘to explore and systematize this potential’ (p. 144). For example, Muslim jurists and scholars (like other lawyers and judges) need better education regarding climate science in order to interpret and apply Islamic law to contemporary environmental settings. Further cross-pollination between sacred and secular knowledge needs to occur. Partnerships need to be strengthened between governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, lawyers, conservation groups, and religious groups. All this needs to be done urgently, as time is not on our side.
