DAAD Regional Office Cairo
Tuesday, 26. September 2023, 18:00-21:00
“Islamic Environmental Ethics from Discourse to Identity”
Abstract:
In the 60s of the last century, an Iranian philosopher wrote an article defending religions against the blame for environmental destruction, caused by industrial progress in the West. This article had far-reaching consequences, spreading across America, Europe, and South and East Asia. Now, the environmental discourse of Islam is targeting Muslim youth in Europe and spreading rapidly. Programs are even being developed to raise children and young adults in accordance with the principles of “environmental Islam”. However, this approach raises the question of whether this discourse and its human approach pose any risks. This lecture presents an analytical presentation of the environmental discourse of Islam, including its emergence, development, opportunities, and associated risks.
The event is organized in cooperation with the Orient Institut Beirut (OIB) within the framework of the DAAD project “Clusters of Scientific Innovation in the Middle East and North Africa” (COSIMENA), which is a platform that aims to strengthen and initiate scientific cooperation and networks between researchers and universities in Germany and the MENA region. As a result, existing cooperation is made visible and potential synergies are initiated.
Bio:
Dr Ahmed M. F. Abd-Elsalam joined the OIB in October 2021 as a research associate. He received his PhD in Islamic Studies from the Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg with the dissertation „Das Verhältnis des beduinischen zum islamischen Recht in sozialem und historischem Kontext“. His research focused on social and legal transformations in Muslim societies in the past and modernity. Abd-Elsalam works at the OIB on social, and theological issues of Abrahamic interdependence concerning marriage and divorce as human production of theological and religious knowledge.