Environment and Islam

For the last two hundred years,unprecedented environmental challenges and irreversible mass extinctions have been caused on the earth including a rising trend in the global temperature during the 20th century. the loading capacity of the world has already been reached,and severe tensions between unending demands of the human beings and the finite natural resources of the world have become more apparent. the seemingly innocent and dulcet laissez-faire rhetoric in capitalist system promoted the removal of all meaningful checks and balances pertaining to production and consumption activities,and have resulted in the terrific destruction of our natural assets. excessive consumption (and so production) and squandering are in the heart of the global environmental problems,and there is a strong need for the revival of the critical human values of moderation and thriftiness. cumulative burden of individual irresponsibility can no longer be tolerated. recent experiences demonstrate that any development model devoid of an ethical view on the environment,will be dominated by the uncontrolled exploitation of the natural assets with irreversible damages. islam,as a religion of moderation,presents a viable alternative towards addressing the current challenges. moderation refers not only to the personal lives of the believers but also to their interaction with fellow human beings and the nature they live in. nature has been created in order,balance and with extraordinary esthetic beauty,and all these aspects of nature while enhancing man's life here,should be honored,utilized and protected accordingly. all patterns of man's production and consumption should be based on an overall order and balance of nature,which is a fundamental component of any meaningful approach towards a more environmentally friendly socio-economic development.