Date
15th October, 1900-2200

Objective
An overview of what Islam says about protecting the environment and how to take practical action.

This event was co-organised with and co-hosted by IMASE (www.imase.org).

Speakers
· Zeshan Akhter (Conservation Practitioner) – Biodiversity and Conservation
· Muzammal Hussain (Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences) – ‘Islam & GM’
· Muhammad Imran (Islamic Relief) – Global Citizenship, ‘Being a good neighbour’
· Summreen Sheikh (Reading Borough Council) – Local Environmental Projects, How to get involved

Venue
21 South St Arts Centre, South St, Reading.

Event Review
" It is He who has appointed you viceroys of the earth" (Qur’ân - 6:165)

This event aimed to discuss how and why looking after the world around us is a fundamental responsibility for us as Muslims. We were fortunate to have four extremely dynamic and passionate young speakers working actively in different areas of the field. They spoke about topical environmental issues including biodiversity, species extinction, genetically modified foods, social capital and conservation. They provided background explanations of subject matter, contextualized the issues in the light of Islamic and Quranic teaching and explored practical ways we can all make a difference.

Our co-hosts from IMASE spoke about the innovative ways their organization seeks to nurture and advance scientific knowledge on these and other issues, within an Islamic framework.

Abstracts of each of the talks, and more comprehensive background papers can be found in the links to the event programme and articles and resources respectively, all below.

The event was well-attended and the theatre setting in South Street Arts Centre provided an intimate atmosphere allowing a fruitful and interactive second half in which ways the community can be more involved in social and environmental issues and the evening’s topics were discussed. I found the event an inspirational evening in terms of both extending my general and Islamic knowledge about much neglected issues that, in truth, are fundamental to our very being. Moreover, I came away with a number of ideas of ways I could act on these issues from the moment I got home.

Useful Links
- www.imase.org

- online copy of the event programme

- background articles on Islam & the Environment

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