Entrusted Environment University of Miami

Purpose Statement " The Remembrance of God is greater than what follows " This Guidebook outlines some of the significant aspects of Islamic Environmental Health Ethics to be used by individuals, organizations (governmental and non-governmental agencies), as well as all concerned parties seeking to improve the environmental health situation of the Muslim world. Through Islamic principles, this Guidebook lays foundational concepts, as well as gives practical examples aimed at creating a healthy relationship between Muslims and their environment. These concepts are intended to be used by all (Muslims and non-Muslims) seeking to impact positive change in the environmental health ethics of Muslim individuals and communities using an approach which Muslims already identify with and adopt as a way of life. Although the Guidebook is intended to be used by both Muslims and non-Muslims to motivate an environmental health ethic for Muslims, in order to efficiently communicate the relevant principles and ideas, most of the guidebook sections are written in a manner that presupposes the reader's understanding of Islam. Introduction Environmental health is the impact of the environment on human health, often resulting from the (negative) impact of humans on the health of the environment. Through the study of the environmental health challenges of today, it becomes apparent that many of the critical issues relate to the ethical choices that humans make. These choices can be on the institutional level (such as deciding how a country's nuclear waste will be disposed of or whether current potable water regulation ensures adequate human health), or on the individual level (as when citizens may choose whether they will dispose of their car engine oil in a hole in their backyard or take it to a proper collection site). The examples are numerous, but the observation is the same: the ethical choices that people make directly influence environmental health on the local and, now more obviously, global level. The role that religion has played when it comes to solving environmental health challenges of today is not altogether clear. The Gallup International Millennium Survey conducted in 60 countries, which represents 1.25 billion citizens of the world, found that 87% of the people surveyed identified with a religion (Gallup Intl, 2000). In the US, when individuals were asked what they would do if scientists were to disprove a particular religious belief they held, nearly two-thirds (64%) of people surveyed said they would continue to hold to what …