Fazlun Khalid
Encyclopedia
Fazlun Khalid is the Founder-Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science
based in Birmingham
, England
. He has served as director of training at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
and as a consultant for World Wildlife Fund.
, then joined the British Civil Service
, working at the Commission for Racial Equality
for twenty-three years. Upon his retirement, reading the works of Alvin Toffler
, Al-Hafiz B.A. Masri, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr convinced him to devote the remainder of his life to raising environmental consciousness among Muslims. Since founding IFEES in 1994 he has spent much of his time traveling to Muslim communities around the world initiating environmental education projects in contexts as diverse as Tanzania
, Saudi Arabia
, Madagascar
, and Indonesia
.
Khalid has been described as "the single most active 'Islamic' environmentalist alive today". Grist Magazine
included him as the only Muslim among fifteen world leaders in religious environmentalism, calling him "the foremost expert on ecology from an Islamic Perspective". In 2004 Khalid received the Fazlur Rahman
Award for excellence in Engineering, Science and Technology. The Independent on Sunday ranked him 81st among Britain's top 100 environmentalists.
In September 2009 Khalid was invited by United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
to participate in the Climate Change Summit in New York City. He was invited to speak at the Vatican
in October 2010 as part of the interfaith initiative "Building Bridges of Hope: Success Stories and Strategies for Interfaith Action". In January 2011 he was invited to chair a workshop on "The Faith Factor: Religion's Role in Addressing Global Trends and Challenges" at the World Economic Forum
Annual Meeting in Davos
, Switzerland
, where he was joined by Ex-US President Bill Clinton
.
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science
The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science is an environmental organization founded in 1994 by Fazlun Khalid in Birmingham, England...
based in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He has served as director of training at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
Alliance of Religions and Conservation
The Alliance of Religions and Conservation is a United Kingdom-based international organisation founded by His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, in 1995....
and as a consultant for World Wildlife Fund.
Biography
Fazlun Khalid began his career in the British Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, then joined the British Civil Service
British Civil Service
Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom, composed of a Cabinet of ministers chosen by the prime minister, as well as the devolved...
, working at the Commission for Racial Equality
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...
for twenty-three years. Upon his retirement, reading the works of Alvin Toffler
Alvin Toffler
Alvin Toffler is an American writer and futurist, known for his works discussing the digital revolution, communication revolution, corporate revolution and technological singularity....
, Al-Hafiz B.A. Masri, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr convinced him to devote the remainder of his life to raising environmental consciousness among Muslims. Since founding IFEES in 1994 he has spent much of his time traveling to Muslim communities around the world initiating environmental education projects in contexts as diverse as Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Khalid has been described as "the single most active 'Islamic' environmentalist alive today". Grist Magazine
Grist Magazine
Grist is a free American liberal non-profit online magazine that has been publishing environmental news and commentary with a wry twist since 1999. Grists taglines are "Gloom and doom with a sense of humor" and "A beacon in the smog"...
included him as the only Muslim among fifteen world leaders in religious environmentalism, calling him "the foremost expert on ecology from an Islamic Perspective". In 2004 Khalid received the Fazlur Rahman
Fazlur Rahman
Fazlur Rahman Malik was a well-known scholar of Islam; M. Yahya Birt of the Association of Islam Researchers described him as "probably the most learned of the major Muslim thinkers in the second-half of the twentieth century, in terms of both classical Islam and Western philosophical and...
Award for excellence in Engineering, Science and Technology. The Independent on Sunday ranked him 81st among Britain's top 100 environmentalists.
In September 2009 Khalid was invited by United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
to participate in the Climate Change Summit in New York City. He was invited to speak at the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in October 2010 as part of the interfaith initiative "Building Bridges of Hope: Success Stories and Strategies for Interfaith Action". In January 2011 he was invited to chair a workshop on "The Faith Factor: Religion's Role in Addressing Global Trends and Challenges" at the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
Annual Meeting in Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he was joined by Ex-US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Published Works
- Editor, with Joanne O'Brien, Islam and Ecology, London: Cassell, 1992.
- "Guardians of the Natural Order", Our Planet 8/2, 1996.
- "Islam, Ecology, and Modernity: An Islamic Critique of the Root Causes of Environmental Degradation", in Richard FoltzRichard FoltzRichard Foltz is a Canadian scholar of American origin. He is a specialist in the history of Iran and the history of religions, particularly Islam and Zoroastrianism...
, Frederick Denny, and Azizan Baharuddin, eds., Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, 2003, pp. 299–322. - "Applying Islamic Environmental Ethics", in Richard FoltzRichard FoltzRichard Foltz is a Canadian scholar of American origin. He is a specialist in the history of Iran and the history of religions, particularly Islam and Zoroastrianism...
, ed., Environmentalism in the Muslim World, New York: Nova Science, 2005, pp. 87–111. - "The Copenhagen Syndrome: The Financial Crisis and the Environment, an Islamic Perspective", Globalia magazine, 12 January 2010 http://www.globaliamagazine.com/?id=896
External links
- Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science: http://www.ifees.org
- "Rampant Society Upsets Natural Order" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6343447.stm
- "The Globalization of Islamic Environmentalism" http://www.zeriislam.com/artikulli.php?id=942
- Prodita Sabarini, "Fazlun Khalid: Using Faith to Save the Environment", the Jakarta Post, 15 April 2010 http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/04/15/fazlun-khalid-using-faith-save-environment.html
- Video lecture, "Muslims and the Environmental Crisis" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCKUoXmOQp4
- Statement at the 2009 UN Climate Change conference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwIOpk_f8S0