2017 Recommended Reading List
The following reading list was provided from our scholars in an effort to help participants better prepare for the retreat. Participants are encouraged to attend all of the classes to benefit from the integrated nature of the program.
Daily Schedule
A typical day consists of roughly 6 hours of instruction, with ample time for relaxation and activities on the Rosales campus. Review the daily schedule and add it to your phone calendar for a handy reference while on campus.
Choose any four of the following that interest you most:
Recommended Readings
Islam, the Contemporary World, and the Environmental Crisis by Seyyid Hossein Nasr: a lucid assessment of practical steps that Muslims need to take to meet the environmental crisis, with a synopsis of philosophical observations on the relationship between God, humankind and nature. View or Download PDF.
Islam and Ecology: Toward Retrieval and Reconstruction by S. Nomanul Haq: focuses on key Qur'anic doctrinal concepts and imperatives from the Prophetic Sunnah and reconstructs them to illuminate contemporary environmental concerns. View or Download PDF.
Metaphysical Dimensions of Muslim Environmental Consciousness by Jihad Brown: introduces a wide spectrum of metaphysical concepts that underpin the Islamic discourse on the theophany of nature. View or Download PDF.
Toward an Understanding of Islamic Environmental Ethics from a Qur'anic Perspective by Ibrahim Ozdemir: explores the metaphysical foundations for an environmental ethic as expressed in the Qur'an, with references to Rumi, Al-Ghazali, Yunus Emre, and Sa 'id Nursi. View or Download PDF.
Exploring the Islamic Environmental Ethics by Abdal Hamid Fitzwilliam-Hall: a little-known but well-informed and articulate examination of the concept of the trust of stewardship in Islam, with a critique of unsustainable economic growth and of the current model of development, as well as a warning of divine retribution against those who cause corruption in the earth. View or Download PDF.
The Basis for a Discipline of Islamic Environmental Law by Othman Llewellyn: an overview of the shari'ah (Islamic ethics and law, including its philosophy and maqasid) as it pertains to the environment, raising questions and issues to stimulate Muslim thinkers and practitioners to address environmental problems in all their complexities and paradoxes. View or Download PDF.
Restoring the Amanah through Earth Repair: Islam, Permaculture, & Ecosystem Restoration Work by Rhamis Kent: An introduction to the practical actions that we as individuals can do toward healing our lifestyles and the land we live on. View or Download PDF.
Recommended Readings in Arabic
Ri'ayat al-Bi'ah fi Shari'at al-Islam by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi: a comprehensive overview of Islamic theology, ethics, tasawwuf, fiqh, usul al-fiqh, and maqasid ash-Shari'ah as they pertain to the environment. View or Download PDF.
Al-Bi'ah wa 'l-Hifaz 'alayha min Manzur Islami by Ali Gomaa: a treatise that focuses on the metaphysics and philosophical concepts that underpin Islamic theology and jurisprudence pertaining to the environment. View or Download PDF.
Additional Background Readings
Revolution and American Indians: "Marxism is as Alien to My Culture as Capitalism" by Russel Means: an indictment of the Eurocentric civilization that has given rise to the global environmental crisis. View of Download PDF.
The Land Ethic, from A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold: The classic essay articulating ecological ethics. View of Download PDF.
Challenges in Environmental Ethics by Holmes Rolston III: a theory of value in nature, by one of the foremost environmental ethicists alive today. View or Download PDF.
The Abstract Wild: A Rant and Wildness and the Defense of Nature from The Abstract Wild by Jack Turner: An eloquent challenge to the way conservation agencies manage wildlands to the point where they are no longer wild. View or Download PDF.