Wickström worked as research-coordinator at the Finnish Institute in the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon, 2015-2016 and has conducted fieldwork in Turkey in 2012 and 2014. Currently her main research focus is to present Islamic perspectives on ecology, how widespread these movements are and who the central actors are.
Abstract: Textual and Social Activism in Islamic Eco-Theology
Environmental threats have already for a longer time been considered as one of the most serious issues of modern time. During the last thirty years there has been an increase concerning the public awareness and knowledge about environmental questions in the MENA region. The environmental movement in the Middle East has largely received its inspiration from the global environmental movement. In spite of environmental questions being in the margin of the public debate, there are an increasing number of Muslim scholars and activists who engage themselves with environmental issues. Broadly speaking, Islamic environmentalism can be divided into two phases during the past fifty years. The three first decades 1970–2000 can be described as the time when the theoretical framework within Islamic eco-theology took shape, and the second phase, that is the time from 2000 to present time, can be characterized as the time of practical action.
The understanding of climate and environmental changes as possible security threats in the Middle East has contributed to an increased comprehension of the environmental situation. Questions such as water distribution are of immediate interest and one challenge is how ecological questions could be emphasized in contemporary Muslim societies. The purpose of this presentation is to present aspects of the cornerstones in the shaping of the Islamic theoretical development within environmental philosophy and how these currents are manifested in form of environmental action, declarations and networks. Individuals, local groups and societies are all part of this worldwide network that promote a greener (more environmentally friendly) way of life, economy and nutrition. Islamic environmental discourses draw from the spectrum of contemporary Islamic and environmentalist discourses (social justice, human development, poverty alleviation, governance, economic systems). Other types of discourses also blend in, e.g. universal, global ethics, human rights, social justice, globalization, western imperialism, and capitalism.