Re-Thinking Sustainable Development within Islamic Worldviews: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Many models of economic growth and sustainable development like circular economy, doughnut economy, and sharing economy were articulated to address the global issues including poverty, climate change, and inequity. However, these models were not informed by traditional value-based worldviews. This systematic literature review aims to gain insights on the different models, practices, and drivers for Islamic sustainable development to inform a new discourse for sustainability. Besides, it intends to define emerging themes in sustainable development and explore the viability for adopting Islamic development models to promote inclusive, pro-poor, and human-centred development. The methodology adopted is systematic literature review to identify sustainability models, practices, and drivers in Islam. Policy recommendations and strategic directions are outlined based on the review.

A Critical Discourse Analysis on Climate Change in a Globalized World: The Nexus of Islam and Sustainable Development

“…The climate-faith nexus is underpinned by human behavior and perceptions linked to perceived risks, human responsibility, and intergenerational equity [2,6]. Correlations between perceptions about climate change and religious affiliation were documented by Morrison et al [7].…”

“…Framing faith-inspired discourses to mitigate climate change is critical to achieving sustainable development. However, the dominant logic for assessing potential avenues for the mitigation of climate change is underpinned by technical solutions or positivist views of natural phenomena, with limited analysis of behavioral and sociological dimensions [1,2]. Rethinking and framing climate policy within faith-based worldviews is likely to offer new interpretations on the root causes of the ecological crisis.…”

“…and "How do policy makers perceive the impact of and solutions to climate change?" The complexity of climate change is propelling researchers to incorporate social science and spirituality into the design of value-based climate policy, especially since climate action is embedded within cultural beliefs, values, and social practices [2][3][4]. Studying the interlinkages between faith and sustainability broadens the perspectives and informs climate policy options beyond simple technical fixes to include other dimensions that influence human behavior such as value-systems, religion, and socio-economic structures [5].…”

“…Critically, both the threats and potential mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change move beyond this international level and travel across different levels of analysis including nations, communities, and individuals. Within the Muslim world, which constitutes about 20% of the global population, some Muslims interpret climate change risks as divine or as a "warning signal" of the end of time, i.e., they embrace a fatalistic worldview, while others adopt a rational and evidence-based scientific discourse [2]. How these interpretations and Islamic values in general are reflected in policy design and climate action emerges as an interesting puzzle.…”

“…Additionally, this research adopts grounded theory to identify the key drivers and enablers of shifts in climate change discourse within the Muslim world, because of the importance of the Islamic worldview in shaping human behavior and eco-cosmic intelligence across parts of the globe. To illustrate this point, Al-Jayyousi et al [2] commented that the Islamic worldview is underpinned by a set of core guiding principles, i.e., oneness (Tawhid), trusteeship (Khalifa), natural state (Fitra), and balance (Mizan) [2,16,17].…”