Environmentalism and Islam: A Study of Muslim women in the United States

Abstract

Purpose – Islam's environmental ethic has been largely ignored by Western activists. This chapter attempts to fill this void by providing an overview of Islam's environmental values and by exploring how this is related to behavior.

Design/methodology/approach – The study reports on data collected from a national survey of American Muslim women.

Findings – Results show that Muslim women living in the United States participate in a wide variety of outdoor recreation activities. They also engage in pro-environmental behaviors with frequencies similar to those of the general population. Yet as a group, Muslims are not taking action on environmental issues. This shows an untapped potential for mosques to build upon Islam's existing environmental ethic and develop an environmental agenda that incorporates the unique strengths of this American multi-ethnic, multiracial community.

Originality/value – This is one of the few studies to study Muslim environmentalism. It is also unique for its focus on Muslim women.

Citation

Vasi, J. (2010), "Environmentalism and Islam: A Study of Muslim women in the United States", Taylor, D.E. (Ed.) Environment and Social Justice: An International Perspective (Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 451-484. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0196-1152(2010)0000018017