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Muslims in UK, Ireland Call for COP26 Climate Action

As the crucial UN Climate talks in Glasgow COP26 approach, Muslim organizations across the UK and Ireland united in a call for world leaders to take a swift, effective action against climate change.

“The joint statement is a bold declaration on the need for urgency in the face of the climate crisis,” said Kamran Shezad, The Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES/EcoIslam), convener and signatory to the joint statement published by IFEES/EcoIslam.

”British and Irish Muslims feel they, along with others in the many faith communities of these islands, have to stand up to be counted and demand that COP26 delivers for the most vulnerable, and a safer, greener, future for all.”

📚 Read Also: 10 Green Hadiths… What Islam Says About Environment

Only a few weeks before COP26, major Muslim organizations in the two countries issued a joint statement demanding climate justice, a just transition to a green economy and more support for the most vulnerable.

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The statement, issued on Monday 18th October, is the first by a major coalition of Muslim organizations on climate change.

It has been signed by 8 national Muslim bodies and umbrella organizations in the UK and Ireland which represent a large number of the countries’ combined 2.7 million Muslim population.

It calls on world leaders at COP26 to, “meet the Paris Agreement targets, sign up to net-zero emissions targets, end all subsidies for fossil fuels, commit to a total greening of energy sources, and provide new funding to address climate-related loss and damage.”

📚 Read Also: Environment & Ecology in Holy Qur’an

Muslims in UK, Ireland Call for COP26 Climate Action - About Islam

Environment & Islam

Environmental sustainability is very important in Islam.

Allah says in the Qur’an, It is He who has appointed you vicegerent on the Earth … (Qur’an, 6:165)

From an Islamic perspective, environmental activism is grounded in honoring the relationship between oneself, Allah, and Allah’s creation. 

Earlier this month, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Pope Francis, and 40 faith leaders came together to draw attention to the “grave threat” facing the world from climate change.

They made the appeal on Oct. 4 in a joint message signed in the Vatican’s Hall of Benediction, which was decorated with plants to mark the occasion.

In July this year, El-Tayyeb voiced his support for countries facing flooding and heatwaves around the world, calling for an action on climate change.