Exploring Islamic Approaches to Environmental Care

Exploring Religion & Environment Series

Join us for a series of lunchtime conversations this Fall and Winter focused on exploring religion and the environment. We will be joined by experts, theologians, activists, and thinkers for deep dives into different religious traditions. By blending informative education with ground-breaking discourse, we hope that wherever you are on your own journey exploring faith and our changing world, you will find value in this foray.

Session 3: Exploring Islamic Approaches to Environmental Care

In this month’s conversation, we are exploring the Islamic tradition. Imam Christopher Caras will share the Islamic theology for environmental responsibility, as well as specific injunctions from Islamic Law. He will briefly touch on how Muslims throughout history have worked with, and not against, their natural surroundings. Sevim Kalyoncu will talk about the work of Green Muslims and how in that role she helps American Muslims connect with nature and recognize it as a book of God as well as understand the role of humans as khalifa, or stewards of the earth. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Melinda Krokus a professor of comparative religion and a student in the Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order. Bring your lunch and your questions – we can’t wait to see you there!

Our series co-sponsors:

Better Path Coalition, Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, Green Muslims

Dr. Melinda Krokus has been on the Board of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light since 2018 and currently serves as Vice President. She is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Marywood University (Scranton, PA), where she is also Chair of the Environmental Studies program. Her scholarly work has taken her to Turkey, the Balkans, South Africa, Mauritius, and across Europe, where she has seen the effects of climate change first hand intersecting with war and its aftermath as well as political and social unrest. Inspired by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sallie McFague, and the Dalai Lama at a 1991 conference called Spirit and Nature, Melinda went on to study conservation ecology and religious traditions of the world at Prescott College, Harvard Divinity School, and Boston University spending several years working for the Forum on Religion and Ecology. As a Muslim, she has been a student of Shaykh Taner Ansari of the Qadiri Rifa’i Sufi order since 1994 and currently serves on the Board of the Islamic Center of Scranton. She has witnessed the devastating loss of adequate habitat and biodiversity on this planet take place within a clear and scientific context that increasingly understands the anthropogenic nature of our collective climate reality. She has chosen to work with PAIPL because she believes that in order to make the shift toward a planet of flourishing habitat, biodiversity, and justice, a morality driven by love and knowledge is necessary.

Growing up in Alabama surrounded by woods and creeks, Sevim discovered at an early age that her most direct connection with God came through nature. To this day, she still finds peace in natural surroundings and holds a deep concern regarding humankind’s responsibility as vicegerent of the earth. She is involved with multiple local climate action groups and dedicated to helping educate youth about the importance of environmental awareness for spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. She holds a B.S. from Georgetown and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and has many years of nonprofit experience in Washington, DC, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a naturalist interpreter and a yoga instructor.

Chris Caras converted to Islam as a high school junior in October 2001 in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois. He studied Islam formally in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, earning degrees in Arabic, Islamic theology, history, and legal theory, in the Arabic medium with honors. He worked in St Louis, Missouri for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and taught for a private Islamic school while serving as an imam on the Illinois side of East Saint Louis. In summer 2019, Chris became the Imam for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. Chris’ wife of 15 years is an accomplished Quran recital teacher originally from Pakistan. The introverted couple have three rambunctious children.