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Muhammad
Zafa Mahafooz Nomani obtained a
B.A. (History) LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M. (Environmental Law) and two diplomas,
one in Personnel Management and another in Arabic Language Proficiency
from Aligarh Muslim University. He started his career as Research
Assistant at the Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, and as Junior
Research Fellow of University Grants Commission's Projects on `Readings on
Minorities' and `Environment Protection Through Control of Population: A
Socio-Legal Study' respectively. Later he shifted to the Centre for
Advanced Socio-Legal Studies, Hamdard University, New Delhi. At Aligarh he
also served as Assistant Professor in Law and Joint Editor, Aligarh Law
Journal. For his teaching and research in environmental law, Mr.
Nomani has been recognized by the Indian Institute of Ecology and
Environment, New Delhi, and International Association of Educators for
World Peace.
Abstract of paper given at Islam
and Ecology conference:
Environmental Pollution and Conservation of
Ecological Balance: A Search for an Islamic Development Model
This paper explores the possibility of evolving a sustainable development model in the midst of the comparative matrix of 'ecocentrism,' or 'deep ecology,' and Islamic ethics. Two parallel and distinct world views are apparent: one takes an axiomatic position that market mechanism along with technological innovations will take care of long term resource scarcity; the other view considers conservation as the sole criterion of natural resources. There are often seen as two extremes having no common territory to share. The Islamic response to environmental and ecological sustainability blends two diametrically opposite views. The paper harkens back to Qur'anic injunctions, Shariah and Islamic lego-ethical principles. As a futuristic strategy, the paper foresees promise in the major role of eco-theological scholars in inculcating these ideals so as to avoid environmental catastrophe. The thematic thrust of the paper is a call for cutting across sectarian considerations to develop a strategy for institutional rehabilitation and networking to propagate an Islamic ethico-legal sustainable model.