Instruments from the Islamic Cosmological Toolbox: Reorienting to Traditional Wisdom in Turbulent Times[Event Video & Notes]
A short teaser video from the event
“Let’s get clear about which realm we’re talking about”
1 minute teaser from Mohamad Chakaki’s talk
Scroll down for Full video of talk
This participative Zoom gathering on The Islamic Cosmological Toolbox
took place on Sunday August 23rd 2020
It was organised by Wisdom In Nature
Islamic Ecology - Permaculture - Inclusive Leadership
Five Strand Activism Model
with guest speaker: Mohamad Chakaki (USA)
We will have a brief presentation and facilitated discussion on Islamic cosmological principles and their relevance to navigating our current moment of ecological and social uncertainty. We’ll engage enduring themes such as the key role of human agency, in both its promises and pitfalls, for planetary sustainability; the assimilation and appropriation, both past and present, of non-Islamic traditional ecological knowledge; and the ethics of living in and caring for a finite material world as travelers whose hearts are set on a spiritual beyond.
About the Speaker:
Mohamad Chakaki grew up playing in the sand and surf on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula, and then on the edges of eastern forests and city streets in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. His intellectual and professional interests lie where the lines blur between East and West, cities and nature, art and science, and so on. Mohamad holds a Masters of Environmental Management with a focus on Urban Ecology and Environmental Design from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and undergraduate degrees in Religion and Biology from The George Washington University. He completed doctoral coursework at the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT, with research into emerging urban landscapes in the modern Middle East.
Mohamad has followed his passion for working in nature and with people in parks and gardens across the US, with the Peace Corps in Central Africa, and the United Nations in Syria. He consults on environment and community development projects in both the US and the Arab Middle East. Mohamad was a co-founder of the DC Green Muslims network and is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program and the Centre for Whole Communities.
We hope you enjoy:
A) The Full Video of the talk, and
B) Notes of participants sharing
(All below!)
This online gathering was limited to approximately 10 people. It was open to Muslims and anyone who leans towards Islam.
A) Mohamad Chakaki’s Initial Talk to ignite a Conversation…
Enjoy watching the video…
A note from Mohamad Chakaki: “I am moved to acknowledge my teachers, and there have been many, and the debt I owe them for their instruction, mentorship, and wisdom. In the case of Islamic cosmology, and an Islamic understanding of nature and environmental concerns more generally, the foundational work of Seyyed Hossein Nasr has profoundly shaped my views on the topic. That said, any errors of understanding or articulation in this talk are my own. I encourage anyone who's interested to learn more on the topic of Islamic cosmology to read Dr. Nasr's An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. “
The Talk
Topics and Time-stamps
00.00: Introduction to the gathering
3.00: Opening prayer
6.20: Mohamad Chakaki introducing place: Turtle Island /N America;
10.45: The influence of Dr Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Dr Elizabeth Wells on Mohamad’s personal journey
18.00: Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Concepts as ideas, thoughts, processes, questions
20.05 (& 32.20): Human agency as Amanah (Trust)
21,55 (&35.30) Appropriate, but wisely: Expanding our ‘colour palette’ to wisely integrate other ideas into an islamic framework
25.25 (&38.25): The infinite and the finite / The heavenly and the worldly: The ‘bifocal’ perspective in activism and ecological work
28.50: Solidarity of the spirit: Solidarity with those in groups other than our own; drawing on ‘The Conference of the Birds’, by Farid ud-Din Attar - (also at 43.00)
32.20: Can humans actually improve on Allah’s creation? There is no sitting on the fence
35.30 Muslims do not have all the answers (Appropriate, but wisely) & two way learning
38.25: The ecological crisis as a spiritual crisis + spiritual perfection should not be confused with utopia
43.00 Delving into ‘The Conference of the Birds’, by Farid ud-Din Attar
46.35: The fifth piece: What is the politics of this cosmology?: Wariness of hierarchy, and towards a consensus approach
See below for participants contributions. Feel free to also add your comments to this blog post
B) Participants Contributions
Following the talk, two breakout groups shared for 10/15-minutes. The following was discussed/came through:
Human agency & solidarity
Being accountable only to yourself, and being in solidarity with groups experiencing things we don't. In a consumer society, individual actions can have negative outcomes, so being accountable for our individual actions.
In terms of progress - what is it? What do we need to go back to? What's considered progress but is actually harmful?Present & Future/bifocals
The paradox of continuing the work/struggle without necessarily seeing the outcome of it. The bifocal concept offers a different view to the 'what's the point of activism?' - and 'activism is all you can do' perspectives...
Working to align to inner spirituality and connect it to the wider ecology is meaningful, and seeing results of that is a bonus.Hierarchy and Human-centrism
Although the Islamic cosmological model may ‘appear’ human-centric and hierarchical, that’s not what Islam is saying in its tradition, but it sometimes could come across like that. E.g. Amanah (Trust) can give the impression of human-centrism because we have alot more agency. It is closely related to the concept of Khalifah (Guardian).
[This aspect was unpacked more in the later wide group discussion, with the speaker clarifying aspects that decentralised human-beings, e.g that the Trust/Amanah was first offered to the heavens, earth and mountains first (before being offered to humans), and they refused it, but humankind took it up because of humankinds foolishness (Surah al-Ahzab: 33:72)].Non-Human world
Relationship is key, with plants, animals, earth, the wider cosmos.
We need time to sit with plants/nature. How to translate that?Cooperation and solidarity: ‘The Conference of the Birds’ (by Farid ud-Din Attar)
This describes a journey successfully made by 30 birds, who found solidarity in that journey together. It communicates a need for cooperation, that we can take from, given the crisis we are in. Following on, someone shared: There is a need for participative enquiry around cooperation: In what capacity can I do this?In reality we have to think in terms of community: What can we do together? E.g. like birds in formation (as in ‘The Conference of the Birds’) - each of us has a role to play within the community.