ECO-THEOLOGY BEYOND ANTHROPOCENTRISM: REINTERPRETING ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY AMID CLIMATE CRISIS
Abstract
The escalating climate crisis has revealed the limitations of anthropocentric ethical frameworks, including those embedded in contemporary religious discourses. Within Islamic studies, eco-theological responses have largely emphasized moral stewardship while leaving underlying cosmological assumptions insufficiently examined. This study addresses this gap by reinterpreting Islamic cosmology as a foundational framework for ecological responsibility beyond anthropocentrism. The study aims to critically examine dominant human-centered interpretations in Islamic eco-theology and to reconstruct a relational cosmological perspective that affirms the intrinsic value of non-human creation. The research employs a qualitative, theoretical design grounded in critical hermeneutics and textual analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic theological, philosophical, and eco-theological sources. The findings reveal that anthropocentrism in Islamic environmental discourse emerges from interpretive reduction rather than theological necessity. Core cosmological concepts such as taw??d, m?z?n, and the notion of creation as divine signs (?y?t) support a relational ontology in which humans are situated within, rather than above, the cosmic moral order. The study concludes that effective Islamic responses to the climate crisis require ontological reorientation rather than ethical supplementation alone. Reinterpreting Islamic cosmology beyond anthropocentrism positions eco-theology as a critical theological response to ecological degradation and contributes to broader global debates on religion, ecology, and climate justice.
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