London (09 June 2010)- Prince Charles invited Wednesday the world to follow Islam's steps to save the environment.
“Islam has always taught this and to ignore that lesson is to default on our contract with creation”, insisted the Prince during the meeting initiated by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, of which he is Patron.
The Prince of Wales deplored the lack of spiritual dimension in the contemporary economic model, founded on consumerism.
Quoting the Islamic teachings that call for harmony between man and Nature, Prince Charles stressed that the Holy Qu'ran explicitly describes Nature as possessing an “intelligibility”.
“My understanding of Islam is that it warns that to deny the reality of our inner being leads to an inner darkness which can quickly extend outwards into the world of Nature,” he said, adding: “if we ignore the calling of the soul, then we destroy Nature.”
“From what I know of the Qu'ran, again and again it describes the natural world as the handiwork of a unitary benevolent power”, he noted, before stressing that The Qu'ran explicitly describes Nature as possessing an “intelligibility” and that there is no separation between Man and Nature, precisely because there is no separation between the natural world and God.
He argued that Islam “offers a completely integrated view of the Universe where religion and science, mind and matter are all part of one living, conscious whole”.
The Heir of the Throne of England added that the “Golden Age of Islam” (Ninth and Tenth Centuries), “gave rise to a spectacular flowering of scientific advancement, but all of it was underpinned by an age-old philosophical understanding of reality and grounded in a profound spirituality, which included a deep reverence for the Natural world”.
Muslim Scholars had “an integrated vision of the world, reflecting the timeless truth that all life is rooted in the unity of the Creator”, he said, adding: “this is the testimony of faith”.
He stressed the importance of the notion of Tawhid, which implies “the oneness of all things within the embrace of the Divine unity”.
“Islamic writers express it so well”, he said quoting Ibn Khaldoun, who taught that “all creatures are subject to a regular and orderly system”.
The Prince of Wales went on to say that the traditional way of life within Islam is very clear about the “centre” that holds the relationship together.
“From what I know of its core teachings and commentaries, the important principle we must keep in mind is that there are limits to the abundance of Nature”.
“These are not arbitrary limits, they are the limits imposed by God and, as such”, he explained, observing the faithful are commanded not to transgress those limits.
Moreover, the Prince stressed that the Islamic world “is the custodian of one of the greatest treasuries of accumulated wisdom and spiritual knowledge available to humanity”.
“It is both Islam's noble heritage and a priceless gift to the rest of the world”, he said, conceding that such wisdom is, so often, obscured by the dominant drive towards Western materialism.
He said he was confident that the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies could help to establish a global forum on “Islam and the Environment” and many more very practical, traditional approaches like these could become more widely applied.
The Prince of Wales deplored the lack of spiritual dimension in the contemporary economic model, founded on consumerism.
Quoting the Islamic teachings that call for harmony between man and Nature, Prince Charles stressed that the Holy Qu'ran explicitly describes Nature as possessing an “intelligibility”.
"The inconvenient truth is that we share this planet with the rest of creation for a very good reason - and that is, we cannot exist on our own without the intricately balanced web of life around us" said the Prince of Wales, who was speaking before an audience of distinguished guests, including Morocco's Endowments and Islamic Affairs Minister, Ahmed Taoufiq, who attended the conference upon High Instructions of HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful.
“My understanding of Islam is that it warns that to deny the reality of our inner being leads to an inner darkness which can quickly extend outwards into the world of Nature,” he said, adding: “if we ignore the calling of the soul, then we destroy Nature.”
“From what I know of the Qu'ran, again and again it describes the natural world as the handiwork of a unitary benevolent power”, he noted, before stressing that The Qu'ran explicitly describes Nature as possessing an “intelligibility” and that there is no separation between Man and Nature, precisely because there is no separation between the natural world and God.
The Heir of the Throne of England added that the “Golden Age of Islam” (Ninth and Tenth Centuries), “gave rise to a spectacular flowering of scientific advancement, but all of it was underpinned by an age-old philosophical understanding of reality and grounded in a profound spirituality, which included a deep reverence for the Natural world”.
Muslim Scholars had “an integrated vision of the world, reflecting the timeless truth that all life is rooted in the unity of the Creator”, he said, adding: “this is the testimony of faith”.
He stressed the importance of the notion of Tawhid, which implies “the oneness of all things within the embrace of the Divine unity”.
“Islamic writers express it so well”, he said quoting Ibn Khaldoun, who taught that “all creatures are subject to a regular and orderly system”.
“From what I know of its core teachings and commentaries, the important principle we must keep in mind is that there are limits to the abundance of Nature”.
“These are not arbitrary limits, they are the limits imposed by God and, as such”, he explained, observing the faithful are commanded not to transgress those limits.
Moreover, the Prince stressed that the Islamic world “is the custodian of one of the greatest treasuries of accumulated wisdom and spiritual knowledge available to humanity”.
“It is both Islam's noble heritage and a priceless gift to the rest of the world”, he said, conceding that such wisdom is, so often, obscured by the dominant drive towards Western materialism.
He said he was confident that the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies could help to establish a global forum on “Islam and the Environment” and many more very practical, traditional approaches like these could become more widely applied.
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