Muslim’s Central Role in Protecting the Earth
By ISNA Green Initiative
May/Jun 26
Black, brown, and Indigenous communities disproportionately breathe the most polluted air, live beside the most toxic industrial sites, and experience the earliest and most severe consequences of climate change despite contributing the least to its causes. This disparity is not accidental. It is the product of systemic injustice, a historical continuum that stretches from the legacy of slavery and dispossession to modern “sacrifice zones” where vulnerable communities bear the brunt of the environmental costs of industrial development. Environmental protection therefore intersects with fundamental questions of faith, equity, stewardship, and collective responsibility, calling for a response grounded in moral courage and social justice.
According to the Center for American Progress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasingly influenced by climate change deniers and individuals who appear hostile to the very environmental protections they are tasked with enforcing. With weak protections, the burden of pollution increasingly shifts onto already vulnerable populations. Policies that liberalize pollution standards for toxic chemicals effectively transfer environmental harm to those least able to protect themselves. The beneficiaries of such policies are most often powerful industries and economic elites.
Trump’s Deregulation Initiatives
On Feb. 12, the Trump administration took further steps to dismantle the scientific foundation underlying many of the nation’s climate pollution regulations. Central to this effort is the challenge to the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding “which determined that greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide – produced through the development and combustion of fossil fuels – pose a threat to public health and welfare and can therefore be regulated under the Clean Air Act.” The EPA now argues that the Clean Air Act does not grant it the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, a move that represents one of the most aggressive attempts to halt federal initiatives addressing climate change in U.S. history.
This decision comes despite mounting climate disasters. The past three years have been the hottest ever recorded, bringing deadly floods to communities across the United States — from Texas to Alaska — and climate-fueled wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles.
One immediate consequence of these policy changes is the elimination of federal greenhouse gas emission standards for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles. The removal of compliance mechanisms dismantles a major regulatory tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond environmental consequences, this move may also harm the industries it purports to support. Removing regulatory certainty creates a vacuum that leads to fragmented and inconsistent policies across states, complicating long-term planning and investment decisions for businesses operating in the US.
Many environmental advocates have strongly criticized the administration’s actions. Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental law, told NPR the move is “a slap in the face to the millions of Americans who are living through climate disasters and their aftermath. [The] EPA’s latest moves are all about putting polluters’ pocketbooks ahead of people’s health.”
In addition, the Trump administration has announced its intention to repeal greenhouse gas emission regulations for fossil-fuel power plants and delay the implementation of methane emission controls for oil and gas operations. If the Endangerment Finding is successfully overturned, such regulatory rollbacks will become significantly easier to implement — particularly for power plants, which are among the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The consequences of deregulation will be felt across major industrial regions countrywide. For example, southwest Michigan has more than 150 industrial facilities, including oil refineries, steel mills, and waste treatment plants, resulting in some of the worst air quality in the state. Despite these conditions, the U.S. Department of Energy demanded that the J.H. Campbell Complex in this region remains operational under the justification of national security. “Campbell’s plumes spread as far as Vermont, more than 800 miles away. Each year, the Campbell plant releases millions of pounds of air pollution, causing up to $879 million in health-related impacts,” journalist Susan Cosier wrote for the National Resources Defense Council.
Emergency orders that keep aging coal plants operating may be framed as necessary for national interests, but impose severe health costs on nearby residents. These industrial zones have disproportionally large Black and Hispanic populations. A 2020 report from the Princeton Student Climate Initiative found that 68% of Black Americans live within a 30-mile radius of a coal-fired power plant, compared with 56% of white Americans. This disparity is particularly striking given that Black Americans constitute only about 13% of the U.S. population. A 2018 Environmental Protection Agency report found that Black communities are exposed to significantly higher levels of pollution and are three times more likely to die from air pollution than white communities.
An Islamic Perspective on Stewardship and Community
It is imperative that Muslims care about these issues since the Islamic tradition offers guidance on justice, compassion, and care for the natural world. The Quran emphasizes humanity’s role as stewards (khalifah) on Earth, entrusted with maintaining balance (mizan) and preventing harm (2:30). This stewardship is understood as a sacred trust (amanah) that includes protecting the environment, caring for neighbors, and safeguarding the well-being of the broader community. Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) emphasized the interconnectedness of human welfare, teaching, “The believers, in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy, are like one body. When any part of the body suffers, the whole body feels pain” (Sahih Bukhari 6011). This analogy underscores a powerful ethical obligation to respond to suffering wherever it occurs.
Core Islamic principles — including ‘adl (justice), qist (fairness and equity), rahmah (mercy), and the prohibition against causing harm — provide a strong ethical framework for engaging with contemporary public policy debates. These values are challenged when legislation prioritizes corporate subsidies and tax advantages for the wealthiest among us while reducing access to nutrition assistance, health care, and environmental protections for vulnerable populations.
The Covenant for the Future: A Framework for Moral Governance
When legislation allocates billions of dollars to fossil fuel interests while cutting programs that support the poor, people of faith cannot remain neutral observers. Islam — and many other faiths — calls believers to a higher moral standard. We therefore invite the Muslim American community, and all people of conscience, to move beyond dialogue toward determined civic engagement.
In response to these concerns, a growing coalition of faith communities across the U.S. have affirmed a shared set of moral commitments. This initiative, known as the Covenant for the Future seeks to apply enduring spiritual principles to contemporary societal challenges and to foster dialogue, cooperation, and positive action. This covenant outlines a 10-point framework grounded in shared ethical commitments and intended to guide reflection and advocacy. Together, these principles provide a moral vision for governance and serve as a counterpoint to policies that deepen inequality and environmental harm.
- Analyze and educate. Examine current legislation through the lens of Islamic ethics and discuss these issues in mosques, schools, and community gatherings.
- Build strategic alliances. Develop interfaith coalitions to meet with legislators, write op-eds, and organize public forums that amplify a shared moral voice.
- Engage with moral clarity. Communicate to policymakers that faith communities are attentive and will hold leaders accountable for decisions that increase suffering and inequality.
- Transform faith into action. Let prayer inspire purposeful action by supporting mutual aid networks, participating in advocacy initiatives, and voting with careful attention to policies that affect the most vulnerable.
ISNA’s Green Initiative: From Principle to Practice
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has worked to translate Islamic environmental ethics into practical programs through its Green Initiative. By promoting sustainability within Muslim communities and building partnerships with other faith groups, ISNA demonstrates how spiritual principles can guide meaningful environmental stewardship. By uniting across faith traditions and grounding our work in initiatives such as ISNA’s Green Initiative, we can help guide national policy toward greater compassion and equity while building communities that are both environmentally sustainable and socially just. May our efforts be guided by steadfast principles, strengthened through solidarity, and directed toward achieving justice and dignity for all members of our shared human family.
The ISNA Green Initiative Team is composed of Huda Alkaff, Saffet Catovic, Nana Firman, Uzma Mirza, and S. Masroor Shah (Chair).