Speaking at the Sheldonian Theatre, in a lecture to mark the 25th anniversary of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies of which he is patron, Prince Charles gave a speech on Islam and the environment.

In an hour-long speech, the heir to the British throne argued that humanity’s destruction of the world was contrary to the scriptures of all religions – but particularly those of Islam.

He said the current “division” between humanity and nature had been caused not just by industrialisation, but also by our attitude to the environment – which goes against the grain of “sacred traditions”.

Charles, who is a practising Christian and will become the head of the Church of England when he succeeds to the throne, spoke in depth about his own study of the Koran which, he said, tells its followers that there is “no separation between man and nature” and says we must always live within our environment’s limits.

He asserted that the Islamic world has 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 world”. He then lamented the fact that this “wisdom is now obscured by the dominant drive towards Western materialism – the feeling that to be truly modern you have to ape the West.”

The Prince said it was a “tragedy” that traditional Islamic crafts are being abandoned, and called upon Muslims to use their heritage to protect the environment.

He concluded that the world is “on the wrong road” and should not be “pigheaded” about refusing to acknowledge that fact, but should instead “retrace our steps” and return to working within nature rather than against it.

The Prince expressed his view that religion is needed to solve the world’s environmental and financial crises, which he claimed reflect the fact that “the soul has been elbowed out” in the quest for economic profit.

He also pointed out the need for birth control to deal with the world’s escalating population, arguing that the Earth could not “sustain us all”, particularly if a “vast proportion” is consuming natural resources at “Western levels”.

He admitted that limiting population growth through birth control raised “very difficult moral questions” but suggested we should come to a view that balances “the traditional attitude to the sacred nature of life” with religious teachings that urge humans to “keep within the limits of nature’s benevolence and bounty”.

Roman Catholics believe it is against “natural law” to use artificial methods to prevent conception. Condoms are opposed by Orthodox Judaism and some contraceptive techniques are unacceptable to Buddhists. He admitted that there are some conservative Muslim scholars who teach that birth control is wrong as well.

He added: “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. Islam has always taught this and to ignore that lesson is to default on our contract with creation.”

Sources:

Martin Beckford, “Prince of Wales calls for population control in developing world” The Telegraph UK June 10, 2010

Rebecca English, “‘Follow the Islamic way to save the world,’ Prince Charles urges environmentalists” Mail Online June 10, 2010

“Prince says Islam has lessons for all” Oxford Mail June 10, 2010