New LSRI Book Explores Commonalities Between the Qur'an and Laudato Si'

What are the commonalities between the Qur’an and the papal encyclical Laudato Si’? Qur’anic hermeneutics scholar Farhana Mayer sets out to explore this question in a new publication that presents Qur’an-based theological and ethical principles that are applicable to integral ecology. Through a systematic, comparative study of the two texts, Mayer reveals that significant common ground exists between Qur’anic and encyclical perspectives, including perceptions of the natural world as a precious part of God’s creation, the interrelatedness of all creation, and the need for people to manifest ethical care towards other humans, all living creatures, and the earth itself. A unique feature of the study is the description of the most beautiful names of God as an overarching framework for human living and decision-making,  Mayer links Laudato Si’s integral ecology paradigm to the Islamic concepts of divine unity (tawḥīd) and primordial nature (fiṭrah). Like Laudato Si’, the study seeks to go to the anthropological roots of our ecological crisis, and rediscover the rich treasure that religious traditions can offer, in this case the Qur’an, to remedy the damage we have done, for ‘there can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself. There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology.’ (LS 118).

This book is the fruit of the Qur’anic Resonances of Laudato Si’ project, part of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue on Integral Ecology research cluster at the LSRI that aims to explore the comparative perspective between Christian and Muslim traditions.

The book can be accessed for free here.

Banner image: the picture of the bee reflects God’s revelation in bees. See Q16: 68 and its discussion on pp. 99-100 of Qur’anic Resonances.