Environmental Ethics in Islam and Hinduism in the Light of Prominent Thinkers of Twentieth Century (A Comparative and Analytical Study)

Abstract

In the present scenario of environmental degradation, Islam and Hinduism serve as the source of both an ecological worldview and an ethos involving the environment. Their sacred understanding of man and environment is remarkable to demolish disequilibrium of our earthly environment. In contemporary times, the eco-scholars of Islam and Hinduism tried to reinterpret environmental ethics grounded in divinely guided scriptures of both faiths to bring peace and harmony in the environment of our home planet earth. They criticize the anthropocentric value approach of west which is insufficient to deal with present environmental crisis. On a more practical level, they suggest that both religions describe metaphysical and philosophical principles governing the environmental ethics and approaches for the limitation of human behavior toward our home planet earth and living within these limits may defined as living holistically. Therefore, this paper makes a comparative analysis of their eco-ethical dimensions grounded in sacred scriptures of both faiths and present environmental ethics to cope with the trends of 21^st century. It is suggested that the application of eco-ethics of Islam and Hinduism can help humanity to restore, protect, and conserve his environment against over exploitation and develop harmonious attitude toward it.