Islamic Institutions in Qatar and Environmental Awareness: A Descriptive Analysis

With the global environmental crisis and effects of climate change impacting wellbeing, quality of life, and potentially the available resources needed by future generations, many segments of human society are seeking solutions to avoid total irreparable damage to the planet's ecosystem and Earth's natural resources. This study will examine the role of the religion and religious institutions in for raising awareness and individual since towards living a more environmentally friendly and conscious lifestyle as a part of one's Islamic values. The study relies on various research tools such as interviews with mosque leaders (preachers), a survey questionnaire posed to congregants and the participatory observation of delivered Friday Khutbahs (sermons) during three years at the Education City Mosque in the hopes of examining Islam's view on environmental issues and the mosque's unmet potential to address environmental and societal challenges by properly educating and guiding behavioral change within individuals. How can policymakers build around the important role of Islamic institutions (the Friday mosque and congregation) and leverage the role of the Khatib to propose better ways of dealing with the environmental crisis facing Muslim-majority nations such as Qatar in our time? Religious institutions can help promote environmental awareness by enabling the public to become more receptive to policies which also help them to comply with their religious duty.