Speakers
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Aishah Ali AbdallahWilderness Leader & Environmental EducatorAishah Abdallah is a wilderness leader and environmental educator who conducts outdoor activities informed by the wildland ethics of Islam. She is a member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication and has received the 2019 IUCN CEC Excellence Award for the West Asia Region. Aishah helped lead the 2017 Zawiyah Rosales symposium-retreat in Spain and delivered presentations to the 2010 WANA Forum in Jordan and for ICESCO at the 2016 Crans Montana Forum in Morocco. In 2013, Aishah received a Conservation and Environmental Grant from the Ford Motor Company to design the first ecologically based wilderness leadership curriculum for the Arabian Peninsula.
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Dr Iyad AbumoghliFaith For Earth – United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Founder Director
Dr. Iyad Abu Moghli is the founder and director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Faith for Earth Initiative. He has more than 35 years of experience with international organizations, the private sector, and scientific institutions. Dr. Abu Moghli’s expertise focus on strategic planning, sustainable development, natural resources management, knowledge and innovation, and interfaith collaboration. Before joining UNEP, he served for 14 years in the United Nations Development Programme.
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Fazlun KhalidIslamic Foundation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences , Founder Director
Fazlun Khalid has a worldwide reputation as a pioneer in the field of Islamic environmentalism having been involved in this work since the 1980s. He was recognised as one of fifteen leading eco-theologians in the world (Grist magazine, USA 24 July 2000). He founded the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences which is now established as the world’s leading Islamic environmental NGO. His book Signs on the Earth: Islam, Modernity and the Climate Crisis published in 2019 has been described as a masterclass in framing contemporary issues from a faith perspective.
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Kamran ShezadIslamic Foundation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences
Kamran Shezad sits on the Multi-Faith Advisory Council to the United Nations Interagency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development (UN IATF) and previously served on the Civil Society & Youth Advisory Council to the Presidency of COP26.
A strong advocate of using faith-inspired approach in guiding behavioural change. Kamran is a grassroots environmental activist and social justice campaigner, he has worked with a diverse range of faith groups and has produced toolkits, practical guides and mobilised communities for climate action.
Kamran is a Chartered Environmentalist, awarded by the Society for the Environment.
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Othman Abd-ar-Rahman LlewellynNational Centre for Wildlife , Ecological Planner
Othman Llewellyn is an ecological planner and member of the IUCN World Commissions on Protected Areas and Environmental Law, Othman authored Saudi Arabia’s current protected area system plan. Born in Colorado, USA, he has lived in the Arabian subcontinent since 1982, working to conserve its natural heritage. His research interests focus on the ecological implications of Islamic ethics. He wrote “The Basis for a Discipline of Islamic Environmental Law” in Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust (Harvard, 2003). He co-authored Environmental Protection in Islam, (IUCN, 1994) and was on the drafting team of the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change (Istanbul, 2015).
Bringing “Al Mizan: A Covenant for Earth” to Life – Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Through a panel discussion, a brief overview Al-Mizan’s journey will be promoted with the aim of lauching this seminal movement in the future. Other speakers on the panel will bring the Covenant “to life” describing key principles of the Covenant as it relates to: inspiring a global interfaith movement to enhance environmental action, values-based education, youth advocacy and engagement, and driving landscape restoration driven by Islamic tenants