Thought for the Day, 18 October 2007, by Dr Mona Siddiqui (BBC Radio 4)

"Polar ice caps" and "very far away" is what comes to mind when I think about the Antarctic. What I hadn't appreciated was that there are a few places on earth where there has never been any war, where the environment is protected and where scientific research has priority.

The Antarctic is the world's least explored continent, but it has come into increasing focus for many of us through the debates around global warming. It emerged yesterday that the UK is looking to claim sovereign rights over a vast area of the remote seabed off Antarctica. This claim is controversial for many reasons. Firstly, it seems to defy the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty drawn up in 1959 which stated that no new claims will be made over the continent. Secondly, neighbouring south American countries may well contest that their own proximity to the continent gives them equal if not prior entitlement to this area.

Of the many objectives of the treaty, that there should be no disputes over territorial sovereignty and the promotion of international scientific cooperation stand out as a remarkable reflection of countries working for a good greater than territorial gain or national pride. But with global warming opening up new previously unexplored waters for us, with oil reserves in decline in many parts of the world, the desire to tap into more of the earth's potential resources may well prove too tempting.

In the Qur'an the relationship between God, man and the earth's resources is a complex covenant. The notion of stewardship and the earth being left in trust to man is stated again and again, but though nature is a creature of God with its own dignity, nature is also a blessing for man. So, we mustn't feel guilty about using what has been created for us, we must not feel guilty about our impulse to probe further into the skies and deeper into the oceans; these are all signs of the divine. But this creativity must have a more noble purpose in which we need to rethink how to explore without exploiting, want without wasting and produce without polluting.

Though each of us may be accountable for our stay on this planet, the earth will tells it own stories. As the Qur'an states, "When the earth shall quake violently and the earth shall bring forth its burden and man shall say, 'what's happening', on that day it shall tell its stories." Nature is not some neutral field that will remains silent. For some, the recent tsunamis, floods and hurricanes are signs that nature has already raised its voice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/documents/t20071018.sht...

Prof. Mona Siddiqui is Professor of Islamic Studies and Public Understanding and Director of Centre for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow. She is also member of the Central Religious Advisory Council and was appointed Chair of the Scottish Religious Advisory Committee in 2005.