Quranatura
Subproject 4
Islamic Environmentalism and Qur’anic Nature in Botanic Gardens
According to its founders, the Qur’anic botanic garden in Qatar (QBG) has several aims. On the one hand, its plants are mentioned in the Qur’an, being theological evidence for the existence of God, and in the garden, visitors are urged to “contemplate and think deeply about the creation of God” (qbg.org.qa). On the other, the QBG’s goal is to enhance “responsibility towards the environment, and achieve integration between efforts to preserve plants and modern scientific achievements”. Through a series of 10+ interviews and ethnographic observations at the QBG in Qatar, SP4 will study the conciliation of the garden’s religious and environmentalist ideals, particularly focusing on which Qur’anic, prophetic, philosophical, and pseudo-scientific views are put into practice and why.
SP4 will be managed by a postdoctoral researcher (job advertisement TBA)