13
Western World developed its own and predominantly economic perspective while
the water- related values of Christianity are closely related to those of Judaism and
Islam. The case studies presented in this volume do not affect regions dominated
by Eastern Asian religions I will focus in this section on the monotheistic religions
and Western Modernity.
2.2.1 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The three monotheistic religions going back to Abraham and Moses, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, share common roots not only in spiritual respect. They all
have their roots in areas with a harsh desert climate and water scarcity: Arabia, the
Near East and Saharan North Africa. Not surprisingly, high value is assigned to
water by all of them. The Bible in its Old and New Testament and the Quran are full
of symbols related with water, pointing to water as source of life, or using analogies
with water as metaphors for spiritual messages.
There are only a few indicators in the Bible on environment protection. Usually,
the story of the Genesis is understood not only as permission, but even a commandment to humans to dominate nature: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fi sh of the sea, over the fowl of the
air, and over everything living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
However, it has often been stated that simplifi ed criticism misses the point (Armstrong
and Armstrong 2005 ). Rejecting the assignment of an eigenvalue to nature and considering the value of nature only in relation to human needs is clearly an anthropocentric perspective, but does not allow or even request careless dominion of waters
and nature in general (Bartholomew I Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 2010 ).
In contemporary Christianity caring for water resources is seen as part of the duty of
stewardship of nature (Pradhan and Meinzen-Dick 2010 , p. 48). In Judaism, the
Talmud perspective on the environment states that while we may use the world for
our own needs, we may never irresponsibly damage or destroy the environment.
In Islam, in particular, water is a pivotal issue (Faruqui et al 2001 ). Scarcity has
always infl uenced the perception of water by Muslims, and it has, accordingly,
shaped their behaviour and customs. The water of rain, rivers and fountains is seen,
against this experience, as a symbol of Allah’s benevolence: “He sends down saving
rain for them when they have lost all hope and spreads abroad His mercy” (Quran
25:48). Water is considered a gift from Allah and should be freely available to all.
Any Muslim who withholds unneeded water sins against God: “No one can refuse
surplus water without sinning against God and against man.” That means that “true
Muslim believers cannot grab water in excess to their needs since they are obliged to
allow free access to any amounts of water beyond these needs” (Al-Awar et al. 2010 ,
p. 32). Every human being, not only Muslim, is given right to drink to assure survival. There is a right of irrigation but domestic use has precedence over agricultural
or industrial use.
2 Water Ethics – Orientation for Water Confl icts as Part of Inter-…
Western World developed its own and predominantly economic perspective while
the water- related values of Christianity are closely related to those of Judaism and
Islam. The case studies presented in this volume do not affect regions dominated
by Eastern Asian religions I will focus in this section on the monotheistic religions
and Western Modernity.
2.2.1 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The three monotheistic religions going back to Abraham and Moses, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, share common roots not only in spiritual respect. They all
have their roots in areas with a harsh desert climate and water scarcity: Arabia, the
Near East and Saharan North Africa. Not surprisingly, high value is assigned to
water by all of them. The Bible in its Old and New Testament and the Quran are full
of symbols related with water, pointing to water as source of life, or using analogies
with water as metaphors for spiritual messages.
There are only a few indicators in the Bible on environment protection. Usually,
the story of the Genesis is understood not only as permission, but even a commandment to humans to dominate nature: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fi sh of the sea, over the fowl of the
air, and over everything living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
However, it has often been stated that simplifi ed criticism misses the point (Armstrong
and Armstrong 2005 ). Rejecting the assignment of an eigenvalue to nature and considering the value of nature only in relation to human needs is clearly an anthropocentric perspective, but does not allow or even request careless dominion of waters
and nature in general (Bartholomew I Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 2010 ).
In contemporary Christianity caring for water resources is seen as part of the duty of
stewardship of nature (Pradhan and Meinzen-Dick 2010 , p. 48). In Judaism, the
Talmud perspective on the environment states that while we may use the world for
our own needs, we may never irresponsibly damage or destroy the environment.
In Islam, in particular, water is a pivotal issue (Faruqui et al 2001 ). Scarcity has
always infl uenced the perception of water by Muslims, and it has, accordingly,
shaped their behaviour and customs. The water of rain, rivers and fountains is seen,
against this experience, as a symbol of Allah’s benevolence: “He sends down saving
rain for them when they have lost all hope and spreads abroad His mercy” (Quran
25:48). Water is considered a gift from Allah and should be freely available to all.
Any Muslim who withholds unneeded water sins against God: “No one can refuse
surplus water without sinning against God and against man.” That means that “true
Muslim believers cannot grab water in excess to their needs since they are obliged to
allow free access to any amounts of water beyond these needs” (Al-Awar et al. 2010 ,
p. 32). Every human being, not only Muslim, is given right to drink to assure survival. There is a right of irrigation but domestic use has precedence over agricultural
or industrial use.
2 Water Ethics – Orientation for Water Confl icts as Part of Inter-…