Book Reviews / Worldviews 11 (2007) 353-381 363

Richard C. Foltz. Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures. Oxford:

Oneworld Publications, 2006. 192 pp. ISBN: 1851683984. US$19.95.

It is most fitting to begin this review with the first line of the text itself:
“This is a book I had hoped someone else would write” (p. xi). Richard
Foltz is a Visiting Scholar at Concordia University, Montreal. More than
any other scholar, he has contributed to the study of Islam and Ecology, so
he delves into the topic of animals in Islam with significant preparation.
Foltz does so in this book with clarity and integrity, requisite since he rec-
ognizes explicitly that he cannot speak for a Muslim audience and is not a
recognized legal scholar in Islam. Rather, as a trained academic, he is trying
to present the textual, traditional, and visual material of varied Muslim
cultures spanning almost fourteen centuries. But it would do an injustice
to the author if I did not stress his hesitancy to present this topic from his
position. He implores Muslim scholars and legal experts to address it from
within the tradition as well.
Foltz follows a traditional trajectory in his study. It was necessary to do
so since this is the first published, comprehensive study of Islam and ani-
mals. He provides examples from Islamic sacred texts—the Qur’an and the
Hadiths—then pursues the influential and pivotal area of Islamic Law,
emphasizing the need for a “new jurisprudence” (p. 41). In subsequent
chapters he supplements the legal analysis with philosophical, scientific,
and artistic veins. Some of these will be cited in more detail below, but
in all cases the author provides an adequately broad and inclusive study
of the evidence available from within these classical “texts” (both written
and visual).
Brief, but important, comparisons and links to other religious traditions
are also cited. Several Muslim thinkers, such as B.A. Masri, are connected
to South Asia and thus might have been influenced by cultural perceptions
of animals in Buddhist and Hindu traditions; others are influenced by their
exposure to Western ideas, particularly in the United Kingdom. Yet, in a
more controversial way, Foltz also points out that, while Islam might not
be an ideal tradition as far as animals are concerned, it is, arguably, a more
compassionate one with more potential resources for a new ethic regarding
animals than either Judaism or Christianity.
Midway through the work, the author shifts to an analysis of contem-
porary issues related to general animal rights in Muslim culture, including

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 DOI: 10.1163/156853507X230609

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 364 Book Reviews / Worldviews 11 (2007) 353-381

the complicated topic of vegetarianism, and then narrows his focus to one
particularly problematic species—dogs. Foltz also provides a strong intro-
duction to the work of B.A. Masri, the most prominent twentieth century
Muslim scholar who addressed the issue of animals in Islam. In the context
of the discussion of the contemporary, Foltz points to a significant shift in
the communities engaged in the debates regarding animals. Historically
the “ulama” class, traditionally educated scholars, engaged “contentious
issues in Muslim societies”. Now, however, the dialogue about human-
animal relations has moved from the madrasa to the internet with younger,
Westernized lay-Muslims participating most actively (p. 145). For exam-
ple, IslamicConcern.org serves as a global voice linking together animal
rights discussions in Muslim communities.
Some of the most intriguing and insightful comments throughout the
work are the ones that connect simple and apparently mild texts with
depths of meaning. For instance, Foltz introduces the bodies of law that
form Islamic practice as “shari’a”. This central concept impacts the lives of
Muslim cultures on a daily basis. But, subtly, he notes the etymology of the
word itself, “the path a camel takes to reach a water source” (p. 29). In its
own slightly convoluted way, the central word of legality in Islam is about
animals and their lives.
In addition to providing the only, and a very competent, analysis of the
place animals hold in Islam and Muslim cultures, Foltz does an impressive
job of introducing this complicated and multi-faceted religious tradition
via the lens of animals. The reader is introduced to pilgrimage, alms, purity,
texts (the Qur’an and the Hadith), varieties (Sunni, Shi’a, Sufi), places,
ritual practices, and vocabulary (as noted with “shari’a” above). If one
focused carefully this book could function as a general introduction to
Islam as well as a study of this tradition’s response to other-than-human
animals. Certainly it would have to be supplemented, but the book could
be used in a college-level course on animals and religion, providing enough
information for the students to have a general sense of the history and
basic concepts of Islam. The author does not assume that the reader is
familiar with Islam, a wise assumption to make.
But the piece also provides a new body of information for those who are
already familiar with the tradition and even for Muslims who are inter-
ested in this topic. It brings together in one source the many different

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 Book Reviews / Worldviews 11 (2007) 353-381 365

approaches to animals that one finds in Islam and doesn’t hesitate to

approach them critically.
One area where the author states a position that could be reexamined or
at least softened is his focus on animals as symbols. For example, when
Foltz studies animals in Muslim and Arabic literature and art, he claims
that they are “mere caricatures of humans” (p. 66). Certainly this is true in
a sense, animals are often metaphors and are not “real” animals. This dis-
tinction is becoming increasingly important in the study of animals and
religion. However, the lines of caricature, metaphor, and symbol are blurry
at times. The real animal might be hidden in the metaphor as well. Foltz
does recognize this in the great Sufi poet, Jalal al-din Rumi, when he writes
“[w]olf and bear and lion know what love is” (p. 79).
In his conclusion, Foltz poses potentially controversial, but pivotal and
incredibly important questions. Not only does he claim that the anthropo-
centric view of Muslim societies, as well as Christian societies, must be
problematized (a common critique raised by scholars of religion and the
environment), but he continues with the claim that “to refuse to do so is
nothing other than moral and intellectual laziness” (p. 148). The transpar-
ent, self-serving boundaries that humans create, often with religions as the
support structures or justifications for these boundaries, must be con-
fronted and broken (p. 149). He suggests a focus on humility, already a
central component of most of the world’s religious traditions, as a way to
reposition ourselves among other species.
In this piece, Foltz provides the groundwork for a continuing study of
animals in Islam and Muslim cultures. There is much left to do in this area,
but Foltz offers a strong foundation for on-going discussion and further
research.

Southwestern University, USA Laura Hobgood-Oster

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