How Mosque Campaigns and Imam Advocacy Encourage Environmental Action among Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan: The Role of Faith, Knowledge, and Moral Responsibility

Abstract

Mosque-based engagement is gaining recognition as a culturally grounded approach to promoting sustainability in Muslim communities by encouraging sustainable behaviors (Kaida, 2014). The current study aimed to evaluate the direct effect of mosque-led environmental campaigns (MEC) and Imam advocacy (IA) on pro-environmental behavior (PEB), through religious environmentalism (RE), knowledge about environment (EK) and moral obligation (MO). Respondents from multiple mosques across Karachi, Pakistan were surveyed for this study with a sample size of 248 participants. Result indicated that both mosque-based campaigns and Imam advocacy have positive and significant effect on pro-environmental behaviour. Moreover, the findings show that religious environmentalism, environmental knowledge and moral obligation partially mediate the relationship between mosque-driven initiatives and environmentally responsible behavior. These results emphasize the potential of incorporating Islamic teachings and spiritual leadership into environmental outreach strategies. This research adds to the literature on faith-based green movements by providing empirical evidence from an Islamic urban context. The implications stress the need for using religion institutions as well as values towards fostering ecological responsibility within Muslim societies. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed in this article.