TEHRAN – The second session of interfaith dialogue between Iran and Japan was held in Tokyo on Tuesday, with the theme of “Environment in Islam and Shinto”.

Held by the Iranian Cultural Center in Japan in cooperation with the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), the event was attended by a number of cultural and religious officials from the two countries who delivered speeches in person or via video conference.

Ali Mashhadi, an associate professor of Qom University’s Faculty of Law, said in his speech that the most important solution to preserve and save the environment is to refer to religious teachings and environmental theology.

The importance of religion in preserving the environment and nature in today's world is such that some consider religious teachings and theology among of the most important solutions to protect the environment, he stated.

The deep spiritual attention to the elements of nature and the environment exists in both Islam and Shinto, he stated.

By promoting and developing these concepts, the ground is provided to pay more attention to nature and prevent spiritual and moral crises caused by the contemporary world in dealing with the environment.

This is important in two ways. The first is the place and importance of the elements of nature in Islam and Shinto, and the second is the spread of the environmental crisis in the current world and the need to use the capacity of religions to control it, he highlighted.

The Abrahamic religions, such as Shinto, inherently contain very profound teachings to deal with the current crisis of environmental degradation, he stated.

The environmental crisis of the present age cannot be solved without paying special attention to the spiritual dimension of the problem, and no one can deny the role of religion in compensating and reducing the severity of the situation, he further emphasized.

Previously, the first session of the religious dialogue, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the 90th anniversary of the beginning of official relations between Iran and Japan in February 2016 entitled “Family in Islam and Shinto” with the presence of scholars from both countries, was held in Ise city of Japan.

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