Biography
Kai Horn El-Amin is a second-year student and second-career academician, procuring a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with an emphasis in Islamic Studies/Leadership. Thematically, her writings have included interfaith and interreligious engagement, centered on social and environmental justice. She is the Executive Director of The Seed Program by Kai, a non-profit that uses environmental and human sustainability to encourage interfaith cooperation toward thriving communities.
Paper Abstract
Recent studies date water as older than Earth, the solar system, and even older than the sun. From an axiological framework, this paper proposes a historiographical construct of water in the emergence of human civilization. The natural sciences are normative in tracing the world’s evolution; however, scientists record droplets of water found in our current drinking water that date as far back as 4.6 billion years ago. Considering the formation of land mass, and the settlement and migratory practices of early civilization, we assert three things: 1) Water in the making of civilization as the single element powerful enough to shapeshift from water, ice, or vapor enacting effective or destructive change; 2) Water is essential in that, without it, the Earth would cease to exist, and 3) Water is a geo-ethical construct of justice and equity that reveals the power of God. The Qur’an says, “We made from water every living thing.” 21:30