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| Green Muslims |
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| Sunday, 29 October 2006 | |
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Most of us have heard and seen news reports about what is happening to our environment and how we must tackle this. It's just become Politically Correct! The one thing we haven't seen is Muslims doing their bit for the environment. Even before there was Green Peace or organisations such as Recycle now, we as Muslims have been taught by our Prophet Muhammed (SAW) that: “There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree, or sows a seed, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats thereof, but it is regarded as having given a charitable gift [for which there is great recompense].” [Al-Bukhari, III:513]. One familiar story from the life of the Prophet recounts how, during a journey, one of Muhammad's companions removed a baby pigeon from a nest. Muhammad confronted the thief and gently returned the bird to its nest. "For charity shown to each creature with a wet heart, there is a reward," the Prophet declared.
The Muslim holy books tell of a woman who "was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger." In another tale, a prostitute's sins are washed away because she gave drinking water to a thirsty dog. Islam has very specific guidelines about these issues of pollution and destruction of the resources of the earth. In the 4th chapter of the Qur'an, Allah says,
This concept from the Qur'an highlights the fact that all other creatures and ecosystems are nations in their own right. When you add to that the role of the human race as a khalifa (trustee), for example in Surat Al-Baqara, you can deduce that Islam has set a framework of how humanity should interact with its environment. As Muslims it is our duty to fight for a safe environment and fight to stop global warming. According to the 2001 census 1,536,015 Muslims are living in England and Wales, where they form 2.7 % of the population, in Scotland they represent 0.84 % of the population (42,557). The Northern Ireland census indicated 1,943 Muslims. So, yes as we can make a difference, bit by bit. We urge all our Masajid/Mosque's to teach it's congregation to educate them how to tackle global warming. We have created this section, with the help of Recycle Now, and we hope you do your bit for the enviroment. Readers have left 2 comments.
Aslam:
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As Salaamu alaikum
This is a very important area. However the reason why we haven't seen Muslims 'doing their bit for the environment' as the piece says is because the media (and many Muslims) decide to ignore what some Muslims are doing. One local Masjid to me had a fantastic Environmental Awareness Project with guest speakers promoting 'Green' issues. Another local Masjid's primary school won the borough's London Schools Environmental Award, run by the Mayor of London's office. Let hope many other Islamic instituitions also helps promote environmental awareness.
(1)
2006-11-07 23:25:10
Muzammal:
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There are a small number of Muslims that are indeed very active on environmental issues. A group called the London Islamic Network for the Environment, for example and that I am personally involved with, spearheaded Muslim participation in the national climate march last November, and also did a climate change awareness stunt that got reported in the Guardian. A number of Muslim figures including myself, also often give talks on Islam and climate change.
For the small number of such activists to have a louder voice, more highlighting of their work by (at least) the bigger Muslim organisations would be very welcome. My own experience so far, is that the secular organisations such as Friends of the Earth have, so far, taken more of an interest in our work than the Muslim ones! For the message to be spread quickly, as it so urgently needs to be, we could do with the bigger organisations supporting us more, and we look forward to working with them more closely.
(2)
2007-03-26 16:28:21
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