Treading the path of righteousness involves the ecology too. It had never occurred to me that if I were to go camping on Mt. Meron for the upcoming Lag B’Omer celebration, that I’d actually be on pilgrimage. I never thought of my visits to the Western Wall in Jerusalem as a pilgrimage. But during the [...]
Religious organisations are working with conservation groups to help end the consumer demand for products supplied by the illegal wildlife trade A major initiative linking religions and conservation groups in opposing the illegal wildlife trade, which is annihilating the world’s rare and endangered species, has been launched. Leaders of 34 religious traditions presented the Alliance [...]
Today marks the first annual ‘Green Khutbah Day’ which also coincides with Earth Day 2013 Muslims have been asked to encourage their spiritual leaders, imams, to devote this Friday Khutbah or sermon (19th April 2013) to celebrate the blessings, graces and beauty of all of Allah’s creation. Muaz Nasir from Khaleafa who is leading the effort [...]
Built at the lowest elevation on earth, and less than a year old, this jewel-box of a museum showcases the Dead Sea region’s rich past. After Israel, no nation has as many Biblical sites as Jordan. The Dead Sea gets several mentions in the Bible, and it’s where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Jesus [...]
Green Pilgrim Jerusalem hosts a week-long international symposium on greening pilgrimage, with major religious leaders from around the world. Faith and community leaders from around the world will be speaking on ecological, urban and social development as influenced by mass pilgrimage. Our report on the massive urban sprawl that Mecca is becoming illustrates the ecological [...]
Can executions be green? Laurie answers this tongue in cheek. Tardy executioners have prompted Saudi Arabia to re-evaluate their centuries-old practice of public beheadings.The use of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is based on a hardline interpretation of Sharia (Islamic) law. The practice attracts international scorn because of the wide array of crimes which garner [...]
Hamas in Gaza does not want pretty women running in the streets. UN cancels the marathon that had almost 400 women registered for participation. While Israel gears up for its 42k marathon next week, the United Nations cancels Gaza marathon after Hamas rulers ban women from participating. The ban is the latest attempt by the Palestinian [...]
I interview Professor Al Jayoussi about Islamic notions of sustainability and whether they could ever be seen as universally applicable In a previous post, I raised concerns over what an Islamic worldview can realistically offer those looking for a new sustainability model. After reading Odeh Al Jayoussi’s book on the topic, I felt that there [...]
Odeh Al-Jayoussi creates a great guidebook on Islam and sustainable development, although it’s a little overambitious in its reach at times Odeh Al-Jayoussi, the current vice president of Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society, has certainly had an interesting career. As well as working for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, he’s spent time at the City [...]
Animal lovers in Jordan are fighting a formidable battle to raise people’s awareness and respect towards strays and animals in general. It’s not easy being an animal in Jordan. One of our pair of mini-dachshunds escaped to the street last November and was killed in a hit and run. Distraught, we called friends asking what [...]
The bard believed that a “rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but labeling mid-February fun as a Valentine’s event is controversial in the Middle East. What began as a quiet Western tradition, indulged by the leisure class, got a post-industrial kick-in-the-pants thanks to annual promotion from a growing news industry. Simply scrawl [...]
As if Saudis don’t have enough banned behaviors, the traffic department now prohibits tinted bus windows preventing fewer women from using public transport. Teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can count on costlier work commutes following the recent decision by the Traffic Department to ban tinted windows in school buses. Several bus companies that transport [...]
The Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat, a day especially loved by children, is a special eco-day in Israel. Celebrate it with a fruity feast. It’s true, a few days before the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat occurs, the almond trees in Israel begin to shake blossoms out along their branches. Travelers along the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem highway [...]
Walid Saleh speaks to Green Prophet about sustainability in the Middle East From Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Hima – an ancient Arabian conservation concept – has helped keep the peace. Now it is hoped a new interpretation of the conservation principle will help protect the region’s dwindling resources by tapping into cultural norms and histories, [...]
The traditional Middle Eastern concept of Hima, which means a protected area, has been explored and modernised as a type of sustainable development system under a new Hima Initiative. “Compared to what you have experienced, the Hima concept we are promoting is different,” Walid Saleh who is part of the Hima Initiative told GreenProphet. And [...]
From Hannukah to Peak Whale Oil, Brian uncovers an illuminating story of how our lighting is becoming more efficient. Each December as nights grow long, people of the Jewish faith celebrate an ancient miracle of efficiency. In our oil-soaked, electrified age it is difficult to understand what it meant for the Maccabees to enjoy eight [...]
Pungent and bittersweet, garlic is no stranger to Muslim cuisine. Check out what makes it eco-holy and why a clove a day is a needed health top-up.
Abu Dhabi’s key attractions received a special makeover over the Eid holidays thanks to an army of extra workers equipped with special cleaning gear. Public places and picnic spots received focused attention by 3,000 waste workers on duty across the Emirates for the holiday: waste generation skyrockets during Eid. Eid al-Adha, also called Big Eid, [...]
This time of year marks one of Islam’s most sacred holidays, Eid al-Adha. The four-day holiday corresponds with the height of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which draws two million Muslim pilgrims a year. Eid began Friday and will end Monday, the last day of the Hajj. When traveling in Palestinian [...]
Senad Hadzic walked for 314 days and crossed six countries from his village in Bosnia to get to Mekkah in time for Hajj Last year we covered the amazing story of two South African Muslims who had cycled all the way to Mekkah. Not much more you could do to top that we thought at [...]
Last month, a woman wearing a Muslim hijab headscarf presented the headlines on an Egyptian television news program, becoming headline news herself. So why the alarm when anchor Fatma Nabil appeared on Channel 1 (one of several state-run TV stations) wearing an off-white hijab that covered her hair and neck? And why is this issue connected [...]
We speak to Muaz Nasir about his faith-focused environmental work in Canada and why the Muslim community can’t afford to sideline climate change “The environment is something everyone should be concerned about as climate change, water scarcity and pollution are issues that do not discriminate based on faith:” That’s Muaz Nasir’s response to what he likes [...]
Smoking can cause cancer, emphysema, birth defects, and – in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – divorce. Saudi Arabian authorities enacted a ban against smoking in government buildings, curbing a habit enjoyed by six million of its people. Smoking’s now banned at all ministries and government facilities in all provinces of the kingdom, according to the [...]
Khaleafa, an Eco Islam blog created by Muaz Nasir, has been nominated for the Brass Crescent ‘Best New Blog’ Award Over the last year, I’ve stumbled across lots of great posts from the Khaleafa blog exploring the Islamic approach to environmentalism on my internet travels. As such, it’s great to hear that the site has [...]
A new SARS-like mystery illness has health authorities alert ahead of the millions-strong Haj pilgrammage to Mecca. There have been two recent cases of a mysterious SARS-like virus linked to Saudi Arabia. It killed one of its victims from Saudi Arabia. The second who is still alive travelled through the country. The unknown mystery virus [...]
Dozens of protestors gathered in Tel Aviv‘s Rabin Square last Saturday night as Daylight Saving Time (DST) was set to end. They claimed Israel’s policy of ending DST prior to Yom Kippur favors the ultra-Orthodox sector of the population over practical interests of the secular and modern Orthodox majority. Their switch to winter time happens [...]
Years after it was first announced, the Cambridge eco mosque has finally received planning permission. Back in 2010, we reported that the Cambridge Muslim community was planning to build Europe’s first eco mosque which would minimise carbon emissions and maximise the role faith has to play in environmental protection. Years on and the plans which [...]
Miriam talks of Yom Kippur and the power of consciousness. The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur is a day of introspection and prayer. In Israel, it’s a day of closed business and empty streets. The great soul-searching that began on Rosh HaShana climaxes at sunset on this holiest of days, when we seek to connect [...]
Under a solitary tree in the desert, a young Prophet Muhammed met with the Christian monk Bahira. This documentary charts the importance of this chance meeting. The Blessed Tree is a short and beautifully-filmed documentary which tells the story of a chance encounter between a Christian monk named Bahira and the young Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) [...]
Laurie attempts to explain Middle East evil eye superstition. Can a lingering look with a penetrating gaze cause catastrophe in another’s life? If you’re Jordanian, you might think so (and your grandmother certainly does): it’s the pseudoscience of the “evil eye”. In Turkey, people with Frida Kahlo unibrows or pale color eyes are considered prime candidates [...]
Answering (or at least attempting to answer) what now feels like an age-old question What can Islam do for the environment? That’s a question I have been asking myself for some years now and, in all honestly, I am nowhere near answering it fully. I have definitely enjoyed looking into the green ethics of Islam [...]
The patriarchal kingdom of Saudi Arabia creates an all-female city where (the arguably better half) of humanity can work freely, within Islamic guidelines. Saudi Arabia has an increasingly educated female population, but its ultraconservative interpretation of Wahabi sharia law and rigid tribal customs forbid women from interacting with men. The upshot is chronic female unemployment. An [...]
Olympians Wojdan Shaherkani and Sarah Attar landed world records before the Games even began. But online they battle a new war where social media is calling them the “Prostitutes of the Olympics” You know the story: two teens arrived in London as the first women athletes to ever represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), [...]
Learn the ropes of how to live in a Muslim country. Laurie goes over the 101 of Eid, Ramadan and some Muslim holiday rituals that might baffle the average westerner. Eid in the summer in the Middle East, when most ex-pats’ minds turn to quick trips-to-get-out-of-this-dry-heat. This year, my second in Jordan, I go native [...]
Jordanians can pick each other out by sight and last-name analysis, as accurate as DNA testing. Six million “Jordanians” are a quilt sewn from disparate ethnicities and cultures, co-existing in peace while retaining the essence of their origins. This tiny nation divides itself up into groups and sub-groups and tribes and families. Jordan hosts one of [...]
If football could redesign their way around the health and safety issue, why can’t judo? The ruckus over allowing competitive athletes to wear the hijab – a garment representative of cultural modesty – is drawing fever-pitch attention to female Arab athletes. Green Prophet’s reported on successful efforts to allow a sports-specific hijab for female footballers, [...]
Islamic scholars decree that Muslims athletes participating in the Olympic games are exempted from fasting. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims must refrain from eating or drinking from dawn to sundown. The commitment demand both mental and physical stamina. Fasting challenges sedentary workers in air conditioned offices. Imagine the toll on world-class athletes who, depending on their particular [...]
Join Abu Dhabi’s Eco-Chicks for a Green Iftar on 6th of August and support ‘Recycle for a Cause’ After a busy year mapping out green activities across Abu Dhabi, the eco-minded women at Abu Dhabi Eco-Chicks are inviting everyone to a green iftar this Ramadan. “This is about bringing together like-minded individuals, supporting an environmental [...]
From vegetarian recipes to cutting out plastic, Arwa puts together a Green Iftar Guide to make your Ramadan a little more eco-friendly Ramadan is a time of reflection, spiritual re-focus and self-improvement. It’s a time to look back on the person you are, the way you live your life and to think about bad habits [...]
Green iftars, and sustainable ways Muslims can approach the holy month of Ramadan. The holiest month of the Islamic year, Ramadan, began last Friday, 20 July. This Ramadan, many Muslims are looking at a new dimension of the month: our impact on the earth. This is particularly important as we learn more about the effects [...]