On Tu B’shvat 1890, a Rabbi took his students to plant trees in the agricultural colony of Zichron Yaakov. The practice soon caught on and was adopted by the Jewish Teachers Union. It was ultimately popularized by the Jewish National Fund (Keren HaKayemet L’Israel), an organization established in 1901 to jumpstart land reclamation and reforestation in Israel.

Environmental organizations in Israel have used the holiday to focus attention on the country’s many ecological problems. Besides numerous tree planting ceremonies, groups have publicized the holiday’s environmental significance.

Trees provide a myriad number of “ecosystem services” in Israel. Many species bear fruit, including dates, apricots, figs, and oranges, just to name a few. Some of those fruits are exported all over the world. Trees also provide shade for people and animals – a particularly important benefit in the desert areas throughout the country’s arid South.

And Israel’s forests are habitat for many species, from songbirds to elusive wolves. At the forefront of many Israeli minds this Tu B’Shvat was the Carmel Forest, the site of a catastrophic forest fire in 2010. The forest’s journey towards regrowth is a palpable symbol of nature’s restorative power.

Thus, in addition to their ecological importance, trees are a symbol of renewal. Israel, currently writhing with political discourse, is facing its own growing pains. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets last summer to protest the government’s economic policies.

They complained of a regulatory system rife with cronyism and kickbacks. They brought attention to the lack of housing in major cities. They shined a spotlight on Israel’s neediest people, including Holocaust survivors and the long-term unemployed. They were visible. They were loud. And they were heard.

The Torah, Judaism’s holiest book, teaches that a person “is a tree of the field”. Our spiritual life includes roots, a body, and fruit. The roots symbolize our faith, perseverance and connectedness to place. The trunk, branches and leaves are our intellectual and emotional capacities, including our practical achievements in life. The fruit is the power of our relationships.  This includes the ability to influence others, to plant a seed in another person and see it sprout.

The social protests, which began with a few tents in Tel Aviv, slowly grew into a full-fledged movement. A few individuals, driven by their love of country and sense of social justice, planted a seed of consciousness and patiently tended it. Soon a forest of concerned citizens was knocking at the government’s door.

In a country as complex as Israel, renewal doesn’t happen overnight. It will take time for the fledgling social movement to build strength. Israel won’t see the Carmel Forest return to its original vigor for many years. Ecologists will continue their attempts to conserve species. And problems of pollution and water scarcity will not go away without tremendous effort. But on Tu B’shvat, there is hope.

A classic Jewish story illustrates the importance of cultivating trees for future generations:

An old man was planting a tree.
A young person passed by and asked ‘what are you planting?’
‘A carob tree’, the old man replied.
‘Silly fool’, said the youth. ‘Don’t you know that it takes 70 years for a carob tree to bear fruit?’
‘That’s okay’, said the old man. ‘Just as others planted for me, I plant for future generations.’

And so do Israelis sow the seeds of a just, democratic and sustainable society. Only time will tell whether these efforts will bear fruit. But a tree never grew without a little faith.

Image via tree-species

Here at Green Prophet, we are eager to promote all things green in love and marriage. As well as a green guide to Valentine’s Day (not long now!), we have published our top tips for a green Muslim wedding. The authorities in Muslim Indonesia, however, have taken green love one step further with new couples being required to plant a tree before they are granted their marriage permit.

“The policy has a noble purpose, and it is necessary to support the government’s tree-planting program,” Iwan Zulhami, an official at the religious affairs office, told the BBC. The policy is only being applied to the Sumatran capital in Medan and in a number of districts on Sulawesi Island. Couples will get two seedlings when they register and the trees must then planted in the couple’s home before the marriage permit is granted.

One official estimated that Medan will get at least 2,000 new trees as a result of the plan which starts in March. The initiative was announced by the religious affairs office, which is where Muslim couples intending to marry must register.

Indonesia is the largest forest nation in South-eastern Asia with an estimated 120 million hectres of rainforest. Illegal and legal logging, forest fires as well as the pressures of a growing population have all had a negative impact on their forests. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Indonesia lost an estimated 18.7 million hectres of forest every year between 2000 and 2005.

In the last couple of years, the Muslim community in Indonesia has been playing an important role in promoting environmental conservation in the region. Indonesia’s Muslim scholars formed an organisation called Dignifying Environment Institution in 2011 with the aim of protecting the country’s forests from harmful practices causing deforestation. Certain madrasahs in Indonesia have also been lauded for their work promoting environmental awareness through Islamic teachings.

:: Onislam.net and BBC News.

: Image via Amrufum.

For more on green love and marriage issues see:

Going Green for Valentine’s Day

7 Ways to Green Your Wedding Day

Tips of A Greener Muslim Wedding

Are Islamic banks anti-war? Islamic banks discourage investment in the arms and military industry as well as speculation and taking excessive risks

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by a fantastic organisation to look into Islamic banking and how ethical it really is. Whilst I learnt that most Islamic banks may not have the best environmental record, I did discover that they do have some distinct ethical selling points. One of which is their reluctance to invest in the arms industry as well as an aversion to speculation and excessive risks which can destabilize the market. At a time when no-one trusts their bank, Islamic banking doesn’t look like such a bad alternative to the conventional profit-driven financial system.

Islamic banking is based on Sharia or Islamic law which stipulates that making money from money is forbidden and that risks and profits must be shared. The first principles means that interest is not allowed but neither is investment into schemes where the source of the profit is vague. Islamic banks are consequently only allowed to invest in assets- real things like commodities, properties and natural resources. Although this means that there are less shady investments, there is a lot more investment in things like oil, gas and the mining of natural resources – something which is not good for the planet.

In fact, a close link between Islamic banks in the UK and the Middle East means that a lot of investment is in the oil producing industry which is polluting and harmful to the environment and future of this planet. There is only a vague understanding of the concept of environmental responsibility and that doesn’t go beyond recycling at the office to actually considering the kind of companies that they invest in.

Many of the banks I was commissioned to look at (those based in the UK) did however take a firm stand on investing in things like the tobacco industry and the arms and military sector. Nigel Denison, the Head of Wealth Management and Treasury at the Bank of London and the Middle East said, “Our bank complies with Sharia’a principles meaning that we aim to share reward and risk and not to act against the interest of the wider community. For example, we don’t invest in the arms and military industries, we don’t gamble or don’t take excessive risks or speculation with our investments.”

Whilst not all the banks take such a firm stand against investing in the arms industry, quite a few did which I found encouraging. So the Islamic banking sector may not have great green credentials but if you are also worried about those bankrolling the arms industry, than Islamic banks wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

: Image via Bitzi/flickr. 

For more on green and Islamic banking see:

Islamic Banking and Why It’s (Theoretically) Good For The Environment

Get a Green Loan From the Green Palestine Investment Company

Which Solar Technologies Have The Most Investment Appeal

An English-language ‘green’ tour of Tel Aviv will take place this weekend in honor of Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year for trees.

The city of Tel Aviv is no stranger to green tours, in fact it has seen all kinds of them.  Tel Aviv’s eco-tourists can enjoy a running tour of the city, a biking tour, or an annual tour of the city’s green architecture.  This Saturday, in honor of the Jewish Tu B’Shvat holiday, a special green tour will guide people along the belt of Tel Aviv’s green, tree-lined boulevards.

Tu B’shvat, also known as the “Jewish New Year for trees”, marks the time that determines a tree’s age.  It also commemorates the beginning of spring, and trees are often planted in celebration.

Tel Aviv’s first Tu B’shvat celebration, in 1910, was celebrated by school students who threw flowers at each other in a singing parade.  This green historical anecdote about the city, along with others, will be part of the Tu B’Shvat tour’s reference to local ecological traditions.

Since Tel Aviv was planned by a botanist (Scottish Sir Patrick Geddes), it is blessed with a “belt” of green avenues that includes popular Rothschild Boulevard (pictured above).  The tour will travel along these green stretches and touch upon the city’s original plan as a “garden city”.

The English-language tour is being organized by Discover Tel Aviv and will be held on Saturday, February 11th.

:: Ynet

Read more about the Tu B’Shvat holiday:
Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees
Tu Bishvat: Is the Jewish New Year of the Trees Green?
Plant a Tree for Tu B’Shvat… Online

Image via: Or Hiltch

The Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat begins as the sun sets on the 7th of February 2012.  This holiday has its origins in some ecologically-focused passages in the Talmud.  Deuteronomy 14:22-29 requires that one tenth of all that a field produces in a year should be set aside as a tithe and that every third year’s tithe should be stored in towns so that widows, foreigners and Levites (who have no land allotment) would have food.

Leviticus 19:23-25 warns that when a tree is planted, its fruit should not be consumed during the first three years and that the fourth year’s fruit belongs to God.  Only after the fifth year is the fruit to be consumed.

Tu Bishvat, also known as “New Year of the Trees”, was the day used to calculate the age of a tree.  A count of fruit and blossoms on this day was used to calculate these tithes (taxes) for the following year.

Tu Bishvat was also a time for planting and preparing for the spring season.  Some people prepare a traditional Tu Bishvat seder (meal) consisting of fruit, nuts and a symbolic combination of red and white wine.  Because there is no solid Talmudic basis for this seder, anyone can create their own green Tu Bishvat seder.

Tu Bishvat remains focused on the environment.  Children plant trees in a celebration reminiscent of arbor day and make nature-themed crafts.  Adults pledge to cut greenhouse gases or try to win an environmental Nobel prize.  Some of these activities have been criticized as being little more than greenwashing.  In this part of the world, even the simple act of planting a tree can have a complicated political dimension.

Image via virovets

Green Muslims have been nominated as some of the most influential Muslim leaders of 2011

While Green Prophet works on its own top green leaders of 2011, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre had released a list of the 500 most prominent Muslims of the past year. The annual publication highlights the 500 most influential Muslims of the year- which includes several Muslim environmentalists. The Green Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Goma’a as well as Fazlun Khalid, who I interviewed last year were both included on the list.

The Green Grand Mufti of Egypt is a progressive and influential faith leader across the world who has issued statements and fatwas regarding the environment. He has highlighted the role that faith can play in confronting the ecological crisis by providing moral ways and principles for dealing with the current environmental problems. According to Moshe Terdman, a writer at Green Prophet:

Sheikh Ali Gomaa has been outspoken on environmental sustainability. On November 2, 2009, on his speech at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation conference at Windsor Castle, Sheikh Ali Gomaa said that “it is a religious duty to safeguard our environment and advocate the importance of preserving it. Pollution and global warming pose an even greater threat than war and the fight to preserve the environment could be the most positive way of bringing humanity together.”

I was lucky enough to meet Fazlun Khalid last year and interview him for Green Prophet. Khalid is the founder of the first green Islamic organisation, the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences. He has written books on the green ethics of Islam, Green Guides for Muslims and was also involved in a unique project to stop destructive fishing practices in Zanzibar by informing the local who were Muslims of their duty of protect nature.

Other influential green Muslims include Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an Islamic Studies professor at George Washington University, who was one of the first to research the religious commitment towards the natural environment and has lectured widely on historical perspective of Islamic environmentalism. Nasheed Mohamed, who is the president of the Maldives and is known as one of most environmentally conscious leaders on the world stage, was also part of the Muslim 500. The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Sa’id Aal Sa’id was given a honourable mention for his work protecting the Arabian Oryx and Dimaaniyat Islands which is the breeding ground of several migratory birds and sea turtles.

: See the full list here.

For more on Green Muslims see:

Interview with Leading Green Islamic Organisation

The Grand Green Mufti of Egypt

‘The Story of Hajjar’: Muslim Women and Water Conservation

United Arab Emirates AE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is urging residents to pray for rain this Friday: There is a popular story listed on WikiIslam as “Allah, rain there, not here!” It chronicles a time when livestock were dying and roads were cut off so nobody had access to water. While the Prophet Mohammed was delivering a sermon or Khutba in the mosque, a man asked him to pray to Allah for rain.

Even though there was not a cloud in the sky, according to the Wiki entry, “Allah’s Apostle…raised both his hands and said, ‘O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain!” And sure enough, a giant cloud emerged and the rain poured forth.

But it was too much rain and the livestock were dying, so a man entered the mosque the following Friday during prayers to ask the Prophet Mohammed to ask Allah to make the rain desist. He did, the rain stopped, and nobody knew if it was the same man both times.

In this tradition, President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called for residents of the United Arab Emirates to pray for rain this Friday at 8am in mosques throughout the country, reports Gulf News.

This is not uncommon in the Middle East. Religious leaders in Jordan frequently urge followers to perform the Al Istisqaa prayer during the dry season. Weather forecasts call for a sunny Friday in Abu Dhabi with a maximum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius.

:: Gulf News

image via Aih, flickr

More on praying for rain:

Jordanians Urged to Pray for Rain

World Watches Israel While Prayers Douse 120 Unsung Lebanese Fires

Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain

I confess: every Hanukkah, I have to look up the rules for the dreidel game again. It’s not complicated, but I only play it a few times a year, and usually with rowdy small children  To keep the tradition alive and make memories for my family, I bring out the chocolate coins and spinning top out right after we eat our latkehs or sufganyot. While the Hanukkah candles burn brightly in the living room window, we sit down on the floor and groan to lose our chocolate money or clap our hands on winning.

This year, I made my own Hanukkah money from organic fair-trade chocolate. (Read our post on why fair-trade chocolate is important.) I thought my grandchildren might snub it, as the store-bought coins are more glamorous, but they said my home-minted money was more exciting. Here’s the recipe, and following it are the dreidel game rules.

Home-Made Hanukkah Coins

Ingredients:

1 cup of fair-trade chocolate chips or grated chocolate

1 teaspoon sunflower oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Candy sprinkles

Line a tray with baking (parchment) paper.

Soften the chocolate in a double boiler  or a pan set over hot water. Add oil and vanilla while the chocolate is still not entirely melted; stir. Cook till all is melted and incorporated.

Scrape the chocolate mixture out of the pan with a spatula, and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.

Oil your hands lightly to keep chocolate from sticking. Shape balls of two or three sizes, using a teaspoon, a half-tablespoon, and a tablespoon as measures.

Place the balls on the baking paper, and carefully flatten each one with your palm.

Refrigerate for an hour.

Garnish with sprinkles or wrap the “coins” in squares of gold or silver foil.

Rules of the Dreidel Game (via Wikipedia):

Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as chocolate gelt, pennies, raisins, or hundred dollar bricks.

At the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center “pot”. In addition, every time the pot is empty and sometimes if it has one game piece left, every player puts one in the pot.

Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on which player side is facing up when it stops spinning, they give or take game pieces from the pot:

1) If נ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing.

2) If ג (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot.

3) If ה (hei) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. (If there is an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes the half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number)

4) If ש (shin) or פ (pei) is facing up, the player adds a game piece to the pot.

If the player is out of pieces, they are either “out” or may ask another player for a “loan”.

Have Fun!

Chocolate on Green Prophet:

• Recipe: Chocolate-Nut Clusters
• Chocolate Lovers Guide to Green Chocolate

Photo of dreidels by Adiel Io via Wikipedia.

Miriam also blogs at Israeli Kitchen.

We speak to Muslim green campaigner Sofiah Jamil about the environmental threats facing Southeast Asia and why climate justice alone isn’t enough

Sofiah Jamil is a Singapore-based campaigner who has been working hard to help Muslims living in Southeast Asia connect their faith with environmental issues. As well as setting up ‘Project ME: Muslims + Environment‘ and running The Green Bush blog, her research at Nanyang Technological University focuses on environmental security. Spurred on by her undergraduate studies in Australia where she experienced a higher level of environmental awareness (compared to her concrete and urban home of Singapore), she has studied the implications of forest fires on Indonesia and Malaysia.

In 2009, Sofiah took part in a 6-week programme by the Study of the United States Institute for the Environment to help increase her knowledge and hopes to start her PhD next year at the Australian National University focusing on the topic of Muslim environmental initiatives. Green Prophet spoke to her about the unique environmental risks that the Southeast region faces and the role women can play in dealing with these.

Green Prophet: What the main environmental threats that Southeast Asia faces?

Sofiah Jamil: The Southeast Asian region is a highly complex and diverse region, and the intensity of environmental threats and the capacity available to address them, varies depending where you are. Several countries in the region sit along the Pacific Rim of Fire, and are thus prone to earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Indonesia is a case in point.

Several Southeast Asian countries are also prone to typhoons, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, who on average experience at least 12 typhoons a year. Most countries in the region also experience high levels of rainfall during the monsoon seasons. In addition to this, studies have demonstrated that climate change has in fact increased the intensity and frequency of these weather-related disasters.

The risks you mention above are part and parcel of the environmental context of the region. In what ways have these been aggravated by human factors?

Urbanisation has brought about various environmental issues such groundwater extraction which has resulted in cities sinking (even before we take into account rising sea levels) and the loss of important natural habitats. For example, mangroves that are important natural defences against typhoons and tsunamis have been affected.

This is further exacerbated by trends of population growth. The region is home to at least 3 of the world’s megacities – Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta – and Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam is likely to be a 4th. The question here is whether these cities are able to accommodate the increasing population, which requires more resources as well as more fortified social infrastructure.

There is also increasing rural to urban migration in various parts of Southeast Asia. Informal slums by migrants from rural areas are often situated in areas that are most vulnerable to environmental threats, such as along river banks which overflow during a flood. While there have been attempts to relocate slum dwellers to designated public housing areas, these areas are often far from their sources of economic livelihood, and hence many leave the public housing (and rent it out) while returning back to the slums.

Flooding in megacities is also due to ineffective drainage systems, which are often clogged by thrash either from the slums or from other urban residents. As such, environmental threats in urban areas need to look at the issue holistically by including issues related to urban planning and economic activity. Given the above issues, a main challenge for many countries in the region is figuring out how to address these multiple concerns which can at times happen simultaneously. This was the case for Indonesia last year which experienced an earthquake, tsunami and volcano eruption at the same time.

What are the specific risks facing Singapore and do you get a sense that there is increasing environmental awareness of these risks?

In Singapore, like many other island countries, we are threatened by sea-level rise. More threatening is the fact that more than 90% of our food is imported. Staple items such as rice and vegetables come from neighbouring countries. As such our food security is, to a certain extent, dependent on our neighbours and their ability to address their environmental threats.

What’s more worrying is the fact that most Singaporeans are not aware of these environmental threats. Very few are in touch with nature as more than 90% of our natural habitat has been lost as a result of urban development. Most are happy as long as the supermarket shelves are stocked with the necessary food items, even though prices of food has been increasing lately.

Women are most likely to affected by environmental disasters- does the issue of climate justice motivate you work?

It does to a certain extent, but in some ways I find the concept of climate justice limiting. Climate justice must also demonstrate how it is significant to other existing issues. Not all of the environmental disasters that we experience in this region are climate related. Moreover, it must show how it relates to other forms of justice – such as social justice, which women are still fighting a hard battle for.

For example, when the tsunami happened in Aceh in 2004, it was sad that some sections of society blamed the disaster on women. That the tsunami was a result of vice in Aceh, and that immoral women were part of the problem. Such sort of mentalities, I think, limit societies’ abilities to fully appreciate the resourcefulness of individuals. In fact, many Acehnese women who lost their fishermen husbands at sea during the tsunami had to become the sole breadwinners of their families. Here we see how women play important roles in getting their families back on their feet after environmental disasters.

What really motivates me is the fact that women are not the problem, but rather have the potential to provide solutions to address environmental disasters and more importantly address other socio-economic issues. We just need more women out there to come forward to tell us their stories.

For more interviews with inspiring green Muslims see:

Interview with America’s Leading Green Muslim- Ibrahim Abdul Matin

Naqa’a: Saudi Women For The Environment

Meet The Mexican Muslim Tree Huggers 

Should Israel be more lenient than Europe in the amount of noise that can emanate from a mosque call to prayer? These are the questions that Israeli government officials are asking recently, with some ministers looking to back a ban on mosque call to prayers. Muslims broadcast in a singing prayer, over a loudspeaker, when the faithful should start praying. The call is made five times daily, and when competing mosques pump up the volume the noise can be quite cacophonous!

I love the sound of the call to prayer five times daily, especially the one before daybreak and the one at dusk. But in some cities – I remember being rattled out of bed in a hostel in Istanbul by the call to prayer which was a bit unsettling – the question of religious freedom over the rights of others is coming into question.

Not all people believe that religious reason is enough to keep the loudspeakers on. Even beautiful sounds can become torture for people over time, especially when heard in the middle of slumber, or played at the time when baby is falling asleep.

In recent years, noise pollution has been studied on urban environments as a kind of pollution that can cause tension and stress, affecting the well-being of people. I remember loving to see signs in New York streets where honking was prohibited.

Car noise, bus engines, loud sound systems, truck brakes, screaming neighbors, barking dogs – and of course industrial noise is all a form of pollution. It not only harms people, noise pollution affects the marine environment as well.

In mixed neighborhoods and communities in Israel there is still an ongoing debate about the level of noise that should be able to come from mosque call to prayers. Unlike church bells that ring on Sundays only, usually, the Muslim call to prayer happens when most people are asleep.

Have your say. Sound pollution or a spiritual right? Should mosques be allowed to broadcast their call to prayer in any community?

::Haaretz

Image via jemmasmith