Sakina Design Brings an Environmental Conscience to Contemporary Islamic Design

sakina designIslamic wall art and greeting cards, with religious intonations in line with green values in Islam.

Sakina Design‘s logo is green not only because the company creates Islamic design and green is an important color for Islam.  Their logo is green because they are an environmentally conscious business… for partially religious reasons. The husband and wife design company that produces contemporary Islamic wall art and greeting cards feels that “as Muslims, we understand that Allah has entrusted us with taking care of the earth, and this trust entails utilizing resources wisely and minimizing waste and pollution.”

Jontie and Pik, the brains behind Sakina Design, started their company with the goals of bringing a contemporary feeling to Islamic home decor and staying true to their values.  Jontie, whose family is originally from Syria, said that “once the decision was made to start the business, we really felt the responsibility that came with it… We were forced to think about how our decisions affected our customers, the environment and [our] communities.”

sakinasakina design islamic artAnd so they decided to make their products and shipping practices as sustainable as possible.

Their wall art frames (pictured at the very top and to the right) are made out of recycled wood, which Sakina Design claims is even stronger than virgin wood.

The company that actually produces the frames also uses an environmentally friendly manufacturing plant, which includes furnaces that burn the leftover sawdust.  The heat from burning the sawdust is then used to produce energy for the manufacturing process.

Their greeting cards, one of which can be seen directly above, are printed with soy-based inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.  Their papers are not bleached, either.

As for their shipping practices, their boxes are made out of recycled cardboard.  All local suppliers and producers are used as well, to minimize long distance import carbon emissions.

::elan

Karen Chernick
Karen Chernickhttps://www.greenprophet.com/
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

TRENDING

Jujube, the sidr tree of medicine and magic

A magic holy sidr bath to deflect the evil eye? It needs 7 powdered sidr leaves stirred into a bucket of warm water. The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad allows to repeat healing prayers and verses from the Koran to increase the water’s potency. 5 grams, or 1 tablespoon of sidr powder equals 7 leaves.

The Christ’s thorn (sidr tree) is also a well-known folk medicine

Christ’s thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) also known as the sidr tree is a real, identifiable tree native to the Middle East, and it appears—directly or indirectly—in Islam, Judaism, and later Christian tradition. The connections between the three faiths are not theological agreements but overlapping uses, names, and symbolic associations rooted in the same landscape.

The Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, explained

Knowing about the concept of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary helps explain a core idea in Islam.

We saw peace – an interreligious encounter deep in our eyes

They came from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt… There are Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Jews (Orthodox and Reform), Orthodox Christians, Coptic Christians, Protestant Christians, Druze, Baha'is, a Scientologist.

An Army of Healers Wins the 2025 IIE Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East

In a region more accustomed to headlines of loss than of listening, the Institute of International Education (IIE) has chosen to honor something quietly radical: healing. The 2025 Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East has been awarded to Nitsan Joy Gordon and Jawdat Lajon Kasab, the co-founders of the Army of Healers, for building spaces where Israelis and Palestinians — Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Bedouins — can grieve, speak, and rebuild trust together.

Turning Your Energy Consultancy into an LLC: 4 Legal Steps for Founders in Texas

If you are starting a renewable energy business in Texas, learn how to start an LLC by the books.

Tracking the Impacts of a Hydroelectric Dam Along the Tigris River

For the next two months, I'll be taking a break from my usual Green Prophet posts to report on a transnational environmental issue: the Ilısu Dam currently under construction in Turkey, and the ways it will transform life along the Tigris River.

6 Payment Processors With the Fastest Onboarding for SMBs

Get your SMB up and running fast with these 6 payment processors. Compare the quickest onboarding options to start accepting customer payments without delay.

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.

Related Articles

Popular Categories