Jews around the world celebrated Tu B’Shvat last week. The holiday began as a “new year” for trees – a time when the tithing of fruits was determined. But for the past 100 years it has become known as an ecological holiday.
Muslim couples in Indonesia are now required to plant two trees before receiving their marriage permit 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. […]
We have collected five inspiring stories that point to the possibility of a freer, greener Tunisia TIME Magazine paid allegiance to the brave hearted souls in the Middle East North Africa region who rose up against despotic regimes by naming “The Protestor” as their 2011 person of the year. Known now as the Arab […]
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 […]
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 […]
Spring has sprung in Israel, marked by almond blossoms and Tu Bishvat 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 […]
The 15th day of the Jewish month of Shavat signals the launching of new Jewish eco-education programs. A potent mystical, ecological, legal and historical mix runs through Tu B’Shvat, a date known as the New Year For The Trees. For more on the meaning of Tu B’Shvat, read this post. According to Jewish tradition, it’s […]
A powerful short film by Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Raha Shirazi, Acqua will make you look at water with new eyes. Raha Shirazi’s film Acqua is almost guaranteed to make you never take water for granted again. In it, a woman walks through snow in search of water with a jar on her back. Everywhere there is water, […]
Not a die-hard environmentalist and need other reasons for going nuptially green? Read on. If you are newly engaged and contemplating your ideal wedding,consider this: if every couple in the world made just one small green choice – and we’ve given you at least seven simple and chic ways to do it already – there […]
After being on the air for just a few weeks, “The Green Man” TV show has been temporarily shut down due to allegations of bribery and greenwashing. It is funded by an Israeli chemical company. A new environmental television show called “The Green Man” debuted just a few weeks ago, hosted by well known Israeli […]
Greening your wedding is simple, chic and easy to do if you follow just a few of these suggestions. Eco-romantics about to tie the knot pay attention: Green Prophet has the scoop on making your day of love as green as possible without compromising on romance and style. From mass weddings in the Middle East […]
Barcelona hopes to have an indoor ski slope as nice as Ski Dubai (pictured), but carbon neutral. Barcelona is not as hot as places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which now has an indoor snow ski slope. But they appear to be envious of Dubai’s very ungreen approach to denying that the country is a […]
Turning trash into art and employing women who have never worked for pay before — two difficult tasks that Turkish company Çöp(m)adam accomplishes at once. Turkey’s recycling culture is largely unseen. Recycling is usually carried out by poorly compensated workers who salvage reusable materials from trash collected by the municipality and take them to recycling centers. […]
Are you lyrical about your two-wheeler? If so, contribute to a literature project on the humble bike It seems that the majority of people serenading the magic and innocence of cycling are American and European males. In a bid to change this, professors Elamar Schenkel, Alon Raab and Jinhua Li are asking writers from the […]
Valentine’s Day is less than a month away. Here are a few ways to get green and sexy all over the planet. The PIP breast implant recall has Green Prophet readers worried. The breast implants filled with industrial-grade silicon instead of medical grade, can leak – leading to not so good health effects in adult […]
The Green Sheikh explains why the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is his eco-hero. Not all country leaders are alike but I admire those who spread wisdom throughout their country in order to enhance every single aspect of their people’s lifestyle, such as our former President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Bin […]
A film depicting Cairo’s recyclers in garbage city is in the running to receive one of the film world’s most distinguished honors. An independent documentary that depicts the harrowing and honorable life of a family of Coptic Christian trash workers living in Cairo’s garbage city was recently named “Project of the Week” by IndieWire – […]
Palestinian artist Mohamed Abusal envisions converting Gaza’s smuggling tunnels into an underground metro system. A small handful of Bedouin families living in the Gaza Strip ran thousands of smuggling tunnels beneath the Egypt-Gaza Strip separation barrier. In part to transport weapons between Rafah in Egypt and the Rafah Palestinian refugee camp and in part to import […]
Most recently, it was 50 couples tying the knot is a mass wedding in Dubai; last year, 163 Israeli couples reportedly married in a ceremony held in Cyprus in an attempt to break the record for the most couples to say “I do.” More than a media gimmick, mass weddings in the Middle East are […]
Can Sivan Askayo’s photographs convince us hang dry our laundry? What if art had the power to change our habits for the (environmentally) better? Could a photograph change governmental policy, or at the very least, some of our daily behaviors? Artistic photographers have tried, and acclaimed photographer Spencer Tunick’s naked Dead Sea shoot this year […]
We speak with Alisa Ananbeh, a student leader on the environment, on going green in Jordan. Around six months ago, Alisa Ananbeh took part in a US funded five-week programme to help young people from the Middle East deal with environmental problems. Just under twenty students from Gaza, Jordan and the West Bank travelled to […]
Our VIP list of 11 environment heroes for the Middle East 2011. If you don’t know these people already, now is the time to start. Top heroes are from Israel, Turkey and Iraq. The year 2011 has been a year like no other in the Middle East. We’ve seen protests against corruption, people have taken […]
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 […]
Step in for this wonderful list of 12 easy ways to green your 2012. image via maliny The folks over at Nourishing the Planet have come up with a stellar list of simple steps that every person can take to green their lives. Although it is written with an American audience in mind, each of […]
Followers of Islam perform the Al Istisqaa prayer on occasions of drought. 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 […]