The ‘Green Mosques’ project hopes to help conserve water and electricity at 300 mosques- and save around US$1.5 million every year Water scarcity in the Middle East is nothing new- in fact, the region has been struggling to cope with drought and water shortages for centuries. The only problem is that today, modern urbanisation and […]
Design your own environmentally-friendly Purim costume this year. For kids, the most important part of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim is the costume. There’s no shortage of stores trying to sell the latest superhero trend to your child. But why buy something that’s likely to end up in a landfill? Fortunately, young kids usually […]
According to our calculations, a pilgrimage to Mecca from the UK releases more tonnes of carbon than the average French person does in a year In part 1 of our feature on Green Hajj, we worked out that the carbon footprint of the average UK Hajj pilgrim is pretty high. Our guinea pigs, the Hussain […]
Cooking and baking are one way that Jews celebrate the Purim holiday of salvation. Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim on the 14th day of Adar II, which falls this year on the evening of Saturday, March 19 until sunset on March 20. In Jerusalem and other ancient walled cities, the one-day celebration begins Sunday […]
What is your Hajj footprint? Arwa starts calculting her family's
Myths and facts about the “Jewish Earth Day” This Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shevat (15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat). Tu B’shevat traditions include planting new trees, and eating dried fruit. Tu B’Shevat has also become the Jewish Earth Day, to celebrate the environment […]
Arwa meets three Muslim vegetarians from around the world whose views, lifestyles and paths to vegetarianism couldn’t be more diverse and distinct When I was 16, I discovered the horror of factory farming and decided to become a vegetarian. That was 8 years ago and I have been a vegetarian ever since. Thankfully, I no […]
Eco-spiritual inspiration in Sufi poetry. Sufis, followers of the mystic sect of Sufism, have a deep reverence for nature and nowhere is this more obvious than in their world-famous poetry and literature. The renowned 13th century Sufi poet Rumi wrote sublime poetry highlighting the connection between spirituality and nature, and Sufi literature and poetry frequently […]
As the Muslim world marks the Islamic new year, Arwa reflects on the past 12 months of environmental action (and inaction) in the Middle East Believe it or not, this busy week saw the start of the Islamic new year of 1432 A.H. Unlike the typical new year celebrations with parties, fireworks and new year […]
An unprecedented absence of rain in the Middle East has Jordanians praying in Amman As the water crisis in Jordan deepens, the country’s ministry of religious affairs is urging citizens to hold special prayers for rain. The move comes after a significant delay in the rainy season and five successive years of limited rainfall which […]
In places where the discussion of sexuality is either taboo or severely restricted, eco-erotic art - whether man made and intended to arouse the senses or created by the forces of nature - offers a modern day outlet for viewers to explore their sexual natures in the safer context of admiring historical relics.
The 8-day Jewish holiday of Hanukah starts tonight. Is there a connect with climate change?
ClimateWire has revealed that leading up to the UN meeting at Copenhagen last December, the Obama administration leaned hard on the Saudis to get them to agree to the Copenhagen Accord. According to Wikileaks of private communications within the state department, the administration went right to the source of opposition to climate negotiations. The Saudis. […]
Arwa speaks to green deen Ibrahim Abdul-Matin about his latest book ‘Green Deen’ and why he believes that Muslims need be compelled spiritually to make dramatic changes in their lives for the sake of the planet Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is a man of many talents. As well as working as a regular sports commentator and youth […]
Brooklyn born Ibrahim Abdal-Matin was raised on Islamic environmentalism and that the "earth is a mosque". His passionate voice has been translated into his brilliant book, "Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Protecting the Environment," in which he educates us on greening our lives and faith. Read more on how we can do that.