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 […]
Jesuit brothers at the Ksara wine press in 1910: Lebanon’s oldest wine growing domain Following the footsteps of a wine trading tradition started by Phoenicians, modern Lebanese wine-making re-starts in 1857 when French Jesuit missionaries at Ksara (today the site of Château Ksara) introduced new viticulture and viniculture methods as well as new vines, from French-governed Algeria. Sixty years […]
Faith is something which the Middle East has a lot of. Whether that faith is being used solely for good is another matter altogether – some are trying to change that by invoking the shared green aspects of the Abrahamic faiths Sharing Eden – Green teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims is a small book […]
Among other eco-conscious Church leaders, the Archbishop of York has gone vegan and fair-trade for the duration of Lent. Lent, the pre-Easter season of reflection and self-examination, began this year on February 22nd and finishes on Saturday, April 3rd. Believing Christians set aside time for prayer and religious acts. One Lenten tradition is strengthening self-discipline […]
Swifts return to nest at Judaism most sacred site When the swifts came back to Jerusalem’s Western Wall last week there was rejoicing as bird watchers and the religious welcomed them home to Judaism’s most sacred site. The common swift, which spends is entire life flying or sitting its nest, returns from wintering in South […]
Ahead of Rio +20 join the interfaith climate and energy conference in Jerusalem next week. Can mobilizing the world’s faithful save the planet where activists without faith have failed? Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders will be speaking out on climate change next week, while conveying their shared visions on renewable energy at the Interfaith Climate […]
Walk in the footpaths of Jesus on the Gospel Trail. It’s pilgrim’s progress: walking in the footsteps of Jesus. There are now two trails where Christian pilgrims can get outdoorsy and follow in the footsteps of their prophet. Late November, the Israel Ministry of Tourism launched the Gospel Trail, a modular trail that follows the […]
Jerusalem belches out its untreated waste to area of beauty, holy sites Mohammed Nakhal is normally a calm man, but he’s seething now. The stench of raw sewage is overpowering. It is rushing by, down the biblical Kidron Valley through the Judean Desert toward the Dead Sea where even you know what floats. Nakhal, an […]
Santa takes a ride on a camel in Doha, Qatar, where it was recently announced the COP 18 talks will be held. Santa has the lowest carbon footprint of them all. He doesn’t drive in fossil-fueled cars to deliver his eco-friendly gifts. Instead, he relies on his trusted team of reindeers. Not big meat eaters, […]
Religious leaders will gather in Assisi, Italy (home of St. Francis of Assisi) to launch the Green Pilgrimage Network next week. Religious pilgrimage is an important component of many world religions. Here in the Middle East, the annual Hajj to Mecca draws millions of Muslims from all over the world who want to fulfill one […]
Whilst Christians make up a tiny minority of the Middle East’s population, their faith does have a lot to say on climate change From Jews celebrating Sukkot in green style, Muslims promoting a green hajj and Baha’is working to promote sustainability, the Middle East is something of a green faith haven. However, the role that […]
Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders are meeting today in Jerusalem to discuss climate change and launch the new Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. Leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths will be convening this morning in Jerusalem to speak out about climate change at an Interfaith Climate Change Forum. Current environmental conditions in the […]
The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, which includes Palestinian and Israeli religious organisations, has officially recognized global warming and need for action Whilst the major world religions can boast some great green principles at their core such as moderation, limiting waste and caring for nature, they have been rather slow to acknowledge […]
The eco-beard. Advocated by all three monotheistic religions, the timeless beard has a comeback with Budweiser's "Grow One. Save A Million" campaign in an annual celebration to save water. Read more on why believers should grow an environmentally friendly beard. And women, recruit your men!
If Ramadan and Yom Kippur have given you a taste for fasting, why not try the latest eco friendly fast: the oil fast. Fasting is a natural, religious and spiritual affair which is practised by many people all over the world. Muslims give up food and drink between sunrise and sunset for an entire month […]