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.

In Islam, the tree is known as the sidr. The Qur’an refers to Sidrat al-Muntaha, the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, in Surah An-Najm (53:13–18). While the Qur’anic reference is cosmic rather than botanical, Islamic scholarship and popular tradition have long associated the earthly sidr tree (Ziziphus spina-christi) with this name. Separately, the sidr has practical religious use: its leaves are traditionally used for ritual washing, including funerary preparation, because of their cleansing properties. Islamic legal tradition also treats shade-giving trees such as the sidr as protected resources, discouraging their destruction because of their role in sustaining human and animal life in arid environments. In medieval medical literature the jujube appears fre-quently under various names, such as “sidar” or “tsal“, while the fruit is called “nabaq” or dum“. This is the confusing part, because it has so many different names. 

In Judaism, the same species is known in Hebrew as shizaf and in English, the jujube tree. The tree appears in rabbinic literature as a familiar fruit tree in the Land of Israel and surrounding regions. Its significance is legal and practical rather than mystical. The shizaf is discussed in the context of agricultural law, including restrictions against unnecessary destruction (bal tashchit, not wasting or destroying) and rules governing fruit trees, property boundaries, and communal benefit. Trees that provide food or shade, even if not commercially valuable, are afforded protection under Jewish law. Trees that provide fruit are forbidden from being cut down, and in Judaism there is even a holiday for the trees, called Tu B’shevat. The jujube therefore functions as part of Judaism’s broader land-based ethic rather than as a singular sacred symbol.

The Christian association is later and less textually grounded. The English name Christ’s thorn reflects a tradition that identifies the tree’s hooked thorns with the crown of thorns placed on Jesus Christ during the crucifixion. The New Testament does not name the plant species, and there is no definitive historical proof that Ziziphus spina-christi was used. However, the tree was common in Roman-era Judea, and its flexible, sharp thorns make the identification plausible enough to persist in Christian tradition and naming. This is one of the theories. Ever hike in the Judaean Mountains outside of Jerusalem, and dry thorny trees and bushes is about all you will find.

The clean line between the three traditions can exist: Islam names the tree as the sidr and elevates it symbolically and ritually; Judaism regulates it legally and ethically as part of a lived agricultural system. Mentioned in the Mishnah and Talmud, they are linked to the biblical atad and, historically. The sidr was also known as pilgrimage trees for women who were barren. Christianity retrospectively associates it with a central moment in the life of Jesus. All three traditions engage the same tree through different lenses—cosmic boundary, legal responsibility, and historical memory—without relying on the same texts or meanings. According to this article it is the only holy tree in Islam and the Druze also revere this tree for its spiritual importance.

The medicinal uses for Christ’s thorn, the sidr tree are vast. These are documented ethnobotanical use in Israel and the wider Middle East.

Medicinal Uses of Christ’s Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi)

Source: Dafni, A., Levy, S., & Lev, E. (2005). The ethnobotany of Christ’s Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 1:8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-1-8

What unites these traditions is that the jujube tree heals wounds, cools bodies, feeds communities, and thrives where water is scarce. It teaches patience, restraint, and coexistence with the land.

The post The Christ’s thorn (sidr tree) is also a well-known folk medicine appeared first on Green Prophet.

In a previous post, I raised concerns over what an Islamic worldview can realistically offer those looking for a new sustainability model. After reading Odeh Al Jayoussi’s book on the topic, I felt that there were a lot more lingering questions than answers. Would Islamic sustainability really be considered an option outside the Middle East? What about those wary of any religious-based doctrine? Also after years following the ‘Western model of sustainability’, did we really want to be promoting another universal model? I caught up with Al Jayoussi,  the current vice president of Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society, and put these very questions to him. Read on for his responses.

Tell us a little about yourself, and how your work informed this book?

Well, this journey started almost thirty years ago when the United Nations University were embarking on a project on water and Islam for which I drafted two chapters on this topics as well as international law and shared water resources. This included notions such as equity, Ihsan and this evolved into a new framework of sustainability. At the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) this developed further when I visited Yemen in 2004 and I was exposed to interesting notions of local knowledge and the early heritage in Yemen. I was fascinated with the contrast of the old and the new. That you could envisage the notion of unity within diversity. Also, the eight years I was privileged to work at ICUN I visited many parts of the world including India, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Europe, the Gulf States and Mexico.

So I got to see different parts of the world and I was trying to reflect on the notion of sustainability and all of this went into the book. My work at ICUN was aimed at developing a new notion of sustainability based on local culture. I have some critique of the current, dominant model of sustainability which talks about the three pillars – the social, economic and ecological. I felt that the model lacked an embedded local culture and also a spiritual dimension. I was also looking for a topic which would help create a dialogue between East and West and I thought that the environment and ecosystems would be a great vehicle to communicate harmony and interconnectedness between these two.

You bring Islam to the centre of the debate on sustainability – was it difficult to make that connection?

Well, for me it wasn’t difficult at all. It’s all about how you view the world and I don’t see Islam as purely a religion but also as a worldview and a way of life. In that sense the aim of the book is to influence policy and enable scholars to talk to people and broaden their perspective from one which sees Islam just as a local religion to one which recognises that it is a worldview. It’s about looking at sustainability in a broader sense.

Do you see the model that you have put forward as a universal model or something that is particularly suited to the Middle East- North Africa region?

The intent is to present and articulate a universal discourse so that humanity can utilize Islam not only for harmony and tranquility but also for a dialogue to talk with others. We believe that Islam is mercy for the whole of humankind and is also a continuum of other religions and part of the human journey of knowing his destiny and having a sense of purpose and meaning.

I can see that there will be a real difficulty in applying this model in the West where Islam is seen only as a religion. Do you agree?

You are absolutely right. There is a difficulty in the West as there was a historical separation between church and state, man and woman etc. So this type of fragmentation was part of the Western journey in terms of knowledge. In this book, I was trying to look for unity or tawheed rather than separation and also looking at ways of overcoming this fragmentation. This includes the unity of disciplines, the unity of the now and hereafter, the unity between art and science – I was looking for synergies and complementary relationships rather than looking at things in pieces.

There is a growing recognition in the West that the current development models are not fit for purpose and that the growth economy is destructive. Do you think that now is a good time to be promoting new models and frameworks?

I think part of the challenge between East and West in terms of epistemology is two things – one is biology and the other is economic. In terms of biology we don’t agree with the West about evolution – we believe in creation and that man is dignified. The other dimension is money – the value of money and how it is generated in terms of interest. We believe that part of the ecological crisis stems from the fact that the current economic model doesn’t tells us the ecological truth as the metrics is based on GDP which as you know doesn’t reflect the wealth and health of nations or happiness. So we need to develop new metrics for sustainability or what I call the good life and so in order to define sustainability we need to define what a good life is. That’s why the notion sustainability needs to look at the notion of life generally to life with dignity, peace and harmony.

Do you get a sense that this is already a shift occurring in the West? For example, you hear a lot about the Happiness index and the Green GDP as there is a greater recognition of the flaws of the GDP.

Yes. I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that there is a need for a paradigm shift as the current economic model has a lot of flaws and defaults.

During this interview and also in your book, you talk about the importance of a local connection yet you also want this model to be universal. Are you hoping that if nations looks to apply this model in say Latin America that they would bring their own, local culture and interpretation into it?

Yes. In terms of the model and its universal applicability, it is all about unity within diversity. Part of that is talking to each other as we share the same destiny and there is a clear statement in the Qur’an which says that we are all created from nations and tribes so that we may get to know each other. So there is a universal message in the Qur’an which says that the prophet was sent as a mercy to the whole of mankind – not to Arabs or Muslims but to the whole humanity. However due to the degradation of civilisation we lost thing kind of universal message and we now it is time to revive a new discourse of universality and sustainability could the right medium through which we communicate this message.

What would be the benefits for the MENA region if they adopt this model?

I think that part of the challenge is that this part of this world was influenced by colonialism and after all these decades we are still affected by that way of thinking. Development in the South is mimicking and following the West in terms of consumerism and there is an disillusion in the Middle East that the Western model is the best model. This is a root cause of all sorts of social and ecological degradation and a general lack of human dignity. You cannot detach the issue of the environment from other issues such as poverty and social problems. So definitely this part of the world has been negatively impacted by following in the footsteps of the Western economic model and in a sense this part of the world lost its identity and has no pride or confidence in its local values. That’s why it has failed to have an ecological model that has local roots.

Is that the reason between the gap between the principles and practice in reality?

Absolutely, the Newtonian model looks at nature and plants as machines and part of the colonialism was that the region borrowing that type of thinking which brought with a whole host of problems. Now we need to revisit and rethink our whole social DNA and have our local roots in our local soil.

What have the reactions to the book been like?

I have had a lot of positive feedback from many scholars and people from the region and in Europe. Like you they were concerned with issues of relevancy, applicability and scalability. I think when we talk to people on a local level and with community organisations, there is real resonance and people appreciate notions such as Ihsan which is about inner beauty and unless we have that, we can reflect that onto the rest of the world. We can’t communicate harmony with the rest of the world if we don’t have an inner harmony. So having the right terminology is important and when I used the word hyat tayyebah which means a good life, it has more resonance within a local context. I think the real challenge is how we bring confidence and pride and a sense of appreciation of our local knowledge and I think in that area, a lot still needs to be done.

For more on Islamic perspectives on sustainability see:

Islam and Sustainable Development, A Book Covering These New Worldviews
Sharing Eden – Green Teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims
London Mosques Start Beekeeping Trend – Interview
The Eco-Mosque Checklist – 7 Steps to a Greener Mosque
Consumerism, Ecology and the Sabbath

:: Photo of young South Asian women praying via Shutterstock.com

The post The Big Ask – Is Islamic Sustainability The Answer To Our Green Prayers? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Odeh Al-Jayoussi, the current vice president of Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society, has certainly had an interesting career. As well as working for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, he’s spent time at the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and been a consultant for the United Nations, the EU and the World Bank.

All of these positions as well as his personal experiences have clearly informed his book Islam and Sustainable Development: New Worldviews which explores “a new paradigm of sustainability that is informed by Islamic worldviews and Islamic ecological ethics”. Indeed, the book includes lots of topics and stretches itself a little too broadly with chapters exploring Islamic banking systems, the role of the Muslim artist and the Islamic perspective on evolution. Still, a highly recommended read for those interested in sustainability and particularly those new to Islam’s contribution to the debate so far.

Al-Jayoussi starts by pointing out something that most of us will probably agree with. The current development model isn’t working – more money seems to be spent on aid every year and yet poverty keep rising. With this in mind, he states there is a need for a new model that promotes prosperity without overconsumption and pollution. Again, I would say most of us agree. The model that Al-Jayoussi presents is based on four Islamic principles which are then explored across four chapters.

These principles are:

1) Adl or good governance

2) Ihsan or excellence

3) Arham or social capital and

4) Integrity without corruption or Fasd

Bringing these four principles together is quite new and interesting and whilst he sets out the Islamic backing and advantages of following these principles, I think there are lots of questions left unanswered.

Is this model meant to be universal or specifically tailored to the region? If the latter than great but I got a sense it was meant to be universal which I find problematic for a couple of reasons. What about those religious communities or atheists in the MENA region/globally who want to move away from faith-based models? Where do they fit in? Shouldn’t more localised solutions to tackle the problem of climate change be considered? After all, it was the dominance of the Western development model which seems to have cause widespread problems. Isn’t it time we recognized the value of diversity?

A video featuring Odeh Al-Jayoussi

[vimeo 54954387 w=500 h=375]

Another issue which kept nagging me whilst reading this book is that the huge contrast between the Islamic principles and the way that Islamic countries actually operate.

Yes, colonialism has a lot to answer for and the author is honest that the framing of these Islamic principles around sustainable development is new but there were a couple of case studies which highlighted the consistent gap. For example, Al-Jayoussi points out the real compatibility between Islam and fairtrade principles. Yet a fairtrade movement emerged without Islamic principles and Islamic economies have played a limited role in the growth of the movement.

I was also worried that ‘a good idea’ wasn’t enough to make it reality. Although the author highlights the model as an Islamic worldview rather than faith-view, he didn’t fully explore its weaknesses or real life applicability. However, there’s a lot for also a lot of interesting bits of history and insights which I think will be referring back to regularly and would be of great interest to new readers exploring the Islam and sustainability nexus.

In terms of the unanswered questions, I got in touch with Al Jayoussi and spoke to him over the phone about these issues. The full interview and his insightful answers will be published shortly so keep an eye out for part two of this debate!

For more book reviews and green faith news see:

Sharing Eden – Green Teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims
London Mosques Start Beekeeping Trend – Interview
The Eco-Mosque Checklist – 7 Steps to a Greener Mosque
Consumerism, Ecology and the Sabbath

The post Islam and Sustainable Development, A Book Covering These New Worldviews appeared first on Green Prophet.

Walid Saleh speaks to Green Prophet about sustainability in the Middle East

From Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Hima – an ancient Arabian conservation concept – has helped keep the peace. Now it is hoped a new interpretation of the conservation principle will help protect the region’s dwindling resources by tapping into cultural norms and histories, then radically updating them for a world struggling with climate change. I spoke to Walid Saleh, MENA Regional Programme at the United Nations University-Institute for Water, Environment, and Health, about his work at the HIMA Global Initiative and the opportunities and constraints they are facing.

Green Prophet:What are the benefits of the new formulated interpretation of HIMA compared to the traditional concept?

Walid Saleh: The traditional Hima system was practiced as land management, and unfortunately this is the image that comes to mind when Hima is mentioned. Moreover, the traditional Hima system was a practice with no written set of principles, nor any written laws or governance framework. Recently, the IUCN has recognized Hima as a system that can be classified under any of the 6 protected areas categories. This, in my belief, fails to recognise Hima as a sustainable development system that is routed in the Islamic environmental laws.

What we are aiming to establish is HIMA as a standalone sustainable development initiative that has a well defined legal frame work, socio-economic framework, governance system, and a road-map for implementation. We believe that the HIMA can address most of the challenges that humanity faces today and in future generations. The HIMA system is currently being documented as a complete sustainable development initiative and efforts are underway to register it under the UN Commission for Sustainable Development.

GreenProphet: What is the ‘Human Integrated Management Approach’ or HIMA?

Walid Saleh: The new HIMA vision is based on social and economic justice and environmental integrity. To achieve this, the following governing principles are needed to achieve human wellbeing :

1. The Ethical principles which include the Hima development vision and describe the aims and objectives and the ethical dimension of Hima governance system
2. Environmental sustainability principles are based on reverence to natural resources and no harm (fassad)
3. Institutional principles recognise (a) the role of the State in providing basic needs; (b) the role of the voluntary sector to contribute to socio-economic and non-material development of the community and (c) the devolution of Hima management within the local community.
4. Good governance principles provide a framework for the adequate management of the natural resources in Hima zones including conflict resolution mechanisms.

What are some of the lessons you have learnt and taken on board from the traditional concept of Hima?

As I mentioned earlier, Hima was traditionally practiced with a mix of traditional knowledge and Islamic principles. As such, it helped establish social harmony in various communities. For example in Darfur, Hima as a range land management system was practiced before Sudan secured its dependence in the 1960s.

Hima kept peace and social harmony among all the different tribes of Darfur. It is only after the Hima system was abolished in the sixties that problems in Darfur arose.

These are some of the lessons we had in mind when developing the HIMA Global Initiative. Other lessons stems from the fact that the Hima system managed to give the people of Arabia, with their harsh environment, a sustainable living. However, to meet the challenges of today and the needs for the future generation, a well-defined sustainable development approach is needed. This is were we are coming from. HIMA can address this need and we intend to apply the system, in pilot projects in the MENA region as a first step, for the next five years to have enough data for validation purposes before it is promoted globally.

Could you tell us a little bit about how you got involved in the HIMA project?

My strong interest in the Hima was born as result of my involvement in the WANA forums where HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal kept asking the question “What is the Role of Hima in This Issue…?” HRH insistence on asking the same question while debating different issues created a strong interest in me to explore Hima in depth.

After studying the Hima constitution (Al Wathiqa) that the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) established for Al madina Al Monawara, I came up with the Hima Global Initiative: The Role of Hima as a Community-based Natural Resources Management System for Peace-building. I’m currently leading the technical committee for the Global Hima Initiative launched last May 2012.

Since most of today’s conflicts usually are about sharing the natural resources, the Hima Global Initiative aims to:

• Promote the Hima constitutional principles, as model, to propose solutions to areas of conflict, such as Abyei, Darfur, and the Western Sahara;
• Build confidence among parties in conflict by promoting social justice, equalities, social responsibilities, and the rule of law;
• Celebrate societal diversity, ethical values & customs, and rights for ethnic and religious minorities;
• Promote unity based on human needs & human rights;
• Promote peace, freedom of religion, respect of each other’s values, and acceptance.

What are some of the major opportunities and also constraints facing the HIMA concept that were highlighted in the recent December workshop?

There are political challenges such as lack of political will, government mistrust of citizens (and vice versa), legal empowerment of people and lack of awareness which all represent challenges. Other challenges are related to weak civil society organizations, the lack of space for them to function and the need to develop this space and capacity build.

There is also a need for better communications to convince the necessary people yet university training does not encourage community-sensitive approaches but teaches us to dictate and prescribe. However, some political developments – e.g. regionalization can be a driving force in the HIMA implementation.

There is also a real need to develop a blueprint that is adaptable to different situations and create an understanding that HIMA is not only about going back to the old – it is about blending the old with the new.

What are the aims of the upcoming implementation workshop?

The Phase II “KISR workshop” is an initiative to strengthen policy dialogue on adopting the Hima for sustainable development at all levels. The main objective of the workshop is to help put forward an efficient action plan on the Hima legal framework, socio-economic and governance system based on “Islamic Ecological Principles and Law”. The framework will serve as valuable guide and reference for all those interested in sustainable utilization of natural resources and Hima-based protected area management for the wellbeing of present and future generations.

For more on HIMA go to: 

HIMA – A Traditional Arabian Conservation Concept Modernised

Great Examples Of ‘Hima’ Or Protected Areas In The Middle East

Hima: The Middle East’s Tradition of Environmental Protection

Do You WANA Green The Middle East? A Forum Report

The post United Nations University Uses HIMA for Green Peace appeared first on Green Prophet.

Khaleafa, an Eco Islam blog created by Muaz Nasir, has been nominated for the Brass Crescent ‘Best New Blog’ Award

Over the last year, I’ve stumbled across lots of great posts from the Khaleafa blog exploring the Islamic approach to environmentalism on my internet travels. As such, it’s great to hear that the site has been nominated for the annual Brass Crescent ‘Best New Blog’ Award. Created by Toronto-based Muaz Nasir, the site looks at green topics ranging from healthy eating, the environmental movement in America, eco-Islam and also hosts green inter-faith events. If you’d like to see the site win ‘Best New Blog’ then you have until the 21st of October to cast your ballot!

Writing on the blog, Muaz Nasir said it was humbling to be considered for the category alongside such great writers and hoped for the continued support of the blog’s readers. The Brass Crescent Awards were created in 2004 with the purpose of promoting the best writing across the Muslim web. The awards have now grown to be the most anticipated within the Muslim blogosphere.

Khaleafa.com was created with the goal of “reigniting the discourse surrounding the Islamic approach to environmentalism” and has had contributions from academics, religious scholars and activists within the Muslim community. As well writing about the importance of environmental action, the site has brought together community activists to explore how they implement environmental initiatives in a diverse society.

“The term ‘Khaleafa’ is the Arabic term for steward and represents the sacred responsibility that has been bestowed upon us by Allah. The concept of stewardship is the inspiration of this project and has formed for the foundation for discussion of the environmental ideals already present within the Islamic faith.”

Khaleafa also ran a successful Green Khutbah Campaign to coincide with Earth Day which garnered the support of over 75 Imams/Organizations across North America, Europe and Africa. This campaign encouraged mosques, schools, universities and Islamic Institutions in North America to devote their Friday Khutbah (sermon) to raising awareness on the environmental challenges facing humanity. An interfaith event was also hosted recently by Khaleafa to highlight the sanctity of water and provide practical information to help faith groups preserve water. The event drew over 50 attendees from a variety of congregations and faith groups.

Polls close end of day Sunday, October 21, 2012! 9 pm (Mon) PST, 12 am (Tue) EST, 5 am (Tue) GMT. To cast your ballot- click here.

For more green Muslims see: 

Cambridge’s Eco Mosque Granted Permission (PHOTOS)

Iftar Guide – Breaking the Ramadan Fast Sustainably

Film Review: ‘The Blessed Tree’ – An Interfaith Meeting Under The Shade of Nature

The post Khaleafa: New Green Muslim Blog Nominated For Prestigious Award appeared first on Green Prophet.

Under a solitary tree in the desert, a young Prophet Muhammed met with the Christian monk Bahira. This documentary charts the importance of this chance meeting.

The Blessed Tree is a short and beautifully-filmed documentary which tells the story of a chance encounter between a Christian monk named Bahira and the young Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) under a tree in the desert. As well as drawing light on this important meeting, the documentary focuses on the belief that the very tree which witnessed this event is alive today in the Jordanian desert. It also captures a gathering of some of the most important Islamic scholars under that tree and their interpretation of the lessons the incident has to offer the modern world.

Starting with a commentary from the King Abdullah of Jordan about the first time he visited the ‘Blessed Tree’ and the importance of the meeting of Prophet Muhammed with the monk Bahira, the documentary takes you straight into the subject matter. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad from Jordan explains how the tree was re-discovered after his late uncle, King Hussein, put him to work in the Royal Archives after returning from Cambridge University. It was there that researchers discovered numerous references to the tree, and a forgotten inventory made by King Abdullah I of the holy sites in Jordan.

This takes us to a tree near Safawi in Jordan where the young Muhammed (SAW) is believed to have met with Bahira whilst travelling from Saudi with his uncle Abu Talib to modern-day Syria for trade. The trade route they would have taken across the Arabian desert means that the likely location of the meeting would have been the Jordanian desert. The meeting is particularly important as it was the first time that the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was recognised as a prophet by the spiritual monk. After meeting Muhammed (SAW), Bahira the hermit monk tells Abu Talib to take good care of him and protect him from his enemies as he would be prophet for the end of time.

Prince Ghazi remarks: “The Prophet sitting under this tree, and its reacting to the Prophet makes the tree the only living terrestrial witness to the Prophet, what we would call in Arabic a sahabi.” Whilst those in the film seem convinced that the tree in the Jordanian desert is the tree from story, I am sure there are those who may need a bit more convincing. Either way, it’s great to learn more about the incident and the important place of nature in the life of the Prophet Muhammed as well as the emergence of Islam. ‘The Blessed Tree’ has beautiful footage of the Jordanian desert where the tree is located as well as interviews with some of the most famous Islamic scholars of our time and a great soundtrack.

There is, in a sense, a vertical dimension that goes through our heart vertically through our head and up to Heaven. The line of transcendence. This is the inner tree. The roots of it are actually the roots of the Divine reality in our hearts. For most human beings this tree has dried up because they are not aware of its roots. It is virtually there but not actually; and the spiritual life means the reviving of this tree within us by sinking the roots of the Divine once again in our hearts.”
Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The only downfall of the film is that it can a little repetitive with the scholars recalling the same incident. It’s also a huge shame that the film didn’t take the opportunity to explore the interfaith nature of incident and bring in Christian figures to contemplate the chance meeting. The symbolism of the tree is also left unexplored and none of the scholars (well, not in the film anyway) look at the place of nature in the life of the Prophet more broadly. Overall, a good 6 out of 10.

You can purchase the The Blessed Tree DVD from One Thousand Films or download a HD digital version for half the price at $9.85.

For more on Islam and the environment see:

How Islam Could Tackle Water Scarcity

What can Islam do for the Environment? Lots, Actually…

Islam’s Environmentally Friendly Architecture – Where Did It Go?

The post Film Review: ‘The Blessed Tree’ – An Interfaith Meeting Under The Shade of Nature appeared first on Green Prophet.

What can Islam do for the environment? That’s a question I have been asking myself for some years now and, in all honestly, I am nowhere near answering it fully. I have definitely enjoyed looking into the green ethics of Islam in a bid to help Muslims worldwide take up the environmentally-friendly path, but I still have lots of questions.

Like how can we get Muslims to embrace the greener side of Islam?
How do we translate belief into action? How do green Muslims, who are coming at the climate change issue from a different perspective, link up with more mainstream and non-faith green organisations?

Embracing geo-engineering as ‘Plan B’ is not only dangerous as the outcomes of planetary-scale experiments are highly uncertain; it is undemocratic, irresponsible and ignores the fact that we have a perfectly good ‘Plan A’ – to cut our emissions.

We just need better ways of convincing people to do that. One area that is commonly overlooked when exploring ways to encourage greater climate awareness and action is faith and religion. Islam, in particularly, which is perceived as the faith of oil-rich sheikhs is sidelined with sparse academic research highlighting the insights Islam has to offer an environmentally vulnerable planet.

The primary source of all Islamic thought and practice, the Holy Qur’an, is full of exhalation of nature, its beauty and the need to protect it. Nature is portrayed as God’s glory, a gift of sustenance and humanity is divinely ordained responsibilities to care for the natural world and keep the harmony and balance placed within it.[1]

In the Qur’an there are “ample instructions as well as warnings to the faithful not to abuse their power in dealing with the environment. Distortion of the natural order and ill-treatment of God’s creatures, whatever they are, are considered as sins that lead to punishment.”[2] Wastefulness is discouraged and excessive consumption or greed is actively prohibited. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammed warned his followers to not waste precious resources such as water and encouraged them to protect land and improve its fertility.

With this in mind, it is not hard to make the link between Islamic ethics and the need to curb our excessive use of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels which are poisoning the air and land. As such, Islam has “the capability of helping to solve one of the greatest problems of our time, namely that of ‘the environment’.

Islam need not be a hindrance, but could be a great help, in educating the faithful about good environmental conduct.”[3] Cairo, the Islamic capital with one thousand minarets, is one of the most polluted cities in the world and Bangladesh and the Maldives – which are both Muslim nations – will be the worst affected countries when climate change hits due to flooding and droughts. [4] Indeed, environmental problems plague many Muslims countries whether it be deforestation in Indonesia, desertification and over-development in the Middle East or drought in North Africa.

These nations and many others have everything to gain by tackling climate change and environmental pollution by embracing the green ethics of Islam. Today, the Muslim faith commands influence (to varying degrees) of 18% of the world’s population and covers a very large area where some of the greatest environmental problems exist. [5] As such, highlighting the green tenants of the Islamic faith is hugely beneficial to tackling climate change and may become increasing useful with the predicted doubling of the Muslim population by 2030 to 26.4%.[6]

If Muslims across the world garner greater awareness of their Islamic duties to the environment, it also perceivable that they would be able to pressure their governments into making the right ‘green’ decisions when it comes to water, food, recycling and energy use. It would also mean that rich Gulf Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain wouldn’t be as obstructive at important climate summits if their populations could rally for the environment based on Islamic tenants. [7]

[1]   Murad M. Islamic Environmental Stewardship: Nature and Science in the Light of Islamic Philosophy in Union Seminary Quarterly Review, (2011) Vol. 63: pg147-8
[2]   Kula, E. (March 2001) Islam and environmental conservation. Environmental Conservation: Vol. 28 (Issue 1), p4.
[3] Kula, E. (March 2001) Islam and environmental conservation. Environmental Conservation: Vol. 28 (Issue 1), p7.
[4] N. Ammar, Islam and Deep Ecology, in D. Landis and R. Gottlieb, Eds., Deep Ecology and World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Grounds (State University of New York Press, 2001), p193.
[5] Ibid, p2.
[6] Jones, H. (January 27 2011) 2.2 Billion: World’s Muslim Population Doubles. TIME. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/27/2-2-billion-worlds-muslim-population-doubles/
[7] Sanchez, R. (November 11 2011) US ‘blocking’ climate change fund ahead of Durban conference. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8914511/US-blocking-climate-change-fund-ahead-of-Durban-conference.html

Image of sitting bedouin and donkey from Shutterstock.com

For more on Islam and climate change:

Green Iftar Guide – Breaking the Ramadan Fast Sustainably

How Islam Could Help Fight Water Scarcity

Islam’s Environmentally Friendly Architecture – Where Did It Go?

The post What Can Islam Do For The Environment? appeared first on Green Prophet.

American Muslim scholar Imam Zaid Shakir encourages the Muslim community across the world to support their nation’s “Green Ramadan Initiative” by cultivating Green Iftars at your mosques.

The inter-faith organisation Green Faith are also hosting a Green Ramadan webinar later this July in which the eco-Imam Zaid Shakir will share just how to make fasting more environmentally friendly.

The importance of the community is the foundation to Islāmic society. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said each believer is like a brick, one supporting the other, in turn creating solid walls and together forming a sound structure that is resistant to shakes and changes. These changes also come in the form of climate change, pollution, toxins and harmful gases and acres of chemical compost.

Turning back to the beginning of faith is the root to finding solutions for our environmental downfalls. Many times, the most active of eco-campaigners criticise the faith groups for only talking about sustainability and green living with ‘hot air’. But this is a putative judgement.

Like Imam Zaid Shakir encourages, if one cannot walk the walk of green action, one should at least support those who do take the greener deen (path) and share the prophetic foundations of that lifestyle.

I have transcribed the video to capture the main points and for those short of time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFkP9yuzWn4]
Video link: http://youtu.be/gFkP9yuzWn4 | 4:13 mins

Imam Zaid Shakir begins with the Islāmic formula by mentioning the name of God (bismillah), praising Him (hamd), sending salutations upon Prophet Muhammad of Islam (salawat) and the Islāmic greeting of peace and ‘hellos’;

“Salam`alaykum, peace be with you.

This is Imam Zaid Shakir and I’m here in office of Muslim Chaplain Imam Sohaib Sultan at Princeton University to bring you a very important message.

That message is that Ramadan is here and Ramadan is for the community. It is a time, to come together as a community, for cultivating a healthy sense of environmental and ecological consciousness. [Many will ask] Why mention this in Ramadan?

We have all witnessed during Ramadan that our community generates and disposes tons of trash. Be it paper plates or Styrofoam cups or plastic knives and forks or reams and reams of paper towels, that we bag up and fill all dumpsters outside the masjid [mosque], night after night.

Brothers and sisters, imagine how many tons we could save, with one simple job: Greening the Iftar. This would help our environment and help our community get involved in projects to benefit the citizens and those of the world.

I encourage you: Green your iftar!

There are many organisations such as the Green Faith initiative and similar that are pushing for ‘Green Iftars’ such as my masjid in Oakland, California masjid where two years ago they adopted the initiative. Now, instead of garbage bags of scraps, left-over food is composted, dishes are washed at a local restaurant to be reused, there are no paper towels allowed; all hand towels are washed.

So let’s begin in Ramadan with a Green Iftar!

Let’s green our community and country. If America greens itself, we can green the world insha-Allah ta`la. As you all know U.S. is first in producing greenhouse gases-many have surpassed us (with China coming up behind)-but we all know that in landfills and producing trash, we have no rival.

Protecting the environment is beloved to God and the Prophet. They encouraged us not to be wasteful, and to live in harmony with everything around us.

Nothing exemplifies this more than God’s statement in the Quran concerning the Prophet Muhammad, saying he is “Sent as a mercy to all the worlds”. This includes the animals, plants, insects, fish, all of these ‘awalam’ (Arabic for ‘worlds’), all of these worlds, to which the Prophet is a mercy. He is an environmental exemplar. So we, as people of the 21st century, should be about the business of being of mercy to all that share the environment with us.

Thank you for listening and viewing this brief message, insha-allah (God willing) we can come together and make a difference. THESE are the types of initiative that will take people away from all the negativity on Muslims because they will be focused on the good things being done by Muslims.”

As one of the noted Eco-Muslim figures who has taught classes on Islam and environment, Imam Zaid Shakir is participating in Green Faith’s Green Ramadan webinar. Green Faith is a platform campaign movement that ties the three monotheistic faith groups – Islam, Judaism and Christianity – with long-term ecological practice.

Entitled Green Ramadan, the Imam will offer a keynote presentation on Islam’s teachings about the earth. The event is open to all.

Green Ramadan Webinar details

• Thursday 26 July 2012 07:00 PM – 08:00 PM ET
• Admission: Free

Register for the Green Faith – Green Ramadan Webinar

Find more on Greening Ramadans
Ramadan Food Waste and Green Tips for Cutting it Down
Feasting On Fairtrade This Ramadan
The Green Sheikh on Ramadan: Waste 2 Food or Food 2 Waste?

The post “Host Greener Iftars At Mosques” Is The Green Ramadan Message From Imam Zaid Shakir (VIDEO) appeared first on Green Prophet.

A few months ago Egypt was named the greenest country in the Middle-East by a Yale group, even topping neighbouring Israel. It even turned out to be one of the best improving countries in the world. If you ever visited it, this might sound odd, and I in fact haven’t met an Egyptian that took the news seriously. But yet, the ranking seems credible. Maybe Egypt’s people care more about the environment than we think?

Me, I am particularly interested in non-Western ways of looking at the environment. In the West much people reached a level of prosperity, and now they start to care about the environment.  But not everybody who cares about the environment fits in this stereotype. And maybe luckily.

A few months ago I decided that I wanted to search out how a specific Egyptian or Arab environmentalist might look like.  I read too much books, but also interviewed some interesting people, and I thought it might be interesting to share my discoveries with you.  I say share, because I want you to interact with me, by letting me know if you (dis)agree.

West vs. South

First, of all, I don’t assume that the West is more advanced than the South (or the East). Yes, the use of words like ‘sustainable development’, ‘resource management’, ‘greening the economy’ stays limited to those with a Western education.  But that’s just lingo. Turn your focus on other parts of the world, South America for example, and you’ll hear ‘rights of nature’, ‘cosmo-visions’, ‘bien-vivir’ or ‘caring for the seventh generation’.

This is because their analysis differs entirely. The West rarely questions technology and economic growth, and the South seldomly criticises tradition and strong family ties.  Their history differs, the values of the Enlightenment helped the West dominate the world and subsequent crises showed the South local tradition’s ability to offer resilience.

Post-development

But there were also occasions in which the viewpoint of the West and the South met.  Some Western aid workers’ experiences made them question the virtues of progress and Southern intellectuals tried to share their analyse on the failure of development.

In the ‘90s a hotchpotch eventually united under the umbrella of ‘post-development’.  They argue that any attempt to make development more sustainable, balanced or effective is useless, we shouldn’t improve it, but abandon it instead. The concept of development is wrong.

They wrote interesting books, try Ivan Illich’s “Energy and Equity” for example.  Post-development consists for a fair part of people from the global South who use their own cultural roots to analyse society, development and the environment.

Vandana Shiva builds upon Gandhi’s concept of local self-sufficiency.

And Majid Rahnema reflects on his own experiences as an Iranian and UN-official.I thought this might also offer interesting insights about the Arab world, but unfortunately it offers very little examples of Arab thinkers. Also, it gives you plenty of nice insights, but is very ambiguous.  It might be useful as a way to criticise ideas, but gives very few inspiration to make things better.

Looking to Green Islam?

Maybe Islam has something to say about this.  I had heard about Seyyed Hossein Nasr, an American-Iranian professor who had written numerous books on how the loss of spirituality, Islam thus, causes a deterioration of the environment – and society.  His books give you plenty of new angles to look at science, but if you look at it as a whole, his message is quite simple and is merely that the West is to blame. It’s also very academical, difficult to translate to society.

Compared to this, the work of Fazlun Khalid is more interesting. A former officer in the British Army, he uses Islam to create awareness about the environment in theUK, and he  also sets up Islamic initiatives to foster environmental care in Indonesia, Saudi-Arabia and Zanzibar.

Yes, this already linked with the Arab world, but still originated in the West.  A bit in the same way Wester aid agencies promote environmental care in Egypt. There was still nothing really genuine about it.

Maybe I had to look at the local political movements instead. The region’s new rulers, the Muslim Brotherhood claimed to base their politics on ethics, and maybe that also involved the environment.  So I set out and asked them.

“Nature’s not our biggest concern” their think-tank’s Jamal Himdan answered, “but we are anti-nuclear, we believe in large scale renewables and want to fight pollution.”

Pollution was, thus, just part of their social justice approach.

Social Justice

Social justice, here we have it again. Each and every person I interviewed seemed to mention it, and in each article I had to explain that it was one of the main demands of the revolution. But is anybody serious about it? And has it already caused a change?

I’m doubtful, and so is Mohamed Nagi of the Habi Center for Environmental Rights.  He told me that if something changed it was for the worse.

So far outside the street protests, nobody seems to do anything with the message, the SCAF didn’t, and when campaigning most politicians find it more tempting to imagine new big-scale investment opportunities than explain how they will ensure their citizen’s basic rights.

Sarah Deputy, who’s analyzing Egypt’s Toskha Project, told me last week that she also was amazed at how nothing’s changed.

In the end, Egypt’s newly-elected politicians all seem to propose a new version of Toskha.  The abovementioned interview with the Brotherhood for example, shows you a lot more about big projects then about empowering the Egypt’s citizens.

Last time Saudi Arabia was pushing for Toskha, now the European Union seems to be in for a massive solar energy adventure.

Environmental Justice

But still, it’s not because those in power don’t understand what’s going on, that things cannot change.  People in Egypt have been standing up against big polluters and even resource squander, and have had an impact.

I call this environmental justice. Maybe I am skipping a few steps, but it looks like the same forces are at work as elsewhere in the world. Protests that started fifteen years ago inBoliviaeventually culminated in what is known as the Climate Justice-movement.  Experiences of how native and black Americans were affected by bad policy have led Rob Nixon to coin environmental justice as the environmentalism of the poor.  This may look as a very leftist view, but it is not, as it criticises the governments much more than anything else.

Joan Martinez-Allier and Sunita Narain have described their own experiences in the same manner, and argued that the potential of environmental justice is far bigger than the efforts the West is pushing for.  Their books should in fact be compulsory reading for everybody with an interest in the environment.

The Only Hope

To me, Egypt environmental justice seems to be very promising.  Look at what the most media popular example, the Zabaleen have been able to perform. They combined caring about their livelihood and contributing to the environmental sustainability of the economy at the meantime.

Yes, except for them not many examples are known. But that might be because they don’t get any publicity.  Also all the other environmental initiatives, at least those that gain publicity aren’t very promising.  On a recent conference called “Green Visions for Cairo” the most feasible idea academic experts proposed was to move all the government’s offices from downtown to the desert. That’s not only infeasible, but also runs contrary to what I understand as sustainable.

And the last “Cairo Climate Talks” I attended resulted in a discussion on why gmo-vegetables are still restricted in Egypt. Every time the organisation, or the experts weren’t to blame, they always tried to navigate away from bad proposals, but it just shows how unsuitable easy solutions are in densely populated Cairo/Egypt.

I could go on for a while, showing you initiatives that went wrong, but I think there are more interesting stories to follow. A lot has already been written about failures.  But the stories on environmental justice, or the environmentalism of the poor if you want, haven’t received a lot of attention. Especially not in the Arab region. And that’s what you might expect from me in the future.

Image of Egyptian crowd by Paul Vinten from Shutterstock 

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