Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, who served as the kingdom’s top religious cleric for over 25 years, has died in Riyadh. He was 84. Funeral prayers were attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. The funeral was held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

As grand mufti since 1999, Sheikh Abdulaziz held one of the most influential religious roles in the Sunni Muslim world. Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the annual Hajj pilgrimage, has long tied state legitimacy to clerical authority under its strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Sheikh Abdulaziz’s role as grand mufti put him in the spotlight because of every Muslim’s goal of attending the annual Hajj pilgrimage required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their lives. The grand mufti’s words are carefully followed. (Related: take these steps and jump into the Green Prophet guide for a greener Hajj).

Blind from a young age, Sheikh Abdulaziz was appointed grand mufti by the House of Saud’s King Fahd. Fahd was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005.

Sheikh Abdulaziz’s rulings reflected decades of Islamic ultraconservative thought, once condemning mobile phone cameras as a threat to morality and he compared chess to gambling. (This year the Taliban banned chess). He opposed women driving and described gender mixing as “evil and catastrophe” before later softening his stance as the state changed course. Saudi Arabia decided to let women drive in 2018.

At times, his comments provoked international backlash. In 2015, he reportedly told Kuwaiti officials it was “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region” in the Arabia peninsula— remarks his aides later attempted to downplay. He also issued sectarian statements against Shiite Muslims, particularly following Iran’s criticism of Saudi Arabia after the deadly 2015 Hajj stampede.

Luckily for the western world, and peaceful prospects in the region through the Abraham Accords, he condemned al-Qaida and the so-called Islamic State, calling them “enemy No. 1 of Islam.” After 9/11, when Saudi Arabia battled an al-Qaida insurgency within its own borders, he rejected militant jihad as “fake.” We should not forget that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

From Wahhabism to Vision 2030

Sheikh Abdulaziz’s career spanned a period of dramatic transformation under the House of Saud, a grand kingdom that rose from rules in mud castles. Once aligned tightly with the religious establishment, the monarchy gradually moved to curtail clerical power — especially under Saudi Arabia’s young visionary Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In 2018,  under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia ended the ban on women driving — a watershed reform that the grand mufti eventually supported.

The University of Novarra’s Naomi Moreno, pens a piece on Saudi reform saying it might be being more for optics than for real change within: “While some perceive the crown prince’s actions to be a genuine move towards reforming Saudi society, several indicators point to the possibility that MBS might have more practical reasons that are only tangentially related to progression for progression’s sake. As the thinking goes, such decrees may have less to do with genuine reform, and more to do with improving an international image to deflect from some of the kingdom’s more controversial practices, both at home and abroad. A number of factors drive this public scepticism.”

Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision 2030” supervised by Sheikh Abdulaziz has also pushed massive economic liberalization, from Saudi Aramco’s controversial IPO to the multibillion-dollar mega-city NEOM. While any PR material put out by Saudi Arabia’s development companies, owned and operated by the House of Saud, tout sustainability objectives, no third party organizations or journalists can verify any claims.

Eco Branding or Environmental Boondoggle?

The grand mufti’s declining influence coincided with Saudi Arabia rebranding itself as a global hub for tourism and sustainability, no doubt advised to them by well-paid consultants and architects eager for multi-million, even billion dollar contracts. Ultra-luxury resorts are being marketed as eco-destinations across the Red Sea and virgin islands, even as construction threatens pristine habitats. See Shebara.

From coral reefs to fragile desert ecosystems, critics argue that these projects risk becoming environmental boondoggles — glossy green branding masking ecological disruption. The dynamic mirrors other regional tragedies, such as the controversial Qatari-backed resort development on Assomption Island near the Aldabra Atoll.

“Sheikh Abdulaziz served the faith and the nation with dedication,” the Saudi Royal Court said in its obituary statement. Yet his legacy remains contested: a staunch defender of Wahhabi orthodoxy who presided over a society that — under royal command — shifted toward liberalization, consumerism, and grand “eco” visions for the future.

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its transformation, the passing of its top cleric who memorized the Qu’ran at age 10 underscores the changing face of religious authority and perhaps tolerance in a kingdom increasingly defined by megaprojects, oil wealth, and the House of Saud’s push to rebrand itself for a post-oil world.

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At the very center of the Islamic world stands a cube. Modest in shape yet immense in meaning, the Kaaba anchors the faith of over a billion Muslims, who turn toward it five times a day in prayer. Located within the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, this black-clad structure is the direction of prayer, the spiritual axis of Islam, and the focal point of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Yet despite its global significance, the Kaaba remains one of the most mysterious buildings on Earth. Few have seen inside it, and fewer still know what lies beyond its heavy door.

The interior of the Kaaba is striking in its simplicity. Step inside, and you enter a quiet, rectangular chamber lined with smooth white marble. Three ancient wooden pillars rise from the floor, holding up a flat wooden ceiling. From this ceiling hang delicate silver and gold lamps, some inscribed with calligraphy from bygone Islamic dynasties. The scent of oud lingers in the air—applied regularly with sacred oils stored in a modest wooden cabinet tucked along one wall.

The floor itself is made of cool, polished marble. There are no decorations, no paintings, no thrones or altars—only space, light, and stillness. The room is empty of ornament but full of spiritual weight.

This is not a place of tourism or spectacle. The Kaaba is closed to the general public. Entry is reserved for rare ceremonial occasions, most notably when it is cleaned twice a year in a ritual carried out with immense care and reverence. This responsibility belongs to a distinguished Meccan family, the Al-Shaibi clan, who have been the traditional caretakers of the Kaaba for generations—since the time of the Prophet Muhammad himself.

It is a hereditary role, passed down with deep honor. During the cleaning, the interior is washed with Zamzam water and rosewater, wiped down with white cloths, and anointed with perfumes. Only a small group of religious leaders, heads of state, or invited dignitaries are present.

The cloth that wraps the Kaaba—the Kiswa—is replaced once a year during Hajj. Woven from silk and embroidered with Quranic verses in gold thread, the Kiswa is produced by a dedicated team of artisans in a specialized factory in Mecca. It is raised slightly each year to prevent wear from the crowds of pilgrims, then lowered again after Hajj concludes.

While the Kaaba we see today has undergone many reconstructions, its spiritual essence remains unchanged. Tradition holds that it was originally built by Abraham and his son Ishmael as a house of monotheistic worship. Over the centuries, it has been rebuilt several times due to floods, fires, and the passage of time. The current structure dates largely to a 17th-century reconstruction, with its foundations going back even further.

No appointment needed to kiss the stone

Just outside the eastern corner of the Kaaba lies the Black Stone, a revered object kissed or touched by pilgrims performing the circumambulation ritual. But the sanctity of the Kaaba is not contained in any one object or wall. It lies in the unity it creates. Across continents and cultures, from mud mosques in Mali to prayer rooms in Jakarta, millions face the same direction each day, bound together by the unseen geometry of faith.

The Kaaba does not boast grandeur in the way palaces or cathedrals might. Its power is in its restraint. It is a place beyond spectacle, where emptiness becomes presence, and silence becomes prayer.

The post Inside the Kaaba: Islam’s Hidden Heart appeared first on Green Prophet.

They weren’t prepared for 116F or 47C degree heat: about 20 people have died from Jordan and Iran and more are missing amid the ongoing Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Officials to urge worshippers to avoid the blistering heat as climate change take its toll on the region.

Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are encouraged to take at least once in their lifetime to Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. It began on Friday and ends on Wednesday. Hajj means “pilgrimage made to the Kaaba“, a journey that Muslims believe will clean their souls from sins – the same way Jews and Christians would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to the Holy City. But no-one should expect to die on the journey.

Shocking videos of people left on the side of the road to die are circling on Twitter, prompting people to ask why are other pilgrims leaving the bodies alone, and also asking why the Saudi authorities aren’t taking care of the situation by warning people about the dangers of heat stroke and death by extreme climate events.

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to the city of Mecca. It began on Friday this year and will run until Wednesday. Muslims often travel to Medina as well during the pilgrimage.

Temperatures have been high during this pilgrimage in the past years when it fell on summer months. AccuWeather reported a high of 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) in Mecca on Monday, June 17. But AFP reported that the Saudi weather service recorded a reading of 125 degrees F (52 C) at the city’s grand mosque.

The Saudi Health Ministry said that 2,764 pilgrims on Sunday suffered from heat stress.

What can Saudi Arabia do to keep people cool? Start planting trees. Natural shade offered by trees allows the air to circulate, cooling ground temperatures as well. Trees cool our cities by providing shade but also by releasing water vapor from their leaves, which cools the air when it evaporates. Trees can provide up to 10 degrees C less (or 18 F less).

In the meantime, cooling mists, personal umbrellas, staying hydrated. Or, perhaps, postponing the Hajj to the evening time when the sun has set.

Tips to stay cool during Hajj

The post At least 20 Hajj pilgrims dead from shocking 125 degrees F Saudi heat wave (GRAPHIC) appeared first on Green Prophet.

As news of the Covid-19 virus broke this year one of the first dramatic headlines was that hajj was cancelled. Hajj, an annual and often just once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage Muslims make to Mecca in Saudi Arabia was cancelled over fears of coronavirus spread.

Hajj has fielded viruses before but was not immune to the MERS virus and the H1N1 avian flu, that most of us believed would spare us. This year was the first time in 90 years that hajj was effectively cancelled to foreign pilgrims. Normally 2.5 million people come every year.

But now the Saudi Arabian government, which has faced one of the most devastating impacts of Covid-19 in the Middle East, with more than 250,000 infections and nearly 3,000 deaths, has renewed its support for the life-defining pilgrimage by allowing people from 160 different nationalities already residing in Saudi Arabia, to complete the journey, safely and with social distancing measures in mind, reports the New York Times.

“The hajj is one of Islam’s most important and profound requirements, performed once in a lifetime. It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.

“The hajj, both physically and spiritually demanding, is intended to bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims. But rather than standing and praying shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of people from different walks of life, pilgrims this year are social distancing — standing apart and moving in small groups of 20 to limit exposure and the potential transmission of the coronavirus.”

The Saudi Government, which is not an elected government but overseen by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, will welcome pilgrims to hajj which starts today Wednesday July 29. They will already let up to 10,000 people already living in the kingdom for the pilgrimage to complete the mission, and will provide for them meals, hotels, transportation and healthcare.

No kissing the kaaba!

Al Jazeera gives an update on how those already in Saudi Arabia will be permitted to perform hajj. Here is an excerpt:

Pilgrims will be tested for the new coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Mecca and will be required to quarantine at home after the ritual. Wearing face masks at all times will be mandatory for pilgrims and organisers.

Touching or kissing the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, will be banned during Hajj this year, and a physical distancing space of 1.5 metres (five feet) between each pilgrim during the rituals – including mass prayers and while in the Kaaba circling area – will be imposed, according to a statement by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

Congregational prayers are permitted, but worshippers are required to wear face masks and to maintain physical distancing. Also, access to holy sites at Mina, Muzdalifah, and Mount Arafat will be limited to those with Hajj permits until August 2.

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The Ebola virus, already said to be virtually out of control in west Africa, may also be threatening Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East.

The virus, which still has no known cure, has so far resulted in more than 3,300 confirmed deaths in the three West Africa countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leon.

RELATED: Hajj selfies are not holy

Saudi Health officials fear it could spread far and wide if infected Muslim pilgrims attend the 2014 Hajj pilgrimage that began last week on Wednesday, October 1 and is due to continue tomorrow, October 7.

Saudi health officials are doing their utmost to make sure that the deadly virus is not “imported” into Saudi Arabia either avertly or inadvertently.

Is Ebola keeping Hajj pilgrims home?

This years’ pilgrimage to Meccah expected around 2 million pilgrims; which is a lower amount from previous years.

This decrease is due to the military conflicts in Iraq and Syria bringing fears of terrorism; and of course, the Ebola virus outbreak.

Besides banning visas from the previously mentioned West African countries, Saudi government officials have upgraded health measures to protect pilgrims, including intense screening of arrivals.

Mobilization of 22,000 health workers and extra health care centers have been established in major cities like Riyadh and Jeddah; and in the locations of the Hajj itself.

Extra precautions are being taken in neighboring African countries to the primary “Ebola Zone” ones; particularly in Nigeria where a number of persons became ill when an infected Liberian citizen arrived in Lagos from Liberia and later died from the disease.

Nigerians in the Hajj mix

More than 66,000 pilgrims from Nigeria were expected to be attending this year’s Hajj.

Rana Sidani, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), said in an interview with London based International Business Times that although there is some concern, the over all possibility of an Ebola outbreak occurring as a result of the Hajj is relatively low:

“As millions travel to join the Hajj, we are not discounting the possibility that Ebola can be introduced to the region through the pilgrimage,” she said. WHO is not taking any chances however. Its director Margaret Chan, stated  that the deadly virus is “beyond control” in West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leon.

On top of all this, a Saudi businessman who had returned from West Africa in early September was hopitalized with symptoms similar to Ebola.

Previous Hajj pilgrimages have been overshadowed with fears other serious contagious diseases. These include H1N1 influenza or “swine flu” during the 2009 Hajj. A more recent disease called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS caused fears during the 2013 pilgrimage.

Specially equipped health care centers have been set up in the Kingdom to deal with any suspected illness that might be caused by the Ebola virus. Signs in numerous  languages are encouraging Hajj participants to report any suspected cases of Ebola-like symptoms immediately to health care authorities.

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The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca known as Hajj has officially begun. Just search #hajj or #hajj2014 and you’ll see proof on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook in the form of posted updates and photos.

Pilgrims themselves have been contributing to this broadcasting, sometimes with selfies (see here for some good ones and ones featured here), yet many Islamic scholars and clerics are not too happy about it.

Condemning such behavior as “touristy” and calling it “humble-bragging,” they claim that it is muddying understanding of the Hajj and the experience thereof.

Related: How to prepare for a healthy hajj pilgrimage

For an event that is based upon sincerity – to oneself and to one’s God – uploading photos to personal profile pages online and coming up with a dozen hashtags with which to label each of them do not quite seem right.

One sheikh reported to have seen pilgrims raise their hands in a posture of supplication when they are ready for the picture-taking, and dropping their hands immediately after. Just as people often pretend to be a certain way on social media, are pilgrims pretending to be devout when they take these selfies?

The Hajj is a time for meditation and concentration, with the goal in heart and mind to become closer to God. If pilgrims know that Allah seeks their concentrated worship for the week’s duration, then why are they inclined to share their time with another power that we like to call the Web?

Indeed, it is easy to get “caught up” in activities on the web. It seems unlikely that one can really live “in the moment” when the urge to document and upload selfie media is present. I myself have this problem constantly when I’m traveling. (Do I find my camera and take this breathtaking picture of the sunset now, or do I not? Should I just hold still and enjoy it?) Taking a selfie photo or video cannot freeze time, but it can interrupt it.

I am guessing that the majority of the selfies are taken with smartphones, which itself I think presents a problem. You have probably heard someone you know talk about feeling “lost” without his or her phone.

Technology like social media represents connection with the outside world, whereas spirituality requires deeper internal reflection. During the Hajj, pilgrims can “find” a feeling of security and of being at home in the grace and goodness of God alone.

Until just a few years ago, camera phones were not allowed inside the holy mosques at Mecca during the Hajj, although of course they were sneaked in by some pilgrims. Security is said to have since become more lax with the restriction. Hence, the selfie posts have multiplied.

As a non-Muslim, I have not made the pilgrimage to Mecca, so I have no Hajj photography history to speak of. However, imagining myself now as a pilgrim, I would probably want to take pictures, some with myself included in the frame, to preserve the beauty and significance of the event for my memory and, yes, perhaps to share with family and friends. Remember, for many Muslims, the journey is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Furthermore, snapping a pic can take mere seconds, especially if uploading to social media sites, with all the bells and whistles of captioning and hashtagging, does not occur. People have different concentration levels; a pilgrim may be completely justified in taking a photo if it is at a time when it will not disrupt his prayer and it seems that he will not be distracting others.

Additionally, some pilgrims who are in favor of taking Hajj selfies have raised the point that sharing those photos and videos on social media expresses Islam in a positive light. Instead of sending a message of terror or extremism in the context of Islam, pilgrimage photos can portray the peace and serenity that the age-old religious tradition – and pillar of faith – represents. In such a photo, non-Muslims may see a foreign land but their Muslim friend’s familiar face at the forefront, making the Hajj and Islam overall more relatable.

So, what do you think? Is taking selfies during the Hajj perfectly acceptable, as it can be chalked up to “a sign of the times,” or do you agree with the critics who call it deplorable? Maybe it depends on the circumstances. Feel free to share your thoughts below!

Image #4 above is most retweeted selfie photo from Hajj 2014 on Twitter

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As if the Middle East hasn’t already had problems with serious infectous diseases, such as Mid East Respiritory Syndrome (MERS),   an even more deadly virus, Ebola, may now be on its way there as well. Ebola is one of the world’s worst virus scourges and is now on the verge of becoming an international pandemic, according to World Health Organization (WHO) officials.

The virus, which originated in West Africa and has a 64% death rate, could be spreading from the three African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leon where it has until now been “confined” to.

According to a July 27 WHO Ebola virus update a total of 1,201 cases of Ebola have been reported in these countries, resulting  in 672 deaths. The death count is now believed to have surpassed 700, according to reports issued Friday, August 1.

The disease has already killed  Sierra Leone’s top Ebola treatment doctor, Shiek Umar Kahn.  Two Americans, involved in treating Ebola patients, also became ill. The two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and an unidentified humanitarian aid worker, are to be flown in a special flight to Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital in the USA; where they will be placed in a sealed high security isolation ward.

The possibility of an international Ebola pandemic became even more likely when a Liberian American man, Patrick Sawyer, became ill while on a flight from Liberia to Lagos, Nigeria, where he had been scheduled to attend  a conference. There were 59 passengers and crew members on this flight, all of whom may have been infected by Mr. Sawyer. They are now in the process of being located in order to be  tested for the disease. This process has been made very complicated by the fact these people may themselves have infected hundreds or thousands more in airports and elsewhere.

The Ebola virus (photo eloquent in its structure) and which has no known cure,  is said to be very contagious and is easily transmitted from person to person, via the infected person’s blood or body fluids.

The incubation period of Ebola virus takes about 6 to 8 days before symptoms began to appear. Early symptions include fever, severe headaches, joint and muscle aches, chills and weakness. As the disease progresses, more serious symptoms occur, including nausea and vomiting, diarrhea (often with bloody stools), red eyes, raised rash, chest pains and cough, stomach pain and severe weight loss.

Bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, vagina and rectum, as well as Internal bleeding, can also occur.

Beside blood, body fluids that spread the disease include sweat, semen, and stools.

It is not known if some of the passengers on Mr. Sawyer’s flight were from North Africa or the Middle East. The possibility that they were should already be ringing alarm bells in many Middle East countries; especially Saudi Arabia, where the annual Hajj pilgrimage will begin on October 2, 2104. The Hajj draws as many as 3 million Muslim pilgrims from all over the globe; and has in the past been the subject of other infectious diseases, including Swine Flu.

There is a strong possibility that the Ebola virus could very well show up during the 5 day pilgrimage; and as a result be spread to other countries even faster. As one communicable disease researcher stated, regarding the present Ebola outbreak: “We may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

Read more on deadly viruses in the Middle East:

Bats Blamed for Deadly Middle East Respiratory Virus
Deadly Middle East Corona Virus May Come from Camels
Swine Flu Death Toll in the Middle East Region

Photo of Ebola epidemic scare newspaper headlines by VOA/AP:
Photo of Ebola virus , by Reuters/Yahoo News

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As of 4 October, according to the World Health Organization (also known as the WHO), laboratories in the region had confirmed 136 cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), including 58 deaths since April 2012.

Most cases and deaths have been in Saudi Arabia, where two million Muslims are expected to converge in mid-October for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Madinah.

The virus is seen as a cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which swept through Asia in 2002-3, killing over 700 people.

MERS-CoV can cause breathing difficulties, diarrhoea, kidney failure, and in extreme cases, death.

Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Abdullah Al Rabia says his country is ready for an outbreak, but stressed that he was confident there would be no problem, given there were no recorded cases during either July’s Umrah pilgrimage or last year’s Hajj.

The country, which has had 120 cases and 49 deaths since September 2012, has assigned two laboratories for MERS-CoV-specific testing. It will also use existing health surveillance points at borders (set up to ensure pilgrims are vaccinated against Meningococcal Meningitis and Yellow Fever) to be on the look-out for cases.

Health authorities around the Middle East, many of whom already send large health support teams to the Hajj, will also be raising awareness of the virus among pilgrims, with a focus on reminding people what they should do if they return from Saudi Arabia and feel unwell.

The risks of MERS-CoV transmission were discussed at length during a week-long meeting of the International Mass Gathering Medicine Conference held last month in Saudi Arabia, home to the Global Center for Mass Gathering Medicine run by the Saudi government.

Over 1,000 health officials from WHO, the US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various governments from around the world attended the event, which focused on MERS-CoV.

One of the difficulties with the virus is that the early symptoms can be easily confused with the common cold. Unless doctors are specifically screening for the virus, it can be hard to pick up.

Another challenge is that despite more than one year of research, scientists remain unsure about the source of the virus and how it is transmitted.

“Until we have a definitive source of infection, it is hard to give targeted advice,” explained Richard Brown, a medical doctor and regional adviser for communicable disease surveillance and epidemiology for WHO’s South East Asia Regional Office.

Brown, who is also focal point for WHO’s International Health Regulations, told IRIN: “There is an assumption that the source is animals, and we have seen some very interesting studies about bats and camels, but if they are a possible source of infection, we don’t really know how it’s getting from those animals to humans, or whether perhaps even these animals are being infected from yet another, undiscovered source.”

He added: “People need to be careful in a very generic way, such as ensuring good hand hygiene. We would normally tell people to avoid very crowded situations, but obviously in this case, with the Hajj, that is unrealistic.”

Anthony Mounts, a medical doctor and technical lead for the MERS-CoV response with WHO in Geneva, stressed the importance of global awareness about MERS-CoV, not just among countries in the Middle East, or those sending pilgrims to the Hajj.

“The Hajj could possibly be an issue, but actually there are pilgrims that go to sites in Saudi Arabia all through the year. When you look back at our data, we have not seen cases emanating from these people,” he explained.

Global threat?

“However”, he added, “the concern extends beyond the countries in the immediate region. If you look at the way people travel in the region, in particular the workforce, they come from a lot of poor countries, from places like Pakistan, India and the Philippines, all of which are places which don’t perhaps have the best infrastructure to respond to a virus or even to detect it.”

Experts find some comfort in two things: the pace of the disease has not accelerated, nor has the disease mutated.

“Although we have seen human to human transmissions occur in healthcare facilities, between patients, from patients to doctors, among healthcare staff and close family members, we haven’t yet seen that third or fourth level of community transmission,” Mounts said, meaning when the disease is spread more randomly among strangers.

“There have been quite a lot of investigations looking for this [community transmission], they just haven’t found it yet. What’s more, the clusters that we have seen seem to extinguish themselves with relatively modest interventions, which was not the case with SARS.”

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Energy-harvesting tiles placed along an 80 foot section of the Champs Elysee will capture energy from the pounding feet of 40,000 racers.  The technology developed by Pavegen offers a tangible way for people to engage with renewable energy generation. The flexible tiles made from recycled truck tires convert kinetic energy from foot traffic into useable, off-grid electricity.  The tiles’ top surface is made from 100% recycled rubber and the base is constructed from over 80% recycled materials. The system is versatile: use it for new developments or retrofit existing flooring systems.

During Hajj, perhaps the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, mobs of Muslims walk counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped building at the heart of the Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām.  Imagine the juice those tiles could collect if installed around the plaza? In addition, pilgrims run repeatedly between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah. That makes for gargantuan power potential.

Pavegen Systems Ltd., the U.K. tile maker, says the technology is waterproof, designed to be used in harsh outdoor locations, and best suited to high-footfall urban environments.

The inventors estimate that each footstep generates up to 8 watts of kinetic energy, enough to power a light bulb for about five days.  Harvested energy can be stored in an on-board battery or used immediately to power applications such as pedestrian lighting, way-finding solutions and advertising.

Aaron Davis, Pavegen’s chief marketing officer, said race sponsor Schneider Electric SA (SU) aims to eventually make the Paris Marathon an event that generates more energy than it consumes, and foresees the tiles cutting carbon emissions and boosting energy efficiency in cities around the world.

“Imagine if your walk to work could help to power the lights for your journey home in the evening,” Pavegen Chief Executive Officer Laurence Kemball-Cook said in a press release. It’s “a viable new type of off-grid energy technology that people love to use and which can make a low-carbon contribution wherever there is high footfall, regardless of the weather.”

A spokesman for Pavegen declined to say how much the tiles cost, but Pavegen aims to get costs down to about $76 per tile, equivalent to other high-specification flooring products.

Images from Pavegen

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Gidon Bromberg is one of the usual suspects who is not overlooked in our books.

Last year we recognized his colleague Munqeth from Jordan, but the big credit goes to this Israeli man for founding, directing and running the world’s most peace-oriented green roots organization, Friends of the Earth Middle East.

Connecting people through shared water resources, the group which works between offices in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan is number one in our books for green diplomacy. Keep up the great work Gidon!

Tristan Reid. Sometimes it takes a few outsiders to inspire the insiders. To push some boundaries and show locals what can be done. The following three prophets have done just that: Tattooed ecologist Tristan Reid is not from the Middle East, but he uses his “body” in all sense of the word to fight for the environment.

His upper body is covered with endangered Middle East birds tattoos, and he was recently in Israel learning about the ecology there before heading over to Turkey to hike as protest to the country’s intent on building a series of damaging dams.

With Turkey bridging the east and the west, and with a pristine nature worth fighting for, we laud Reid for his ability to use his activist spirit for the good green cause.

Easkey Britton. When Ireland’s Easkey Britton walked into the sea in southern Iran with a surfboard in hand, curiosity brought out not only the locals but the police.

Luckily for her and Marion Poizeau, the filmmaker who was documenting her journey, the police only wanted to alert them to the rocks on the beach and make sure they were okay.

Assured of their skills and safety, Britton was then allowed to do what she does best and subsequently became the first woman to surf in Iran.

On record.

Solar Mama Rafea from Jordan is an inspiring young woman who travelled to India to learn how to become a solar engineer.

She is still struggling to install a solar power farm in her village in Jordan. Many of the Bedouin communities in Jordan which previously lived off their herds, are now highly dependent on government handouts.

They usually make up the poorest sector of society and have a very low standard of living. As such the government sees this solar project as a strategic way to encourage these poor villages to generate their own energy and also become more self-sufficient. Rafea is working towards that goal.

Hayrettin Karaca. Turkey is not a country where environmental awareness is terribly high. But one man has done more to solve this problem, as well as the forces that threaten Turkey’s natural habitats, than almost anyone.

The second Turkish environmentalist to win one of the “alternative Nobel prizes”, Hayrettin Karaca devoted his life to nature conservation after witnessing alarmingly unsustainable land development on travels throughout Turkey in the 1970s.

As he faced potential jail time last year for “trespassing” on public land to document deforestation, Karaca’s award has drawn global attention to this remarkable environmentalist. Take notice.

Senad Hadzic has shown the world of Islam that the most sustainable way of making it to Mecca is by doing it by foot. This Bosnian Muslim man fulfilled his Hajj duties this year by walking from Bosnia all the way to Mecca – that’s 3,540 miles!

The heel-toe-express is the most sustainable form of transport. And once upon a time it was the only form of transport that pilgrims could rely on.

A sight for sore eyes would be to see Saudi’s millions-strong faithful walk it to Mecca next year, reducing their flying carbon footprint, and enabling people from this fast-paced world to tread a little lighter on this planet.

Manar Moursi. This gal is the founder of Studio Meem in Cairo. For someone who has graduated from two of the most elite American universities – UVA and Princeton – Manar couldn’t possibly be more humble.

Now, nothing escapes her watchful eye…She recently displayed her sassy Off the Gireed furniture line at the Design is a Verb exhibition at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center and continues to work with local Egyptian artisans to produce unique, sustainable products that also celebrate Egypt’s cultural heritage.

We met Manar at the Ataba market in order to get a sense of how traditional palm fiber crates are used in the street. A bustling, chaotic place that links contemporary and medieval Cairo, Ataba is most famous for its booksellers and open air food market.

Catherine Jaffee. It’s impossible to understate the importance of bees. Like fruit bats – thousands of which were gunned down by unknown assailants in Lebanon not long ago– they are pollinators that ensure human survival. And since they are fond of flowering plants, bees are often found in the world’s most beautiful places.

This is especially true in Turkey, where a group of young nature enthusiasts, led by Catherine Jaffee, are organizing the country’s first honey-tasting tour from Kars.

They are calling the seven day walking trip, Walking the Honey Road, and the unique Balyolu tour introduces visitors to the special tastes and diversity of Turkish honey as well as ancient nomadic travel routes and artisan culture.

Sara el-Sayed and Betty Khoury. Nature has been developing solutions to its own challenges for the last 3.8 billion years, so two women in Egypt have set up an eco-tourism venture that tunes into that infinite wisdom.

Biologists Sara el-Sayed and Betty Khoury decided to start their own business after last year’s revolution made their previous jobs obsolete. Dayma offers guided journeys to many of Egypt’s less-explored locations and last up to 10 days.

But here’s the most interesting aspect of their “everlasting, enduring, or sustainable” tours: instead of trooping with the throng to the same old historical destinations, Dayma focuses on biomimicry – “an alternative manner of development that harmonizes with natural processes.”

Mahmoud Hanafy. Hardly anyone has as much knowledge about the Red Sea marine environment as Prof. Machmoud Hanafy does.

Working for HEPCA in Sinai, the premiere marine preservation NGO in Egypt, natural sea life as we know it (coral, dolphins, sharks, dugong) would not be faring as well in the region were it not for Hanafy and his colleagues who cast a critical eye on environmental injustices in Egypt. And then report them to authorities and the public.

Want to meet some more inspiring people? Here is Green Prophet’s 11 eco-heros for 2011.

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