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“The environment is something everyone should be concerned about as climate change, water scarcity and pollution are issues that do not discriminate based on faith.” That’s Muaz Nasir’s response to what he likes to call constructive criticism that the Muslim Ummah focus its energies on ‘bigger issues’ rather than climate change.

Personally, I can’t imagine a ‘bigger issue’ then the future of our planet but I completely accept that this realisation hasn’t quite reached the wider Muslim community. Ground-breaking policies such as the Muslim Seven Year Action Plan on Climate Change were impressive but as Nasir points out, but they failed to “develop the necessary research or resources that would push the climate agenda into the mainstream Muslim community.”

As such, any progress has been slow and the product of hard working individual campaigners rather than national policies. Read on for more about the Muslim-environmental movement in Canada, Nasir’s green Muslim website Khaleafa.com and how he is getting mosques to ‘Ban the Bottle’ among other green ideas he is working to implement in the Muslim community – ideas which can spread around the world.

Here’s a snippet of the interview – to read the full thing go to GreenProphet.com

What do you think are the barriers holding the Muslim community from fully engaging with the climate change agenda?

I think there is a general lack of awareness of the severity of climate change as well as what actions individuals can do to decrease their carbon footprint. The issue is just not on the radar of many Islamic institutions here in North America as it is in Europe. The Muslim community in Canada is fairly young, so there are understandably competing priorities, such as establishing their families and integrating into the broader society; which often takes precedence over the climate change agenda. This is beginning to change as weather patterns shift and the trends in the climate become more visible.

What have been the responses to Khaleafa.com – have you had to face any negative reactions or had to deal with climate sceptics?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive for the most part. I try to keep my articles as neutral as possible, and encourage contributors to base their arguments on facts and to justify their opinions with reference to the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah…

There has been some negative feedback as well, mainly in the form of constructive criticism but also from individuals who feel that Muslims should be investing their resources to deal with bigger issues facing the Ummah. While I understand the direction they are coming from, my response has been that the environment is something everyone should be concerned about as climate change, water scarcity and pollution are issues that do not discriminate based on faith. We all have a collective obligation to ensure that we leave the planet in better condition for future generations and that we do not waste the resources Allah has blessed upon us.

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From Ma’amoul to Couscous, why not try a new vegetarian dish from the Middle East and North Africa region this Ramadan?

There are some dishes that evoke such strong memories of a festive occasion, that eating them any other time of the year feels wrong. For me, Qatayf (mini nut pancakes) and Mamoul (date cookies) are two things I only ever eat during Ramadan and so just seeing them gets me in the Ramadan spirit. Another great thing about these two succulent sweet pastries is that they are vegetarian and with enough sugar and calories to give you a post-fast energy boost. Indeed there is an amazing array of special Ramadan dishes from around the Muslim world that are suitable for vegetarians. In an effort toencourage more Muslims (and non-Muslims!) to reduce their meat intake during this holy month, I have collated a list of delectable dishes and pastries that would make the perfect Vegetarian iftar.

After a long day of fasting, the last thing I want to eat is heavy, greasy food. It’s too demanding for your stomach and means you end up feeling very uncomfortable and lethargic. Vegetarian food is the answer. As long as you go easy on the pastries and sweets, vegetarian dishes tend to be fresher, healthier and lighter on the stomach. 

I think soups are an absolute must during Ramadan. After a long day of fasting, nothing helps ease your thirst and hunger like a bowl of hot soup. I was lucky enough to try some tasty Moroccan Harira Soup when I was in Tangiers and I highly recommend it. It’s a lovely mix of lentils, chickpeas and vermicelli which is a particular Ramadan favourite.  You could also try our Moroccan wheat soup recipe here which promises a hearty and warming bowl of goodness.

Salads are another must have and you can’t wrong with Tabbouleh and Fattoush. Check out this recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad for a modern twist on the traditional Tabbouleh by our resident cook Miriam Kresh.

You could also give Fattoush a try – made from leftover pitta bread, tomato, cucumber, mint and lots of other things you should have lying about in your kitchen, it makes a lovely starter. Here’s a great recipe for the traditional Lebanese dish and you could also throw in some avocado to give it a bit more weight.

For main dishes, give couscous a whirl this Ramadan with our very own lemon-scented vegetarian couscous. We even have a special vegan-friendly couscous recipe that you can try out.

Freekah, an ancient grain makes a lovely, hearty soup but could also be cooked as a main and stuffed in a Kobocha squash as you can see below.

Another great vegetarian dish which is a firm favourite even amongst the non-veggies is Imjadarra/Mujaddara. A very traditional Middle Eastern dish, Imjadarra it is made using either rice or bulgar wheat with green lentils, onions and some basic herbs and spices.

Finally to finish off any meal, something sweet. Arabic sweets in my personal opinion are quite tricky to pull off (but I find all pastries and cakes a conundrum to make…) but this recipe for Baklava looks simply enough.

You could also try to make the traditional Ramadan date cookie called Ma’amoul which would really impress your friends. Or even better, you could make the ultimate half-moon shaped Qatayef for a real taste of Ramadan.

: This article was inspired by a post on My Conscious Eating.

::Originally published at GreenProphet.com

I speak to award-winning architect Salma Samar Damluji about her mud architecture work in Yemen and why Dubai’s property development mentality is ruining the Middle East

The Middle East may be a fascinating place politically but architecturally, it’s on its last legs. Years of corruption and poor governance mean it’s slowly becoming one of the ugliest places on earth. You just need look at at the sprawling mess of glass and metal in Dubai to realise that something has gone awry. Salma Samar Damluji, an Iraqi architect of 30 years says that greed and corruption is behind the fall of architecture and insists that this money rush is destroying the region’s architectural heritage one building at a time.

And no-one knows this more than Damluji. She has fought what she calls architectural recolonisation in Egypt alongside Hassan Fathy who championed mud architecture practiced by the falaheen (rural peasants) in the 197os. And she’s also worked in Yemen restoring and renovating eco-friendly mud buildings in Yemen’s Wadi Hadramout where ancient building can disappear over night.

“In Europe, countries have been able to preserve their own culture, architecture and urban heritage but the rest of the Arab world hasn’t done that,” explains Damluji. “So as a result they have no architectural heritage left – everybody is imitating Dubai which is a complete disaster. Unfortunately you see the result of it now all across the Arab region.”

One country that Damluji believes has been able to hold back the mass commercialisation of architecture is Yemen. “When I first went in 1981, there was a kingdom of architecture and there was a huge rich resource of architectural heritage. Yemen, I felt, was the last place in the Arab world that had this incredible civilisation and urban heritage that had been going on for hundreds of years. They were so developed that they were creating these amazing palaces out of mud – very modern too. I felt that there was a cause there and I felt I had to take on that cause.”

She has been visiting Yemen ever since and from 2005, the Daw‘an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation has supported her work to restore buildings in Wadi Hadramout. Another important institution has been the Cultural Emergency Response (CER) of the The Prince Claus Fund in Netherlands, which funded restoration projects in ‘Aynat and Sah following a destructive flood in the region in 2008.

Damluji’s effort to protect and preserve the mud architecture of Yemen, however, hasn’t been easy. Civil war, political in-fighting and badly mismanaged resources mean she’s had to rely on outside support to carry out any restoration and she also has to take on other projects just to make a living. And it isn’t getting any easier.

“It’s harder now than it used to be to work in Yemen as a woman because there are more people in Hadramout who are more… I wouldn’t say fundamentalist. There is a worse level of education and people are taking the girls out of school at the age of 12 to get them married and people rely on money that comes from relatives living in Saudi and the Gulf.”

“So, things are difficult but there is still an architectural scene for me to engage in and there are all these builders who I adore but the people don’t like dealing with a woman… They think that to become good Muslims they need to do what the Saudi’s do and not talk to women. I think they’ve got the wrong end of the stick.”

Damluji’s hard work maybe challenging but it is being recognised – she was recently named one of the five winners of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. The one thing she wants the award to do, however, is bring more attention to the need for architectural restoration in Yemen. She says she is going to be bringing out her begging bowl and say ‘yalla, where’s the money’. “The Yemeni residents give me such a rough time but I think that maybe years down the line people will appreciate the architecture and heritage that I helped preserve.”

Two mosques in London have taken up beekeeping – and there are plans to encourage more to join the quest to protect dwindling bee populations

When Kingston mosque in London introduced between 10,000 and 15,000 bees onto its premises last summer, the congregation was naturally quite concerned. Would it be safe? Would bee swarms gather at the mosque? Would it be dangerous for children? However, once local beekeeper Munir Ravalia explained that the beehive wouldn’t be a health and safety risk up on the roof, they were pretty eager to find out more. “Once we dealt with worries about safety, lots of people were just curious about how it would all work and when they would be able to get some honey!” explains Munir Ravalia.

A dentist and a committee member at the Kingston Mosque in the UK, Munir states that dwindling bee populations and the medicinal properties of honey pushed him to convince the mosque to host a beehive. “The issue of bee collapse is something we all need to look at, not just as Muslims but as mankind”, he explains. “I really hope that the work we do is changing perceptions of Muslims from some of the negative stuff you see in the media. I want this bee mosque project to show that Muslim care about the wider community and the environment.”

In London, there are lots of urban hives but there are very few in community spaces and there were none on mosques until a year ago. Munir explains that he wanted to change that and also the perceptions of Mosques as place where people just go and pray. “During the time of the prophet, the mosque was like a community centre – it provided everything. I want mosques to become centres of learning for Muslims about all types of issues affecting our lives including the environment and supporting the bee population.”

Working with Aseem Sheikh, Munir who was trained by the UK’s Co-op Urban Beekeeping project is now the mosque’s resident beekeeper. He says that in the summertime, he checks the beehive once a week to make sure they don’t have any diseases and in the winter, when the bees are mostly in hibernation, he monitors them less regularly. The British rain also means that the bees tend to stay in the hives so it’s just a case of keeping them fed and healthy. “We are proof that this project works and that it can help,” adds Munir. “I guess what we want to do next is encourage more mosques to get beehives. In fact we are hoping to roll out a programme in 2013.”

Through their www.mosquebees.com site, they are hoping to provide information and support to Muslims thinking about introducing a beehive at their mosque. Munir explains that whilst it’s an amazing experience working with bees, you do need to be prepared and well trained to look after yourself and the bees. For example, East London Mosque introduced 40,000 new bees on their roof in 2011 through the hard work of local beekeeper Khalil Attan.

Munir also hopes to educate Muslims about the medicinal properties of honey – a substance lauded in the Qur’an for its healing abilities.“I am a great believer in honey as a Sunnah medicine. In fact, both honey and bees have really important uses for us all and there is even research to show that using the sting of the bee through venom therapy has real benefits too.”

In the Qur’an it reads: “And they Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in (men’s) habitations; then to eat all the produce (of the earth), and find with skills the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.” – 16:68-69.

As an outreach tool, there is no doubt that the beehive has been pivotal. It has stimulated conversation amongst Muslims and their neighbours and helped highlight the vital role bees play in pollination and the food we eat. It would be great to see more Muslim communities take on environmental actions that not only benefit the planet but also the health of their neighbourhoods .

:: This article was originally posted at GreenProphet.com 

:Top image via Don Rankins/flickr. Second photo is of Munir Ravalia and Aseem Sheikh next to the mosque’s beehive.

Need some ideas to help inspire Muslims on environmental issues? Here are my ten top tips…

As much as I’d like to tell you that there is an easy and foolproof way to capture the imagination of every Muslim when talking about the environment, the reality isn’t so simple. Sadly, there’s no magic formula to dazzle every Muslim into going green or at least I haven’t found it yet! Fear not though, intrepid blogger, because there is something you can do to improve your chances of firstly tapping into a Muslim readership and secondly, encouraging them to green their way of life.

1.  Do Your Research- Whilst no one expects you to be an expert in Islamic jurisprudence, a basic understanding of Islam and Muslim culture will help you when you are blogging. Doing your research about the topic you’re discussing and referring to Green Islamic principles will show the reader that you’re serious about green Muslims and consequently they’ll take your work seriously.

2.  Do Keep Things Varied- From news, reviews and interviews keep things interesting with a diverse range of blogs that reflect the diversity of the Muslim readership. Remember to appeal to them on lots of diverse topics- whilst faith shapes many Muslim lives, they still have interests and passions so if you can appeal to them in these areas you will have a better chance of success.

3.  Do Celebrate Green Successes- Highlighting the existing work of Green Muslims is an important aspect of blogging for a Muslim audience as it will appeal to them directly and also show them that there is a well established link between environmentalism and Islam. This will also help you build networks with the leading green Muslims. Just remember to ask them to keep you updated with exciting goings on and other Green Muslims worth talking to!

4.  Do Use Social Media Networks – Sites such as Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook are vital for keeping ahead of the news, getting in touch with people and even getting pictures to use on the your blogposts. As evidenced by the recent Arab revolutions that made the most of the social media networks, the Muslim world really is online- so make sure you’re signed up and are kept updated.

5.  Do Ask For Advice- If all else fails, just ask. We all learn through each other, so if after scouring the Internet you’re still not sure about a topic or issue then it may be worth dropping someone an email. The online Muslim community is pretty friendly and there are lots of people out there willing to help or at least try and help you.

6.  Don’t Rely On Islamic Verses Alone- The green roots of Islam should be a starting point onto other aspects of the environmental movement and ways to green the Muslim way of life. If you are just going to repeat the reasons Muslims should be environmentally friendly according to the Qur’an and hadith over and over again, it’s going to get very boring and repetitive very quickly. Trust me.

7.   Don’t Be Rude! - No, I am not talking about sex and swearing (Muslims are just open to these are the average person!) but certain topics which Muslims will be more sensitive about. Whether you’re reporting on topics such as the pilgrimage of Hajj or poisoned holy water, remember to apply a little bit sensitivity and care.

8.   Don’t Be Afraid To Tackle Controversial Topics- Debate and discussion are at the heart of every blog so embrace controversial topics and remember that nothing is off-limits if it is done with care and is backed with research. There will inevitable be some topics that must be approached with care when blogging for Muslims but that doesn’t mean that they should be ignored altogether.

9.  Don’t Preach- Avoid the temptation of seeing blogging for Muslims as an opportunity to teach them about being green and instruct them how to live their lives. This is a two-way street and there is probably a lot you can learn about being green from Muslims themselves. Listen out for their feedback and comments (you’ll be surprised how well informed some of your readers may already be) as these will also help you judge what blogs and topics attracted their attention and which ones don’t.

10.  Don’t Forget To Have Fun! After all these do’s and don’ts I just want to remind you the blogger to have a little fun with it all, add your own personality and flair to your blogs and stay positive. Engaging with Muslim audience will put you on a steep learning curve which is as fun as it is hard work- you can expect a lot feedback and encouragement, so good luck!

:: First Published at Green Prophet.

:: Image via Mrehan/Flickr.

First of all, I totally agree with Warsi’s concerns about separating Muslims along the extremists (ie. effectively less ‘assimilated’ Muslim) and the moderates (ie. Muslims who don’t make white people uncomfortable) lines. I totally agree because the separation is unfair, arbitrary and totally misguided. A more ‘Muslim’ Muslim isn’t a more ‘extremist’ one- not at all. I think a focus on this issue could have been really useful as it would be a way to tackle those hidden stereotypes people have about what an ‘extremist Muslim’ actually looks like and believes in. However, Warsi seems to have decided to go down a less considered approach for very broad and useless statements which I think are problematic for the following reasons:

1. How it’s helpful to make these sweeping and unsupported statements about rising Islamophobia? Isn’t the root of Islamophobia that very same thing- sweeping and unsupported statements? Maybe it’s just me but I reckon that society is a lot more complex than Warsi is letting on and maybe there isn’t some countrywide conspiracy to talk Islam down at the dinner table… Clearly, anti-Islam sentiment does exist in the UK just as homophobia, racism, sexism and other prejudice does but they don’t exist totally unrelated from each other or in a vacuum- again I don’t see how it’s useful to talk about the issue in such broad terms.

2. What exactly are her statements based on? [If personal experience than that's worrying because as a Tory peer I reckon she probably mixes with a very difference crowd of people than your average Muslim.] I know this sounds a little pedantic but I don’t see how she can judge that UK citizens find Islamophobia acceptable just like people can’t look into the minds of every Muslim and judge whether they are moderates and extremists… well unless they reckon they can make that judgement based on appearances but let’s not open that can of worms. Also, last summer I did some research about the representation of Muslim women in women’s magazines which challenged my own assumptions about Islamophobia so I’m a little hesitant to make generalisation based on my own personal experiences or the statements of other Muslims (as Muslims we do have more authority to speak about the Muslim experience but we have to take our experiences with a pinch of salt and some consideration…

3. I  think that her statements, contrary to her aims of genuinely opening up the debate, is just gonna make everyone so defensive about proving that they’re not anti-Islam that it’s going to make the debate less transparent, honest and more superficial. I really don’t see what positive and productive things could come from her statements (other than temporary fame and a raised profile for her, of course..)

Thoughts?

(Image via Newton Graffiti on flickr.)