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.” Continue reading
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