Think Green Khutbah Campaign, Friday April 20th
No Comments 
Posted under: Consumption, Discussion Themes, Environmental Policy, Resources, Spirituality, Sustainability
Our friends at Khaleafa.com have launched a campaign to commemorate Earth Day on April 22, 2012 and we are joining them. Mark your calendars for April 20th and ask your religious leaders to celebrate Earth Day by reminding us of our role to protect this Earth, a trust given to mankind. We hope this is an opportunity to deepen our role as protectors of the planet.
This year’s ‘Think Green Khutbah Campaign’ challenge is to request all Muslims to live according to the 3 S plan:
a) live a simple life
b) live a sustainable life
c) live as stewards of the environment
Please sign up online if your organization will join the campaign and if you will be delivering a Khutbah on the environment on Friday, April 20th, 2012.
Also, if you need specific verses from the Quran, check out the resources here as well as Green Muslims Ramadan toolkit from 2011. There are wonderful ideas of what to do on Earth day in there as well.
And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but he knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. Qur'an 6/59
Our Prayer: Oh Most Merciful, Oh Lord of the Worlds, Oh Creator of the Universe, protect our homes, protect our land, protect our water, protect our air.
Oh Sustainer, Oh Most Powerful, Oh Inspirer, help us maintain good habits, help us be agents for change, help us inspire our communities to action.
Mission: Green Muslims seek to reemphasize the unique role and responsibility entrusted upon humanity by God: environmental stewardship. We hope to serve as a bridge between American Muslim communities as well as partner with a wide spectrum of organizations accomplishing great work. Additionally, Green Muslims seek to provide a unique and organic source of environmental leadership, inspiration, awareness, and direct action within Muslim communities.
Announcing: Green Muslims’ Zero Trash Party Set!
No Comments Posted under: Consumption, Food, Green Dinners, Green Habits, Philosophy, Resources, Sustainability, Uncategorized
Are you planning a Super Bowl party this Sunday?
Plan ahead and avoid using any disposable plates or utensils by borrowing the Green Muslims’ Zero Trash Party Set!
The party set includes:
- Large & Small plates
- Cups & Utensils
- BPA & Melanine free
- Made from 100% recycled materials.
Order online for just a small donation that will support future Green Muslims’ programming. We value any contribution you can make to raising awareness and reducing waste.
Dicounts available for:
- Sending us your party photos!
- Writing a blog post!
We welcome any questions or feedback!
Join Green Muslims for a Showing Of: Wasteland
No Comments Posted under: Consumption, Discussion Themes, Events, Films, Food, Green Dinners, Reflection, Resources, Sustainability
Sunday January 22nd @1pm:
Green Muslims Waste Land Movie Showing
Come together and join Green Muslims for another zero trash event!
We will share a meal, a movie and a discussion. We will also talk about Green Muslims’ latest initiatives, including the launch of a Zero Trash Party Set rental program!
Bring a healthful dish to pass and settle in for a viewing Waste Land, a moving documentary about one artist’s journey to the world’s largest garbage dump.
Details:
When: Sunday January 22nd at 1pm
Where: The Nur Center: 3431 Carlin Springs Rd, Falls Church VA.
Transit Accessible: 25B & 16G Metrobus within walking distance.
**Please bring a dish to share for around 15 people**
Questions? Contact Sarrah at 262-483-5657 or sarrah.abulughod@gmail.com
Introducing the Ramadan Tool-Kit!
2 Comments Posted under: About, Community, Consumption, Discussion Themes, Green Habits, Nature, Niyyah, Publications, Reflection, Resources, Spirituality, Sustainability, Uncategorized
Enhance your Ramadan experience this year, by following along with the Green Muslim’s as they practice “greener” habits. Each day we contemplate an inspirational ayah, quote, or hadith and incorporate the teachings of our tradition into our practice with a daily challenge and reflection. Follow along!
Whether as a community, a family or an individual, the Ramadan tool-kit is a powerful way to green your deen during this holy month. Join us and our friends and partners all over the world in incorporating the eco-conscious teachings of our tradition into our practice with a daily challenge and reflection.
Green Iftar Guide
Created in Ramadan 2010, this guide Insha’Allah this guide seeks to help the Muslim community contribute to a greener,cleaner, healthier Iftar. In the form of a Zero Trash, No Waste “Green” Iftar!
Check it out here.
No Impact Guide
Created in the Fall of 2008, this 7-day challenge participants to each day to paying special attention to a given topic in hopes of reducing their carbon footprint. With each following day, the goal was to be mindful of and build upon the topics from the previous days so by the seventh day, we will be paying attention to all of the topics.
Check it out here.
Day 5: Water and Electricity
Welcome to day 5 of No Impact Week, Fri Oct 23rd! The fifth day is all out about the most common and ubiquitous resources available to us, that we almost never stop and think about, water & electricity.
Please use the information below in addition to the No Impact Project’s Manual (alongside the DC Green Muslims No Impact Manual).
Remember each day builds upon the previous one, so keep up what you have been doing today and previous days and add to it with what you do tomorrow as well.
General Tips
- Water Conservation:
- Wudu is an act of purification and we can be conscious of how much water is being used, in hopes of preventing unnecessary loss of water.
- Shorter showers, turning the faucet off when washing the dishes and brushing teeth.
- Electricity Conservation:
- Turn off the lights when exiting a room.
- Unplug appliances.
- Wear a jacket instead of turning up the heat.
Islamic Inspiration:
Water is a symbol of life. In Islam, it is also seen as an important sign of God as it is mentioned over 60 times in the Qu’ran. We are told “from water God brought everything to life.” (21:30)
“Your God is One God, there is no deity other than Him, the most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Truly in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the succession of the night and the days, and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to humanity, and in the waters which
God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after its death, and…in all of this, there are ayat for those the people who use their intelligence.”(2:163‐164)
Water is typically described as being “sent down” from the sky, comparable to how God’s scripture and mercy came from above. Some scholars have referred to water as a metaphor for a broader meaning based on mercy and knowledge being distributed widely to mankind.
God sends down water from the sky, and [once‐dry] valleys are running high, Each according to its capacity. (13:17)
God asks Muslims to pay attention the signs around us as proof of God’s bounty and mercy and as a way to become closer to Him. Once we start contemplating the natural signs all around us, we can begin to recognize the symbiotic relationship that exists between man and nature.
And when Moses asked for water for his people, We said: ‘Strike with your staff the rock.’ And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and everyone knew his drinking place. (2:60)
The advice that Moses’ community is given in that verse is the very ethical notion of eco‐spiritual trusteeship that we also need to heed today:
“So eat and drink of God’s sustenance, and do no evil or mischief on Earth.”
In a subsequent verse of the Qur’an, we are told that the rock that the prophets strike is not just a physical rock, but rather the rock‐like hardness of our own hearts:
‘‘Then even after that, your hearts grew hard so that they were like rocks, or even harder, for indeed there are rocks from which rivers gush forth, and there are rocks which split asunder so that water flows from them, and others which sink because of the awe they have towards God. And God is not unmindful of what you do.’’(2:74)
Day 4- Waste
Salams,
Welcome to day 4 of No Impact Week, Thur Oct 22nd! The third day is all about the waste we generate throughout our daily lives.
Please use the information below in addition to the No Impact Project’s Manual (alongside the DC Green Muslims No Impact Manual).
Remember each day builds upon the previous one, so keep up what you have been doing today and previous days and add to it with what you do tomorrow as well.
General Tips
No WasteTry it out. Generate no waste and find a reusable or recyclable way of disposing all of your waste. This includes anything that can be thrown into a trash‐can.
Islamic Inspiration:
“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed)that the hands of men have earned, that (Allah) may give them ataste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back(from Evil)” (30:41)
“But waste not in excess: for Allah loveth not the wasters”(6:141), (7:31)
Notes:
In the U.S., 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year are created by the average person.Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon. Almost 1/3 of the waste generated the U.S. is packaging. Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.Every year, Americans make enough plastic film to shrink‐wrap the state of Texas. Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months, and enough iron and steel to supply all our nation’s automakers every day.
Each year, Americans trash enough office paper to build a 12‐ foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City. Americans toss out enough paper & plastic cups, forks and spoons every year to circle the equator 300 times.As of 1992, 14 billion pounds of trash were dumped into ocean annually around the world. Only two manmade structures on Earth are large enough to be seen from outer space: the Great Wall of China and the Fresh Kills landfill.For more facts go to Clean Air Council:http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
Dont forget to relate your experiences and thoughts and comment on the appropriate days blog post at our blog, dcgreenmuslims.blogspot.com, for a chance to win organic soaps from Mosaic Soaps (http://mosaic.azam.org/)
Day 3-Transportation
Welcome to day 3 of No Impact Week, Wed Oct 21st! I hope everyone’s first day has went well. The third day is all about the ways in which we use transportation and get from point A to point B.
Please use the information below in addition to the No Impact Project’s Manual (alongside the DC Green Muslims No Impact Manual).
Remember each day builds upon the previous one, so keep up what you have been doing today and previous days and add to it with what you do tomorrow as well.
General Tips
- Carpool: 2 people carpooling lessens the impact by half, 3 people carpooling lessens it by two‐thirds, etc…
- Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator if possible: Good for both body & environment
- Try more environmentally friendly commutes to school or work.
- The higher the number, the worst the impact :
- 1. Walking (nature’s transport)
- 2. Bicycling
- 3. Other non‐motorized transportation (rollerblading, skateboarding)
- 4. Public Transportation (bus first, train/subway second)
- 5. Multiple occupancy car
- 6. Single occupancy car
- 7. Private jet (mentioned just in case…)
Islamic Inspiration:
The Prophet (pbuh) declared, “The world is beautiful and
verdant, and verily Allah (SWT), be He exalted, has made you His
stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves.” (Muslim)
“And when he turns away, he endeavors about the earth to
corrupt in it and cause the tillage and stock to perish; and Allah
(SWT) does not love corruption” (2:205)
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Prevention of damage and corruption
before it occurs is better than treatment after it occurs….The
averting of harm takes precedence over the acquisition of
benefits.” (Majallat al‐Ahkam al‐Adliya)
The Prophet (pbuh) stated: “The benefit of a thing is in return for
the liability attaching to it.” (Tirmidhi and Abu‐Dawud on
authority of Aisha)
Day 2 – FOOD
Welcome to day 2 of No Impact Week, Tuesday Oct 20th! I hope everyone’s first day has went well. The second day is all about the ways in which we eat and drink and use food.
Please use the information below in addition to the No Impact Project’s Manual (alongside the DC Green Muslims No Impact Manual), to give you an Islamic perspective to help you through your eco-conscious journey this week which hopefully will be a stepping stone to a life long journey incorporating the eco-spiritual ethics of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Remember each day builds upon the previous one, so keep up what you have been doing today and add to it with what you do tomorrow as well.
General Tips
- Eat Local Food: How many miles did it take for your food to come to you? Reduce your carbon‐footprint by reducing your food‐miles and eating locally. Imported perishable foods are especially bad for the environment considering that they have to be refrigerated along the way as well.
- Eat Organic: The more it’s organic, the better it is for both your body & the environment.
- Eat Completely Halal: Eat something that’s both raised & slaughtered in a Halal manner. In other words, in addition to finding (for example) meat that is slaughtered Halal, find something that is simultaneously raised in a cruelty‐free manner. Examples of completely Halal meat‐providers are Green Zabihah and Sumayyah’s Peaceful Poultry (see notes below).
- Don’t Eat in Excess: Create a balance in your diet that does not take more than what you need from nature. It’s better for both your body & the environment well.
Islamic Inspiration:
and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for
Allah loveth not the wasters. (31:5)
O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, Lawful and good; and do
not follow the footsteps of the evil one, for he is to you an
avowed enemy. (2:168)
Thus, partake of the lawful, good things which God grants you as
sustenance, and be conscious of God, in whom you believe.
(5:88)
On the authority of Al‐Miqdaam ibn Maadiy‐Karib who said: I
heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “No human ever filled a
vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam
are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then
one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his
breath.”
“Eat and drink, but do not be extravagant. Verily, Allah does not love extravagant people.” (7: 31)
Notes:
Green Zabiha: http://www.greenzabiha.com
Sumayah’s Peaceful Poultry: http://www.peacefulpoultry.com
Green Muslims Twitter
- Mark your calendars- Sunday June 3rd- see you at Walker Jones Farm at 1pm. Get out of the office, come get your... http://t.co/rxVjxglD 1 day ago
- http://t.co/AB9xtWyW http://t.co/d49Zwowu 3 weeks ago
- .@sarah_jawaid: "We are blessed with a tradition that asks us not to demand change but to inspire it." #AMCLI 3 weeks ago
- RT @rizonetwo: At #AMCLI's xChange event, looking forward to @greenmuslims' @sarjawaid speak! http://t.co/kueI0mwl 3 weeks ago
- RT @lsarsour: Leadership comes w/ too much responsibility but someone has got to do it & it has to be 4 benefit of the people not person ... 3 weeks ago
Categories
- About
- Act
- Capitol Hill
- City Life
- Community
- Consumption
- Discussion Themes
- Environmental Policy
- Events
- Films
- Food
- Gardens
- Green Dinners
- Green Habits
- Health
- Humor
- Inner Landscape
- Interfaith
- Islam
- Money
- Nature
- News
- Niyyah
- Obama
- Orchard
- Organzations
- Partners
- Philosophy
- Pictures
- Publications
- Reflection
- Resources
- Service
- Social Justice
- Spirituality
- Sustainability
- Uncategorized