Islam's Green

It's all about the Bike...

Bicycles are amazing.

It is mechanically and biologically extremely efficient. 99% of the energy transmitted by the rider is transferred to the wheels. You can travel at 15-25 kph and use only the energy it takes to walk!

 "...the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created:  Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon."  ~Bill Strickland, The Quotable Cyclist

Perhaps Western civilization's single most out sanding achievement is the invention of the bicycle, and if the only reason God almighty allowed it to flourish was to produce the bike, I think it was worth it!  I know that maybe controversial, but to understand the connection between the bicycle and the modern world read this book:

It's all about the Bike: The persuit of happiness on two wheels

by Robert Penn.

This book is not really about that though. It's about someone who loves bikes, and wants to build one up. Not just any bike, but his ideal bike. As he does so, from the frame, to the wheels to the saddle, the group set, the tyres, headset, handlebars and all the rest, he travels the world to get the best components and visits the people and companies that produce them and on the way we learn the history of this extra-ordinary machine all in a couple of hundred readable pages.

But there is a passage in his book that perhaps sums it all up. I relate to it completely (minus the shirk!) 

'The bicycle saves my life every day. If you’ve ever experienced a moment of awe or freedom on a bicycle; if you’ve ever taken flight from sadness to the rhythm of two spinning wheels, or felt the resurgence of hope pedalling to the top of a hill with the dew of effort on your forehead; if you’ve ever wondered, swooping bird-like down a long hill on a bicycle, if the world was standing still; if you have ever, just once, sat on a bicycle with a singing heart and felt like an ordinary man touching the gods, then we share something fundamental. We know it’s all about the bike."

And this is how I feel on my mountain bike. I'm out of the city, out of my box, into the wild, up the hills and through the tree's and it really doesn't matter, sun, rain wind or snow when I'm tearing down the trail, weaving the sinewy singletrack barely hanging on as roots, rocks and dirt seem to contrive to throw me down, and sometimes do, but at the top of that impossible climb and bottom of that steep and rocky hill I feel alive and connected. Most of all I feel grateful, grateful to Allah who made this all possible. There are no gods, not real ones anyway, only the One who made of all this. The air, the trees, the bike...and wheels roll on, like a cycle of life. 

The Prophet Mohammed said:

"The world and everything in it is cursed, except the Scholar, the student of knowledge and the remembrance of Allah and what helps you to do that."

Mountain biking: It helps me do that. To remember Allah. To see His creation. To know both my fragility and my ability, and when I reach that slippery and rooty descent that last time threw me over my handlebars and left me and my bike in a twisted heap I know I have to conquer it. I can't let it get the better of me, and when I clean it, the smile stays with me in my heart long after it leaves my face. Hey, I'm smiling now just thinking about it. Then I know, with Allah's permission, we can do great things!

 

 

Google Mail - Be The Change - Support IFEES to Support Planet Earth

BE THE CHANGE - SUPPORT IFEES TO SUPPORT PLANET EARTH
http://www.justgiving.com/ecoislam
“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what
the hands of humankind have earned. So that (Allah) may
give them a taste of some of their actions, in order that
they may turn back to Him.” Qur’an, 30:41
We are all more than aware of the unprecedented damage that
has been caused to the earth through selfish human behavior.
Climate Change, pollution, deforestation, poisoned food chains
and social upheaval are now part of our daily diet of news.
Ecosystems are in crisis in many parts of the Muslim world.
“The creation of the heavens and the earth is far greater
than the creation of mankind. But most of mankind do not
know it.” Qur’an, 40:56
SO HERE’S THE CHALLENGE!
“It is He who has appointed you as viceroys in the earth.”
Qur’an, 6:165
Allah has described mankind as His Guardians on earth. It is
therefore our responsibility to take care of other creatures
and the earth itself. Yet how many of us take these duties
seriously as an integral part of our way of life?
IFEES’ CONSERVATION WORK IS BASED ON QUR’AN AND SHARIAH DERIVED PRINCIPLES
Support IFEES to continue raising the importance of this issue
through the production of educational literature and also designing
training programmes and campaigns. Your support will also help us
to set up a global network of Muslim environmentalists and boost
our project work from Aceh to Zanzibar.
HELP US TO RAISE £20,000 TO CARRY THIS WORK FORWARD.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It
is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Islamic Foundation
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faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will
be added to your gift at no cost to you.
SO PLEASE SUPPORT US NOW AND THANK YOU.
To donate please goto www.justgiving.com/ecoislam
Wassalaam 'alaikum wa rahmatullaah.
- Islamic Foundation for Ecology
and Environmental Sciences (IFEES)

The three Eco r's and your Old Jeans

By now most of you should be familiar with the the three eco r's.
Well I forgot one (the first) and had to look it up! Anyway here they are.

1. Reduce: Simple, use less stuff. Turn of your taps when you brush your teeth, flush your toilet less, turn off lights when you are not using them and DON'T leave all those electric items on stand-by like TV's and DVD players that you ONLY use to watch good wholesome Islamic programs. Turn them off at the plug! Borrow stuff instead of buying it. Read the news on-line rather than buying a paper, print less. Drive less, walk and use public transport more. You get the idea!

2. Reuse: Get a big bad from Lidle for your shopping and take that instead of using endless plastic bags. If you do get plastic bags, use them again when you go shopping (Tesco's even gives your more points on your reward card) or use them as bin liners instead of buying bin liners! Got old stuff? Don't chuck it, ebay it, or try gumtree or kijiji where you can sell it or just give it away, or donate it to charity (although as a Muslim you should give your best in charity, not stuff that you wouldn't take yourself! Still, it's better than waste!)  Also get a compost bin. All those scraps of food, onion, fruit and veg peelings can be fed to it to make some nice rich compost for your garden. About 35% of household waste is compostable. Then you can grow something and follow the Prophet's (saws) advice to plant something, even if you know there is one day left for the world to end! Every creature that eats and benefits from what you have planted will earn rewards for you to reap on the day you meet your Lord, and you know you'll need all the hasanaat you can get!

3. Recycle: You all know about that. You do, of course, RELIGIOUSLY recycle every can you can, and bottle and bits of paper..at a bare minimum the stuff they actually collect outside your door! You'd be amazed at the extent of stuff that can actually be recycled. For example printer cartridges! Staple store's have containers for that. Some recycled facts: For every ton of paper you recycle 17 trees are saved! Recycling a ton of plastic can save upto 2,000 gallons of gasoline!

Here is another enviro-fact. If every person in the UK recycled just one item of clothing each year the amount of processing water saved would fill an average reservoir, according to Mike Stables, who when Britain's last Clarks factory closed down he got hold of the company's canvas shoe making equipment, hired some of the ex-workers and set up recycleyourjeans.com. 

Now one of the very sad but inevitable things in this teporary life is having to say goodbye to those nicley worn oh so comfortable jeans. Now we know that the Prophet (saws) said that old clothes are part of faith, but jeans that are so ripped that they don't cover your awrah properly just have to go.  But where to! Well, now you can send in your old jeans and for forty five squid they will be transformed into a pair of Kalahari sandals! Mashallah, I love it. The web-site refers to the founder as an eco-warrior, so you could do a bit of eco-jihad and get a pair made up! My sandles are well worn out, and I'm due for a new pair. There's just one problem though, they only do women's sizes at present. Anyway I think I already recycled my old jeans :)

Sustainability tip no. 1

Simply replace your extremely wasteful old style light bulbs with longer lasting, cheaper running, environmentally friendly versions.
While our governments talk about depleting energy reserves and the need for massively expensive and potentially dangerous Nuclear power stations, the nation's and perhaps even the world's energy crisis could in part be solved simply by changing light bulbs! Well OK, not solved, but certainly helped alot!
Doubt it?
Read this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4667354.stm

Islam is Green!

When I was thinking of the name for this blog “Islam’s Green” came to mind and I liked it, because it said two things in one sentence.

I’m a Green. That’s my family name. So I’m a Green that belongs to Islam. Then of course Islam is Green. Green is, at least according to some, the colour of Islam, but more importantly here Islam is a religion that naturally teaches the human how to live in harmony with the natural world. This is not something contrived or forced upon us, but an inevitable extension of living the Islamic way of life.

I remember some years back when I was working as a cabbie for Badgers of Battersea, I had a passenger who I was dropping off to Heathrow who I came to find out was part of the senior management of Greenpeace.

“I have to say, I really respect you guys. Some of the stuff you do to raise awareness is amazing.”

“Well, thanks, that’s nice of you to say so.”

“No I mean it. The environment is such an important issue. The way our planet is being destroyed with Global warming, pollution of seas and atmosphere, destruction of species…It’s an issue we have to deal with.”

“Of course, that’s what Greenpeace is all about!”

“Yea, sure, but you know I actually think you guys are part of the problem not part of the cure!”

Up until this moment my passenger had been sitting relaxed in the back, but now he sat up. I could see the shock on his face.

“What do mean?” He looks puzzled.

“Well all the stuff you guys do as brave as it is is just dealing with issues. Save the whale, save the rain forest, stop dumping hazardous chemicals, but these are symptoms of the disease. You make people think that by stopping these things they are going to make a difference. So they donate some money, think they are doing something for the environment, but all the while the real disease, the cancer is still eating away. You’re part of the problem because you cover the symptoms, but it means the root problem is ignored.”

“Well, what is the real problem?”

“It’s the way we live. It’s the ideal of consumerism, that by and through material things, we are taught, that this is the way to happiness. This is the real disease.”

“Well I agree, in fact we are beginning to discuss exactly these issues, but what is your solution then?”

“Well I know that this is going to sound unlikely, but I believe that the solution is the religion of Islam!”

“Go on…”

“It’s because we have turned away from our Creator, lost our purpose our souls seek satisfaction in the material. But we can never find it there, so we consume more and more, hoping that if I just have this or that then I’ll be happy, but we are never fulfilled. I’m sure you know better than me that it’s our Western consumer societies that are destroying the world, causing the pollution and destruction.  It’s only when we understand the true purpose of our life and surrender to the will of our Creator can we find true happiness. Just see how everything follows the laws and patterns and systems laid down for them by the wise Creator. They all submit to God. It is only when we too follow the guidance and system and patterns laid down for us by the Creator can we also be in harmony with the Universe and world around us.

Also, Islam teaches that we are responsible and accountable for everything we do. Our bodies, our health, our lives, our wealth, the planet and all that is in it has been entrusted to us, and Allah is going to ask us about what we done with it. This is the real solution. We have to change completely the way we think!”

We arrive at the airport.

“I wish you we driving me up to Scotland because I could really talk to you all day!” He says. I smile. Well that's how the conversation went, more or less. It was about ten years ago!

 

Just by being Muslim you are already on the first and most important step to being truly "green". You know that this word is a test, a prison for the believer. You know that in good deeds and obeying your Lord and seeking His pleasure is the real path to happiness and success, and as you live that and feel that you become content with what Allah has provided you and are happy with what suffices.

This is of course only the beginning. Part of being a Muslim is being conscious, aware and realising that one is accountable. We have the cure, but that doesn’t mean we should forget to clear up the symptoms!

So from time to time you are going to find here some tips on living a sustainable lifestyle and some practical steps you can take that inshallah will also make your deen better. We always say it, it's become a cliché. We don't have a religion we have a way of life! Cliché or not, it's true. Islam, the deen, should permeate every moment of our existence. There is nothing that we think or say or do, but it should come to our mind "Is this pleasing to Allah or not?"

"What are the consequences for me on the day I meet Allah?" "What will my Lord say to me, how will I answer for this when the deeds are laid bare?"

Last summer the Rev. Ian Johnson, the Rector of Southampton spent a week with us in the mosque, and amongst the many things that we found we had in common was the realisation that both our faiths demanded a commitment to sustainability. He's caused quite a stir amongst his elderly parishioners by berating them for the waste they cause, and he mentioned that the average Muslim household in his area produces less than half the waste compared to white communities. The reason is because they tend shop locally, buy in bulk and purchase fresh fruit and veg from stalls. All this means they don't accumulate all the packaging, plastic wraps, polystyrene boxes etc…that one inevitably picks up from supermarkets. Muslims tend to reuse more and throw away less. Why should it not be like that?  It should be normal for us to visit our local halal butcher, to get as much produce from our Muslim brothers as possible,  to support their business rather than spend our money in huge supermarkets.  This also means we tend to walk, not drive to the shops, and then there is always the added benefit of spreading the  salams.  As the Messenger told us: "You will not enter paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you how to increase the love between each other. Increase the greetings of salams ."  Umar used to go to markets just to greet the people there!

It always shocks me to see how much food people leave and throw away. We know from our deen that wasting food is feeding Shaitaan, and that Allah warns us of wastefulness in the Quran and that spendthrifts are the brothers of Shaitaan. So a Muslim even remotely aware of their deen, will feel a tug at their conscience at producing waste.

One of the sustainability buzz words flying around at the moment is your "footprint." It relates to the impact that you leave on the planet, the environmental damage that you cause and are responsible for.

Try these sites and see what sort of impact you are making on the planet:

http://www.myfootprint.org/

This will tell you that if every one lived like you how many planets would be need to sustain such a life style.

For your carbon footprint try this fun and informative  questionare:

http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9008204&contentId=7015209

Just make sure you read the little note at the end about what actually constitutes a tonne of carbon.

Shocking, even if my results were just below the UK average!

some ideas on how to reduce you footprint from Jack of UEA (see blog Beyond Misconceptions:)

www.Flyless.info - How and why to travel the world without flying.

May Allah help us to live in obedience to Him. Ameen