Jordan Environment Watch : Muslims going Green? They have always been!

Environmentalism is a shared conviction among all human races, religions and ideologies and it reflects a sense of deep attachment to sustainable values that is not limited to a particular set of beliefs, more than others.

Reading an article entitled "Muslims going green" in South California In Focus", described by its publishers as "the largest muslim newspaper California" made me feel uncomfortable. By saying "muslims going green" the articles gives a false impression that environmental values are not inherent in Islamic culture and civilisation, and that Muslims have suddently turned green, from a different color!

I can understand that the article has the good intentions of providing an insight to the "collective actions" practised by many muslims in developing sustainable lifestyles in the USA which is highly appreciated. However this does not mean that muslims, or Hindus or people from any other religion have been catching up with the environmental consciousness only recently.

In fact, spiritualism is more connected to environmental values than materialism in the developed countries. Deep inside the indigenous religions and cultures of the world environment is always considered a high priority in humans relation with nature and the with the ultimate creator of natural wonders.

Racism has succeeded in labelling certain communities and religions with negative sterotypes, and muslims in particular have had more than their fair share of negative sterotyping. It is not wise to promote the collective descriptions of communities with negative or positive labels or identifying transition from a certain state of mind to another. Environmentalism is like human rights a collective success of the human civilisation and can never be attributed to a certain sect or culture.

On the other hand it is good to see such a collective effort from American Muslims in the sustainable lifestyles. It will certainly help in providing more flavour to the environmental lifestyle options present for all human populations, whether in the USA or in the Muslim World.