"DC Muslims Embrace the Environment" By Lester Feder (americanprogress.org)

I really need to get to DC.

I think this article does a fantastic job at highlighting a grassroots effort which is quickly (inshaAllah, alhumdulillah) growing into a more staple movement among, at least, local DC area masajid. May Allah swt grant them success in this life and the next and allow all of us to exemplify this "manifestation of our faith." Ameen.

I highly recommend reading the whole article (when do i not?); it's really pretty short.

Note to self: this is like the 4th awesome movement I've read about in the last week or so with which Imam Johari Abdul-Malik has been working; I should stalk him at ISNA/MANA, inshaAllah (booo no videos on halal tube or books on amazon).

Highlights:

At the dinner’s conclusion, Sarah Jawaid, one of the evening’s leaders, offered a soliloquy on the "Niyyah of Space," applying the Islamic concept of doing something well-intentioned for Allah to questions of the built environment. She urged participants to be “present in the moment so that we are [in] position to see God work in our lives and finally, to look within and find ways to be better protectors of this earth in whatever capacity works for us."

The ADAMS Center, which serves more than 5,000 families, made a goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 10 percent in one year. Located in DC’s sprawling outer suburbs, the center has created parking spaces reserved for carpoolers to encourage congregants to reduce their driving. It has installed solar-powered lights in the parking lot and upgraded to energy-efficient lighting inside. As part of a new extension to the building, the center is now considering installing a wind turbine on the roof, which could even produce surplus electricity that could be sold back to the electric company.

But he stresses that Islamic environmentalism grows organically out of the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. “The Prophet Mohammed said, ‘You do not waste water even if you are beside a river,’” he quotes. “Muslims are the trustees, the ones who pass from generation to generation this way of life.” Taking care of the environment, he says, is simply a “manifestation of faith.”