This year, April 2nd marked the start of Ramadan, a month of daily fasting and prayer for Muslims.
“We’re turning, during this holy month, inwardly, to focus on our religion, to focus on God, to focus on improving ourselves,” says Sevim Kalyoncu, executive director of the nonprofit Green Muslims. “What better time than that … to think about the service that we need to be providing to God as the stewards of the Earth?”
Green Muslims encourages Muslims to consider which steps they can take each day during the month of Ramadan to protect the environment and reduce climate change.
To help, the nonprofit offers an online toolkit and a month-long calendar with suggested activities. Those activities range from using less water and reducing food waste to listening to speeches by youth climate activists and praying outside to connect with nature.
“We have to remember that God created this Earth and that God placed us on this earth to care for it,” Kalyoncu says. “So we’re not fully practicing our religion unless we’re making a concerted effort to care for the Earth.”
So Kalyoncu says she hopes participation will inspire people to keep protecting the climate even after the month of Ramadan has passed.
Reporting credit: Stephanie Manuzak/ChavoBart Digital Media