Green Deen What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet

Muslims, like those of many faiths, are compelled by their religion to praise the Creator, take care of each other, and take care of the planet. Those are their sacred mandates, as written in the Quran.  While the call to love Allah and one another won’t surprise many, the deep and long-standing convergences between Muslim theology and environmentalism aren’t widely recognized within other religious and secular cultures at large--or even among some American Muslim communities.  In this unique project, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin seeks to change that.

Green Deen (“deen” means “way” in Arabic) is a call to devotion, prayer, and service, a “friend-raising” project, a community-building opportunity, and a marriage of faith and reason. Abdul-Matin draws on research and interviews with prominent Muslim scholars, theologians, and community leaders to trace Islam’s historical and contemporary preoccupation with humankind’s collective role as stewards of the Earth.  He reveals how Islam’s call to reflection specifically includes reflection on our relationship to the natural world, and he cites scriptural passages that implicitly and explicitly illustrate our collective responsibility to maintain and manage the planet’s delicate and intricate systems.  If we all hope to save our planet and build stronger interfaith and secular relationships, Abdul-Matin argues, Muslims need to remember they have a history of a green deen, and the rest of us need to build community with eco-friendly Muslims.

Advancing a mantra of “water, waste, watts, and grub,” Abdul-Matin presents specific ways in which Muslim communities and religious centers could concretely benefit from adopting green strategies (such as getting mosques off the grid and ensuring local communities greater protections against hazards like urban brownouts).  And he provides practical steps individual Muslims can take to align their personal environmental practices with their aspirations for both piety and community.

Green Deen articulates an Earth-conscious, people-affirming, faith-based, justice-centered orientation that will help mainstream American Muslims and their allies promote environmentalism that is steadfast, scientific, and practical.  No other book of this kind has been written for the Muslim community, in a language they can understand.  No other book helps those environmentalists of other faiths and orientations understand the gifts and contributions that Islam and its followers bring to the table. Green Deen is one of a kind.

 

Muslims are compelled by their religion to praise the Creator and to care for their community. But what is not widely known is that there are deep and long-standing connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism. In this groundbreaking book, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin draws on research, scripture, and interviews with Muslim Americans to trace Islam's preoccupation with humankind's collective role as stewards of the Earth. Abdul-Matin points out that the Prophet Muhammad declared that "the Earth is a mosque."

Deen means "path" or "way" in Arabic. Abdul-Matin offers dozens of examples of how Muslims can follow, and already are following, a Green Deen in four areas: "waste, watts (energy), water, and food." At last, people of all beliefs can appreciate the gifts and contributions that Islam and Muslims bring to the environmental movement.

“The Earth is a mosque”

Muslims are compelled by their religion to praise the Creator and to care for their community. But what is not widely known is that there are deep and long-standing connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism. In this groundbreaking book, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin draws on research, scripture, and interviews with Muslim Americans to trace Islams preoccupation with humankinds collective role as stewards of the Earth. Abdul-Matin points out that the Prophet Muhammad declared that “the Earth is a mosque.”

Deen means “path” or “way” in Arabic. Abdul-Matin offers dozens of examples of how Muslims can follow, and already are following, a Green Deen in four areas: “waste, watts (energy), water, and food.” At last, people of all beliefs can appreciate the gifts and contributions that Islam and Muslims bring to the environmental movement.

 

“Ibrahim Abdul-Matin not only shows the myriad ways American Muslims are contributing to the resolution of the environmental crisis that threatens us all but also goes a long way toward humanizing the Muslim community by sharing with the reader the lives of so many extraordinary, talented, and visionary people.”

—Imam Zaid Shakir, Zaytuna College, Berkeley, California

 

“Ibrahim blends his passion for a green economy, his love and understanding of faith, and a deep commitment to justice in this book.”

—Van Jones, founder, Green for All

 

“At a moment when distortions of Islam are what feed most Americans, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has done something both practical and inspiring. He persuades us that the imperiled environment is both common struggle and common ground for people who share, it turns out, more than simply God.”

—John Hockenberry, Emmy-award-winning journalist, author of Moving Violations, and host of National Public Radios The Takeaway

"Green Deen" ("deen" means "way" in Arabic) is a call to devotion, prayer, and service. The author reveals how Islam's call to reflection specifically includes reflection on our relationship to the natural world and explains what Islam teaches about protecting the planet.

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is a policy advisor in the New York City Mayors Office on issues of long-term planning and sustainability. He is a media personality on NPRs The Takeaway and the brains behind the blog Brooklyn Bedouin.

Foreword author, Keith Ellison, Congressman for Minnesota district is the first Muslim Congressman.