Ramazan can be transformed to be a truly green month.

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

We are blessed to welcome Ramazan again this year. It is a time for fasting, spiritual fulfillment, emotional rebalancing, mental reflection and physical purification.

Ramazan is the ideal time for balancing the spirit, the mind and the body. Fasting is a universal exercise of patience, self-control and altruism, but it is only one among many important aspects of Ramazan. Traditionally, Muslims consider Ramazan the ultimate month of charity, prayer, Quran, family, community and often very rich cuisine.

Our lives are becoming more complex and our challenges are numerous. Climate changes, global warming, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, poverty, hunger, war and global diseases are realities of our modern lives. These challenges are becoming beyond the reach of international institutions and national governments. It is about time to reconsider our approach, have a Ramazan paradigm shift and think of our roles as individuals and communities of faith in tackling these global problems. Muslims believe that man is the custodian of the earth: 

"Now, behold! Your Lord said to the angels: I am placing upon the earth a human successor to steward it" (Quran 2:30). 

Men and women are accountable to their Lord on the Day of Judgment for what they have done during their lifetime to others and to the creation and for the legacy they have left after their death. 

"We will register "in the book" what they have done and what footprints they have left, and everything we have accounted for in great details in a detailed book" (Quran 36:12) 

Ramazan can be transformed to be a truly green month, and Muslims, with all people of faith, can live up to their responsibility to be the true stewards on earth and use Ramazan to help us reach that goal.

Educate yourself about climate change and global warming and our role to save our planet.

Building on Earth Day, we should advocate to designate Ramazan to be the green month every year where all individuals, congregations and communities work to reduce their footprints and save our planet? It is not enough anymore to think of Ramadan as a month of abstaining from food and drink for a part of the day and binge eat the rest of the day. 

Ramazan is a once a year opportunity to tackle global issues like over consumption, materialism, poverty, hunger, wars and yes, global warming.

Ramazan Mubarak!

Rabia Memorial Trust.

Green Ramazan 2013.