Yvonne Ridley

OF the many revelations I discovered on my spiritual journey to Islam one that completely blew me away was just how environmentally friendly and green is this great faith. Reading through the pages of the Holy Qur’an, it is abundantly clear that God, as our Creator, made we humans trustees of our beautiful planet.

For instance in Surah 30:30 we are instructed: "Devote thyself single-mindedly to the Faith, and thus follow the nature designed by Allah, the nature according to which He has fashioned mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah".  And there is a hadith which reinforces this: "The Earth is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you his stewards over it. The whole earth has been created a place of worship, pure and clean. Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded. If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and humans and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is love is on his part".

 If, for some reason, you are still in any doubt, this is reinforced by Surah 13: 3-4: "Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then He settled Himself on the Throne, and constrained the sun and the moon to serve you; each planet pursues its course during an appointed term. He regulates it all and expounds the Signs, that you may have firm belief in the meeting with your Lord. He it is Who spread out the earth and made therein firmly fixed mountains and rivers, and of fruits of every kind He has made pairs. He causes the night to cover the day. In all this, verily, are signs doer a people who reflect".

 So as guardians of our wonderful world it is quite clear that there is a duty on everyone of us to stand up and protect the environment. The challenge this month falls on you, brothers and sisters living in America because your president, Donald Trump and his team are expected to make the first appearance at the global climate talks.

 Trump has already said he'll ditch the historic Paris agreement, and he's opening up the US to dirty energy. Now as he heads to the summit, he'll be looking to derail the world's efforts. A handful of countries led by the small island states are proposing a bold new plan and one which will protect the Paris agreement. Their plan is to set a deadline for the end of coal.

 As someone born in a coal mining community, I know how there is a bond between the working classes in these areas and coal but the time has come when we have to recognise that it is the dirtiest of dirty energy there is. Like it or not coal is the world's Number One climate polluter.

 So, be in no doubt that as Muslims, we should give our full support to the Pacific islands' call to phase-out of the coal industry. In short, coal pollution is poisoning our beautiful Planet Earth and, as its appointed guardians by Allah (swt) it is our duty to act. 

While countries like Canada, the UK, and France have agreed to coal end dates, and leading economies like Germany and South Korea prepared to join in, it is important Trump agrees too.

 What you need to do is stand up to Trump and bring an end to dirty energy and you can do this by exerting pressure on your politicians. For those Muslims who say politics is a dirty business and none of our concern, I would say read your Qur'an and start to stand up and fight for our planet.

 You can bring about change by engaging with your politicians and telling them exactly how you feel. Don't be naive to think that politics does not affect you - it does ... it even affects the air you and your children breath.

 By lobbying your politicians in Washington ahead of the climate conference, you will be doing Allah's work and following His words as set out in the Holy Qur'an.

(Sister Yvonne Ridley is an author and journalist living in the UK. Her latest books is called TORTURE: Does it work? Interrogation issues and effectiveness in the Global War on Terror. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Torture-Interrogation-issues-effectiveness-Global-x/dp/1782668306 )