WIN's Fourth Core Strand: 'Climate Justice'

The Climate Justice strand comprises an intention to move:
Away from dependence on fossil fuels;

towards non-polluting energy, needs above profit, and low impact living. 

More>>

 

'Identities in Transition' Seminar - Leicester

WIN Rep, Shumaisa Khan, is one of the speakers at this event on Friday...

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'IDENTITIES' IN TRANSITION' SEMINAR

**Registration essential**

Date: Friday 14th October 2011

Time: 9.30 for 10.00am til 5pm

Venue: University of Leicester: Garendon Room on the Fourth floor of the Charles Wilson Building on the main University of Leicester campus. A campus map and travel directions can be found at http://www2.le.ac.uk/maps.

Registration: The event is free, and lunch is provided: but a place must be reserved in advance. More info including to register:

The seminar, part of the series “Sustainability Transitions: rethinking everyday practices, identities and livelihoods”, starts from the premise that many of the identities that individuals claim for themselves today in the Global North have been shaped by consumption practices fuelled by the high carbon economy. We also know that there are links between poverty, racism and gender inequalities and the people most likely to experience the most detrimental impacts of climate change and resource scarcity. This workshop explores the role of the high carbon economy in shaping these social identities and questions how they might be reconfigured through the process of transition to a sustainable, low carbon future. It focuses on three interlinked themes:

• How contemporary identities have been shaped by the high carbon economy
• How those identities might change and be reconfigured through the process of transition to a sustainable, low carbon future
• What it means to identify with (movements for) sustainability transitions.

Programme

09.30 Registration and coffee

10.00 Identities in Transition: some observations and questions

Speakers: Gavin Brown and Jenny Pickerill

10.15 Introductions and goals What do you want out of today?

10.30 Managing trade-offs in „ecotopia‟: becoming green at the Centre for Alternative Technology.

Speaker: Jon Anderson

Questions

11.30 Panel discussion: Addressing diverse identities in climate change activism and advocacy

Speakers: Michelle Bastian; and Shumaisa Khan (Wisdom In Nature)

Questions and discussion

12.30 Lunch, An opportunity for informal discussion

13.30 Workshop: “Permaculture” and the escape into Whiteness: Sustainable Transition and Racialism

Speaker: Joseph De Lappe

Discussion

14.30 The Footpaths project: facilitating low carbon lifestyles

Speakers: Jill Fisher and Emily Hodgkinson

Questions and discussion

15.30 Coffee

15.45 Transitioning to Lower-carbon Identities: Three Tales from the "Everyday"

Speaker: Robyn Dowling

16.45 Questions

17.00 Closing discussion

Finish

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Islam & Climate Change ~ A Call to Heal: Order Hard Copies!

We've already had a number of requests for hard copies of our booklet: Islam & Climate Change: A Call to Heal.

These popular booklets are printed in full colour using recycled paper, and we still have copies available, whether for your family, friends, mosque/congregation, or organisation.

If you would like to get a flavour of the quality, here are comments from fellow ecologists...

"I was very impressed by the design, by its simplicity and directness. You have managed to put it all over in the context of your faith using the quotations and the key words that call us all to a deeper engagement with the way we live on this planet. I have books of many words, which don't speak as directly as this."

"We have received the booklets in perfect condition."
"Thank you very much for the excellent booklets!"
"Thank you very much for sending the booklets, which look great! Wonderful achievement, congratulations to all the team."


Order Copies

If you would like copies for yourself or to distribute, we are able to post batches of 10 or more.

Please let us know how many you would like (i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40 or more..), and we will confirm a suggested contribution to help cover costs. i.e.

10 booklets.............. £20
20 booklets.............. £36
30 booklets.............. £52
40 booklets.............. £68
50 booklets.............. £85
100 booklets............ £165

Any other quantity of booklets: please contact us to discuss.

The above is inclusive of P&P, and the confirmed amount would need to be paid directly into our account.

Please also take note of the following:

• To order, email us at: orderclimatebooklet (AT) wisdominnature.org.uk ; If you would like to speak to us on the phone, please call us on tel. 0845 456 3960.
• For each order, we would need to know: a) your name; b) a full postal address for delivery; and c) the number of booklets you would like.
• You will need to order a minimum of 10 copies. Unfortunately we are unable to respond to requests for fewer copies due to administrative limitations. Individual copies may however be available at many events at which we have a formal presence.
• Delivery is to UK addresses only.
  

We ask that you allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

Islamic ecology in the classroom

Ecology and community cohesion

Rokeby School's collaboration with the Climate Change Youth Development Trust (CCYDT) gave 20 of their pupils the opportunity to participate in weekly workshops on faith climate perspectives. One of the faith perspectives was to be the Islamic, and I had received invitation to deliver that week's workshop at this East London school. Alongside motivating action through faith, the aim, was to simultaneously nurture community cohesion. This conveniently resonated with my own value system of viewing the social ecology as inseparable from the wider one. I was excited to be a part of this.

Facilitator's homework

Prior to the workshop, I had been well primed as to the range and nature of the pupils by the director of CCYDT, Sabino Miranda: I knew that the pupils would be boys, mostly Muslim, but also Hindu, Christian and no formal faith, within an age range of 13-15 years, with a few a little older. 

Most workshops I had delivered have been for adults and so I decided to reach out to my good friend and colleague across the pond, Mohamad Chakaki, to explore and hear ideas. Mohamad has given many more workshops to school age children than myself and I value his thoughts.

My ideas following these interactions were as follows: Keep it varied, keep it moving, and allow for some healthy disorder! 

Making it universal

I had 1½ hours. We began with a go-round ice-breaker so everyone spoke from the start. Then, rather than going straight into any Islamic eco-theology, I had decided it might work better to explore principles through exercises that stimulated each participant to connect with their own inner compass/sense of ethics first, and then being given a chance to share. I attempted to frame this in a universal language to support inclusively. 

Such a foundation can, I feel, potentially lend itself to the terminology and principles associated with any faith tradition. The group would thus be better equipped to look at what initially emerged in an open way, and then later in the workshop, within the framework of core Islamic concepts that underlie the outward aspects of the faith, including action to restore ecological balance. 

The first exercise was the 'spectrum line', which is designed to draw out viewpoints and discussion on different issues. Participants choose to stand anywhere along the length of an imaginary line according to how strongly they agree or disagree with a statement. E.g. "Can we have too much of a good thing?" (to later explore the idea of mizan/balance). Varied ideas sprung from this exercise allowing for a healthy spread of viewpoints.

Then, using a numbering system, the pupils were divided into four groups, each taking on one of two questions for discussion (e.g. "Think 'natural world'. Think 'human communties'. Does the natural world have anything to teach us?"). They had fifteen minutes for this which I thought this might end up being too short. However, they got their ideas down faster than I anticipated. Their presentations were both intersting and varied in content. 

 

Weaving it together

Afterwards I attempted to weave into a short talk what had emerged from the exercises whilst drawing on key Islamic concepts. I followed this with a five minute slide-show on Muslims engaged in ecological action (Although they can have a place, I like to avoid too many visuals preferring instead to be more directly relating with those present). There was then space for questions, a bit of last minute sharing, and then the distributing of the WIN photo-booklets on Islam & Climate Change for the pupils.  

All in all, it was a fulfilling day, and although I am sure I had the luxury of a pretty focussed group of children, I'm looking forward to to engaging more with a younger age group as I am able.

 

Post workshop reflections
 

Here are some reflections/ideas/'things' I feel I want to make note of for myself following this workshop. Happy to hear anyone else's reflections on any of these areas as well..

• With children, short varied exercises can engage them better than something that goes on for too long or too much of the same. 
• Taking a group of children deep into Islamic eco-theology in a short time can be challenging, and is indeed impossible at 5pm when they've been at school since 8! On the other hand, giving a flavour of 2 or 3 basic concepts such as fitrah (natural disposition/innate goodness, which some seemed to grasp really well), mizan (balance), and tawhid (unity/oneness) is feasible to weave effectively into a single workshop on climate change dynamics and taking action. 
• I found I could have addressed key themes/topics - that were raised by the children within the workshop - better than i did during my short talk at the end. What I might do next time in a similar situation is actually note down keywords as the themes/topics came up, and glance and reflect on them at appropriate times before I give a talk. 
• A certain level of disorder is to be expected from time-to-time - not everyone can stay focussed the whole time. Thus, a limited degree of chaos or 'play' alongside the intended sequence of events seemed to act as a healthy release that then allowed a more naturally guided return to the formal thread of activities. That's how it felt with this kind group, but I'd be interested to hear of anyone else's experiences!? How much 'disorder' is healthy?...
• I arrived at the school just 5 minutes before the workshop (due to a misunderstanding over timings) so had less time to organise e.g. pre-prepare some flip-charts, familiarise myself with the space etc... than I had imagined. This however pushed me to think more in terms of essentials and go more with instinct, which I have found can be a strength. On other occasions though, I am aware that too little time to settle before a workshop does little to help me be present.
• With regards the 'spectrum line' exercise, after drawing out some thoughts from a group of participants bunched close together, thought-provoking questioning can tap into deeper layers. This of course needs balancing with the comfort level of the person being questioned and drawing our a variety of viewpoints in the time available.

So that's it for now. Whilst I always like to reflect on and learn from any workshop, I hadn't written such  reflections on a public forum, but I thought I'd give it a go to see if might be useful. So this is it! 

Reflections Across the Pond: Green, Muslim and American

The flying question

It was 2004. I was at a public meeting on climate change. The lecture hall was buzzing with energy. Ideas, questions and answers were exchanged between the audience - mostly students - and the speakers, one of whom was Mayer Hillman. 

Mayer is the author of the informative 'How We Can Save the Planet', and during the course of this event did not hesitate in showing his distaste to flying. He also made it more personal and correspondingly more uncomfortable. 

"Who will now commit to never flying again?" 

He threw the question at us with force, like a long-standing campaigner who believed it was now or never. As he asked this, I checked in with myself and found myself grappling internally. I was aware that the warming effect of flying can be several times greater than other forms of transport because greenhouse gases have more of an impact at high altitude. Also, the distances we fly tend to be large with flying being a cheap and time-saving travelling option. The place that aviation takes with regards social norms and its contribution to climate change is hard to over-emphasise, which is why there is a necessary movement resisting its expansion.

In response to Mayer's question, a surprising number of people put up their hand. The part of me that wanted to be seen as righteous wished I was one of them, but I would have been lying if I did. With dozens of close friends and relatives in other continents, uncomfortable though it felt with Mayer's glare piercing the room, I had to keep my hand down. Although I had, by that time, virtually made an internal commitment to not flying for leisure holidays - and even in other situations to use coach, train or boat, for example - I could not commit to never flying again.

It was Autumn 2010. Here was another moment when I grappled with the flying question. My wife is from the US and I had not seen most of her immediate family for three and a half years. At the same time, she would be in the States for a significant period of time to complete her PhD. Was I to also go? Over a few weeks of consideration and weighing things up in my awareness, I began to move towards the idea of joining her and her family in New Jersey for part of that time. I also felt I could squeeze more from that one trip by also connecting with friends in nearby states.

In November, thus, I did set off, travelling by plane, for three weeks in the US. It so happened that whilst I was there I also managed to meet with some inspiring individuals in the US Green Islam movement. Here, I share some of these experiences as well other parts of my trip.

DC Green Muslims

Within a few days of my landing, I visited Washington DC to catch up with an aunt and uncle. I found out from my friend Mohamad Chakaki, co-founder of DC Green Muslims, that Sarah Jawaid from the group was speaking at an inter-faith climate change meeting on the day I was due to arrive! This sounded perfect, and I managed to make it just in time for this event, being met at the local metro station by Ryan Strom, another member of the DC Green Muslims team.

On the panel along with Sarah, was a Christian and Jewish speaker. Plenty of ideas were shared. Some of the more memorable comments included one from the Jewish speaker, Josh Tulkin, Founding Board Member of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network, who pointed out the disconnect between our actions and climate impacts - that when we start our car, for example, it's not that we're literally putting a gun to someone's head, yet the accumulative effect of these seemingly innocent actions build up to cause loss of life, which goes against all faith traditions.

Another memorable comment came from Sarah, who described an innovative means by which the DC Green Muslims had stimulated people to be more present in themselves and to their surroundings. She and her co-organisers had invited people to a Green Dinner event. Shortly before the start time, the windows to the room were boarded up, and cardboard was balanced vertically on the tables to prevent people, once they had arrived and taken their seat, from seeing their neighbour. The idea was to wake people up to the space they were in and to notice how it made them feel, however awkward or uncomfortable. 

Sarah added that the state of the altered room was basically a metaphor for what we often experience daily in our lives, yet become desensitised to. Following a period of being present to this altered room, the participants were then given a chance to re-arrange it themselves to their liking! The DC Green Muslims have impressed me with their imaginative grassroots approach, and this is but one example.

Park 51

Back in New Jersey, my wife and I took a day trip to New York absorbing some of Manhattan. It was a Friday and we stopped for prayers at the Park 51 Community Centre, a couple of blocks away from Ground Zero. 

The sermon (khutba) was given by Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf, and was one of the most liberating I had experienced. It wasn't just the content, but the way it was delivered - with love and presence, opening up a space that was much bigger than just words being spoken . The content itself was about compassion, and inviting Muslim to move beyond the label 'Muslim' to what the term actually points to, the surrendering of the self  to the Divine - and to reflect on what that means including in our caring for those who might have different viewpoints to our own. I left the centre with a feeling of gratitude and hope.

Green Deen

That same evening, we were fortunate to be able to meet Ibrahim Abdul-Matin and to attend a workshop he was facilitating at Columbia University in New York. Ibrahim is the author of the newly released and very readable book Green Deen - What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. 

At his workshop, there were about 30 participants, mostly students. After some mostly seated exercises, Ibrahim got us moving - we took positions in different corners of the room according to where we stood in response to questions he threw at us. We then shared with those standing with us, and then with the wider group. It was a well run, engaging workshop, and Ibrahim's background in community organising was evident. 

One of the comments he made to the group that stayed with me went something like this, 

"You have value not because of what you own, what you wear, nor because of what you earn. You have value simply because God created you". 

This wasn't academic stuff, rather a way - albeit pitched for those who believe in God - of getting to the basis of our self-worth that necessarily brings down the walls of an artificial value-system which society imposes onto us, and out of which arises consumerism and the compulsive pursuit of status. 

Massachusetts

It was the last week of my trip and I spent a couple of days in Boston, Massachusetts. From there, I visited Cambridge to connect with Mohamad Chakaki, a friend whom I mentioned earlier and with whom I thoroughly enjoy hearing and sharing ideas. I also met with Misha, a close relative and outstanding student, who is at Harvard, and an Auntie on my mother's side. This was my second time in Cambridge, having visited nineteen years previously after a period of working in Canada during a summer. The area I visited - around Harvard Square - was certainly much busier, with plenty more cars, but I could still sense some of the quality of intimacy that I had experienced the previous time. 

Progressive New York Radio 

After an extended  seven hour coach journey back to New Jersey, I took to the phone to be interviewed by Saadia Aslam from Radio Tahrir. Radio Tahrir is a weekly programme about the Arab and Muslim Community and is broadcast on the independent New York radio station, WBAI Radio. 

Saadia asked me about the work Wisdom In Nature is doing in the UK. I talked about our new booklet, Islam & Climate Change: A  Call to Heal, our Islamic Community Food Project, and our emphasis on process and  working in a holistic way that includes consciously integrating social ecology into our work. Saadia was also keen to hear my experiences of the Green Islam movement in the US. I enjoyed sharing and am impressed by the dedicated work the radio station is doing. 

The podcast of my interview can be found on the following webpage - It's the November 23rd 2010 broadcast, and the interview starts at about 30 minutes after the music piece by Maher Zain.

Progressive Muslims

During the course of my trip, on several occasions I heard the name IMAN. IMAN or the Inner-City Muslim Action Network is an organisation that Ibrahim Abdul-Matin profiles in his book, and which Mohamad Chakaki also enthusiastically talked to me about in Cambridge. 

I discovered that IMAN aims to weave together social justice with the arts, and to also bring in the environmental. One of their projects is called Project Green Reentry. This involves supporting ex-offenders in Chicago with on-the-job training as they essentially construct their own homes sustainably. This is meant to help them to socially integrate whilst simultaneously respecting the earth. As a keen believer in a holistic approach - I increasingly feel that isolated environmentalism, or indeed isolated activism of any kind, is ultimately self-defeating as it will work against the interconnected nature of things - I am keen to learn more about the intelligent work that IMAN is doing.

The two sides of the Pond

So, how does the 'Green Islam' movement in the US compare with that in the UK? 

Whilst I haven't explored the movement in the US sufficiently enough to give a confident answer, it was clear that the folks I met there hold alot of respect for the work going on here! Whilst it's true, however, that we've been working with this for a longer period, perhaps they underestimate what they have achieved in such a short space of time. 

My own sense about the movement in the US, from direct contact with a few key individuals, is that it has set in motion a creative energy and quality of work that is refreshing. There also seems to be a healthy experimenting with ways, verbally or otherwise, to express Islamic principles so they can be practical and alive to those of us growing up in contemporary western culture. I felt that our more 'mature' movement in the UK can certainly take inspiration and lessons from the movement there. 

At the same time, we have a grounding and a history through which many lessons have been learnt and a certain degree of resilience developed. All in all, there appears to be much scope for a mutually nurturing relationship, whose benefits can and must extend beyond our immediate space and time.

Back in the UK

Now in the UK, I am soon met by the graceful dance of snowfall, and the corresponding clumsiness of our predictable inability to cope well with it! I am grateful for having had the privilege of being able to travel to the US. The technology we have today can make vast distances appear small and I am acutely aware of the need to take time to reflect and to be grateful, and to also acknowledge that there are physical limits to the pace of consumption that our planet can take. Although I have not chosen never to fly again, I have consciously chosen to not take flying for granted. 

So, now it's also time to get some more work. The economic situation. Hmm, that's another aspect which, in this inter-connected world, needs co-healing...

© Muzammal Hussain

Order Print Copies of Islam & Climate Photo-Booklet!

As you may know, thanks to kind support from a number of individuals, we now have hard copies of our booklet, Islam & Climate Change: A Call to Heal. The booklets are printed in full colour using recycled paper by the cooperative printers, Calverts, who are based in London.

If you would like to get a flavour of the quality, here are comments we received from fellow ecologists...

"Thanks so much - we have received the booklets in perfect condition."

"Thank you very much for the excellent booklets!"

"Thanks very much for sending the booklets, which look great! Wonderful achievement, congratulations to all the team."

"I was very impressed by the design, by its simplicity and directness. You have managed to put it all over in the context of your faith using the quotations and the key words that call us all to a deeper engagement with the way we live on this planet. I have books of many words, which don't speak as directly as this."  

If you would like copies for yourself or to distribute, we are able to post batches of 10 or more.

Please let us know how many you would like (i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40 or more..), and we will confirm a suggested donation. i.e.

10 booklets.............. £20
20 booklets.............. £36
30 booklets.............. £52
40 booklets.............. £68 

The above is inclusive of P&P, and the confirmed amount would need to be paid directly into our account: http://www.wisdominnature.org.uk/Finance/donate.htm#account


Please also take note of the following:

• To order, *do not* reply to this blog post. Instead, email us at: orderclimatebooklet (AT) wisdominnature.org.uk ; If you would like to speak to us on the phone, please call us on tel. 0845 456 3960.
  
• For each order, we would need to know: your name; a full postal address for delivery; and the number of booklets you would like.
• You will need to order a minimum of 10 copies. We are unable to respond to requests for fewer copies due to administrative limitations. (Individual copies may however be available at many events at which we have a formal presence).
• Delivery is to UK addresses only.
  

We ask that you allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.

Can You Help Us? Financial APPEAL for Print Copies of Islam & Climate Photo-booklet

Whilst we have finally launched the online version of our popular colour booklet, Islam & Climate Change ~ A Call to Heal, (downloadable for free), we still haven't yet had our first batch of copies printed. The reason is simple: Finances. As a grassroots organisation we need money from people like You to be able to do this.

To get the first batch printed (we are going for recycled paper, using a printing company with a strong ethical stance) we need at least an additional £800 for one-thousand copies of the 20-page colour booklet. We ask if you would be willing to help us reach this amount so we can have copies available as soon as possible. They would be distributed for free with donations suggested (which will help cover the next batch and so on! - this would make it sustainable in the longer run!)

Our bank account details are on our donate page

If you have any questions please contact us, or feel free to use the comments tag at the bottom of this blog post.

With thanks from the Wisdom In Nature team for any financial help you can give us.

Islam & Climate Change ~ A Call To Heal: Online Booklet Launch

We are delighted to announce the launch of the online version of our long-awaited colour booklet: Islam & Climate Change ~ A Call to Heal. It is available to download for free from our main website.

We've been dedicating our time to this for quite a bit longer than we had originally planned - a few months longer in fact! - and whilst painful at times, we managed to patiently work through the difficult parts to experience the joys that follow, and which come from working within a great team. And yes, we are pleased with the outcome as well! We invite you to take a look.

The Wisdom In Nature team

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From a small team of faith-inspired community activists...

This picture guide outlines an Islamic perspective on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. In simple language and with pictures, it introduces the following themes:

Disturbance of the Natural Order; A Call to the Fitrah; Unnatural Disasters; Islam: A Religion of Harmony; Fulfilling our Role as Khalifah; A Revival towards Wholeness; The Power of Many…

Climate Change is a signal that humankind has lost its course. By drawing on spiritual wisdom, we can respond to this call - this call to heal. This booklet was produced by a team of community activists to educate, cultivate reflection and inspire holistic action to help build a fairer and more sustainable world for all.

Download for free from here

The booklet was produced through voluntary efforts by a team of committed activists along with design support as we neared completion.

Financial help needed, to support our work and make print copies available: As soon as we are able, we would like to have print copies of this booklet to offer and distribute for free to the wider public. In order to help us to further our work and to make these copies available, financial contributions are invited and gratefully received. (More details are on page 12 in the booklet for anyone who might like to support us in this way).

With thanks from the Wisdom In Nature team