Muslim Action Plan on the Environment

(London, England) At a conference last week, representatives from over 60 religious organizations met to discuss their commitments to work on the environment. Organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the United Nations, the gathering was a forum for each religion to announce its plans to save the Earth.

According to Martin Palmer, Sec-Gen of ARC, the event was a "huge success" with the Muslim plan being "perhaps the most astonishing." Mandating that saving the environment is a religious duty, the seven-year Muslim action plan was unveiled by Sheikh Ali Goma'a, Egypt's Grand Mufti.

“First and foremost, it establishes a new purchasing program for Muslims. So if you follow the traditional law of what you can or cannot eat, it has to be free range, organic, local. If you're going to use energy, it should now come from renewable sources," Palmer says.

"And it was announced that the 10 most sacred cities in Islam will become green within the next five years. I could go on. It's enormous." [...]

The Muslim plan envisages eco-labeling systems for goods and services, ranging from organized pilgrimages to printing Korans on environmentally friendly paper, since as many as 15 million Korans are printed each year. Under the plan, the training of imams would include compulsory teaching on environmentally friendly practices and programs.

An umbrella organization, the Muslim Associations for Climate Change Action (MACCA), is to monitor the action plan, which was earlier endorsed by more than 50 Muslim scholars in Istanbul in July.

One must logically suspect that a whole raft of new environmental regulations will be created with violations subject to punishment under Sharia law. That's not good news for the public. Frankly, it's imaginable that people could receive flogging or jail for improperly sorted trash or for using the wrong light bulb.