Islamic Impressions Aims To Be Carbon Neutral In 2011
From Islamic Impressions | By br. Aqib Hanif Islamic Impressions is a London based Muslim store selling everything conceivable from cl...
https://www.theecomuslim.co.uk/2011/03/islamic-impressions-aims-to-be-carbon.html
From Islamic Impressions | By br. Aqib Hanif
Islamic Impressions is a London based Muslim store selling everything conceivable from clothing to paintings. It's branched out internationally and in 2007 they took on my design work to sell in London, mashaAllah. Br Aqib is the main brain behind the UK store and an active Muslim along with br. Sheraz, so you can pretty much guess how cool it is that he is an eco-muslim too.
This is what he wrote on environmental Islam:
A Good Muslim is an Eco Muslim
Assalamu`alaikum wa'Rahmatullahi wabarakatuhu
Brothers and sisters, today I am going to talk about going green. Just as I strongly believe that Muslims should be proud of their Deen and practise it with pride and without compromise, I also happen to believe that we should not remain with our heads buried in the sand, unwilling to adapt to change or embrace modern technology and science.
One such area which is increasingly becoming a concern for the entire world is climate change. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to mankind, and will have many far reaching consequences, such as sea level rises and the loss of low lying regions, oxygen depletion in the atmosphere, temperature rises and more extreme and destructive weather patterns.
Brothers and sisters, the greatest impact of climate change will not be felt as much by the wealthier populations of Britain, Europe and America, where this problem originated from; rather the poor of the Third World and the Islamic World have the most to lose. Like in the Maldives, where half a million Muslims could lose everything they possess including their land if things continue as they are. The Maldives is an Islamic country that could be completely submerged beneath the waves within a few decades because of climate change.
While I believe that the onus is on governments and big businesses to change (as they are the cause of the problem), on an individual level we can do a lot more. I propose that "every Good Muslim be an Eco Muslim" and I advise you all to change your habits as much as possible in order to reduce your ‘carbon footprint’.
What is a carbon footprint?
Your carbon footprint is the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emitted as a result of your everyday activities. Every single person has a carbon footprint, and this measurement represents the impact that our activities on the environment in terms of climate change.
Why just CO2?
Although there are other pollutants causing problems in the atmosphere, CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and is produced when we burn fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal for energy. Therefore every time you drive a car, heat your house or turn on a light, you are generating CO2 and hence increasing your carbon footprint.
Why is your carbon footprint important?
Our carbon footprint is important because there is strong evidence that the greenhouse gases we produce are having an effect on the world’s climate.
What Islamic Impressions is doing to reduce its carbon footprint?
We believe that ‘a good Muslim is an Eco Muslim’ and should be conscious of his carbon footprint - Islamic Impressions aims to be Carbon Neutral by the end of 2011, and already you may have noticed some green aspects of our business such as our re-usable bags in our stores. This is being followed by many other measures which we will keep you posted about insha'allah.
On a personal level I recently got rid of my gas guzzling cars (my Porsche 944 was a bit too extravagant anyway and my family 7-seater drank petrol like water!). Instead I am trying to use public transport as much as possible.
My partner in Islamic Impressions, Sheraz, has also abandoned his old V8 executive car and has purchased a Hybrid electric powered vehicle instead.
Also, as a company we have gotten rid of our large delivery vans and are currently pursuing bio-fuel based vans.
What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
There are many ahadith (Prophetic sayings) which oblige taking care of the environment. Regarding water conservation, Abdullah ibn Ámru bin Al-Ás رضي الله عنه (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
'That the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) happened to pass by Sa’d as he was performing wudhu (ablution). Whereupon he ﷺ said:
Until next time, take care.
Brother Aqib Hanif.
Islamic Impressions is a London based Muslim store selling everything conceivable from clothing to paintings. It's branched out internationally and in 2007 they took on my design work to sell in London, mashaAllah. Br Aqib is the main brain behind the UK store and an active Muslim along with br. Sheraz, so you can pretty much guess how cool it is that he is an eco-muslim too.
This is what he wrote on environmental Islam:
A Good Muslim is an Eco Muslim
Assalamu`alaikum wa'Rahmatullahi wabarakatuhu
Brothers and sisters, today I am going to talk about going green. Just as I strongly believe that Muslims should be proud of their Deen and practise it with pride and without compromise, I also happen to believe that we should not remain with our heads buried in the sand, unwilling to adapt to change or embrace modern technology and science.
One such area which is increasingly becoming a concern for the entire world is climate change. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to mankind, and will have many far reaching consequences, such as sea level rises and the loss of low lying regions, oxygen depletion in the atmosphere, temperature rises and more extreme and destructive weather patterns.
Brothers and sisters, the greatest impact of climate change will not be felt as much by the wealthier populations of Britain, Europe and America, where this problem originated from; rather the poor of the Third World and the Islamic World have the most to lose. Like in the Maldives, where half a million Muslims could lose everything they possess including their land if things continue as they are. The Maldives is an Islamic country that could be completely submerged beneath the waves within a few decades because of climate change.
While I believe that the onus is on governments and big businesses to change (as they are the cause of the problem), on an individual level we can do a lot more. I propose that "every Good Muslim be an Eco Muslim" and I advise you all to change your habits as much as possible in order to reduce your ‘carbon footprint’.
What is a carbon footprint?
Your carbon footprint is the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emitted as a result of your everyday activities. Every single person has a carbon footprint, and this measurement represents the impact that our activities on the environment in terms of climate change.
Why just CO2?
Although there are other pollutants causing problems in the atmosphere, CO2 is the main greenhouse gas and is produced when we burn fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal for energy. Therefore every time you drive a car, heat your house or turn on a light, you are generating CO2 and hence increasing your carbon footprint.
Why is your carbon footprint important?
Our carbon footprint is important because there is strong evidence that the greenhouse gases we produce are having an effect on the world’s climate.
What Islamic Impressions is doing to reduce its carbon footprint?
We believe that ‘a good Muslim is an Eco Muslim’ and should be conscious of his carbon footprint - Islamic Impressions aims to be Carbon Neutral by the end of 2011, and already you may have noticed some green aspects of our business such as our re-usable bags in our stores. This is being followed by many other measures which we will keep you posted about insha'allah.
On a personal level I recently got rid of my gas guzzling cars (my Porsche 944 was a bit too extravagant anyway and my family 7-seater drank petrol like water!). Instead I am trying to use public transport as much as possible.
My partner in Islamic Impressions, Sheraz, has also abandoned his old V8 executive car and has purchased a Hybrid electric powered vehicle instead.
Also, as a company we have gotten rid of our large delivery vans and are currently pursuing bio-fuel based vans.
What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
- Turn off lights when they are not needed, and always use energy saver bulbs
- Reuse carrier bags when you go shopping
- Cars - AVOID if possible - use public transport as much as you can! Share cars (car pooling) for journeys and do not travel by car alone! Convert to greener fuels such as LPG or even electric power.
- Slightly reduce your thermostat temperatures in your homes at Winter time
- Unplug electronics when not in use; do not leave TVs, DVD players, games consoles etc. in ‘standby’ mode
- Only travel abroad by plane when absolutely necessary! Spend vacations closer to home.
There are many ahadith (Prophetic sayings) which oblige taking care of the environment. Regarding water conservation, Abdullah ibn Ámru bin Al-Ás رضي الله عنه (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
'That the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) happened to pass by Sa’d as he was performing wudhu (ablution). Whereupon he ﷺ said:
"Sa’d what is this squandering?" Sa’d replied: "Can there be any idea of squandering (israf) in ablution?" Whereupon the Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes, even if you are by the side of a flowing river.” (Ibn Majah)I hope this blog was helpful, please feel free to leave your feedback in the comments section.
Until next time, take care.
Brother Aqib Hanif.
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I agree, keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support Zara. I'm sure the team will appreciate it. (:
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