Believing in the role of humans as stewards on earth, Muslim religious leaders will mark Earth Day on Friday, April 22, with the Green Khutbah Campaign, delivering a sermon to raise awareness on the environmental challenges facing humanity.
The theme this year, which comes in the middle of the fasting month of Ramadan, is “Changing Hearts and Minds Through Action.”
“With the campaign occurring during Ramadan this year, we felt it was important to have a strong and meaningful call to action,” said Muaz Nasir, the publisher of the Canadian environmental website, Khaleafa.com and one of the founders of the Campaign, in a statement sent to AboutIslam.net.
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“We were reminded of a hadith (or saying) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in which he calls for action against injustice using our hands, tongues and hearts.
“That is, to create change through our actions, words and intentions. And it is upon this sentiment that this year’s theme has been centered.”
Preserving Earth
The Green Khutbah Campaign commemorates Earth Day that will take place on April 22.
The Campaign was first launched in 2012 in Canada and, every year, imams across the world are encouraged to deliver a message that reminds their congregations of the Qur’anic message to be stewards of the earth and its environment.
The first Earth Day, held on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement.
More than 1 billion people across the world now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.
Environmental sustainability is very important in Islam. Thus, preserving environment is grounded in honoring the relationship between oneself, Allah, and Allah’s creation.
Allah says in the Qur’an, It is He who has appointed you vicegerent on the Earth … (Qur’an, 6:165)
Muslims have been leading several initiatives recently to raise awareness about climate change, launching campaigns to preserve environment.
Last year, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Pope Francis, and 40 faith leaders came together to draw attention to the “grave threat” facing the world from climate change.
They made the appeal on Oct. 4, 2021, in a joint message signed in the Vatican’s Hall of Benediction, which was decorated with plants to mark the occasion.