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)
Believing in the role of humans as stewards on earth, an Oldham Muslim man has been volunteering for years to clean up his neighborhood, collecting litter from the streets since 2015.
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Salehuddin Talukdar, 38 from the Coldhurst area of Oldham, arrived in the UK in 2009 from Bangladesh.
“When I started, I would pick rubbish on my own and with my friends from other parts of Oldham such as Failsworth. I would assist them and they would assist me,” he told Asian Image.
“We recently cleaned Grange all weather pitch which is part of our ongoing initiative called MyColdhurst.
“A lot of young people are involved in the initiative as a lot of volunteers bring their children to the litter picks. I involve my three children as and when I can.”
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Building Bridges
Promoting cleanliness, Salehuddin believes the initiative is important to build bridges with the British community.
“We want to build a bridge between British born Bangladeshis with Bangladeshi born Britons. I am an ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy,” he said.
“On 15 August we plan to walk from Oldham to Manchester to raise awareness about cleanliness and litter picking.”
This is not the first instance of community activism in response to the ongoing bin driver strikes.
A Muslim group called “Bearded Broz” took on the task of cleaning up the streets earlier in Birmingham.
In Aberdeen, an Islamic charity successfully turned a derelict area into a modern football center last May to provide improved facilities for athletes across the region.