Addressing pollution in Senegal, Muslim leaders have called for waging “green jihad” against aggression towards the environment, urging practitioners to abide by Islamic edicts of fighting pollution and preserving the ecological system in the Western African country.
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“Islam is clear. Any form of pollution or aggression towards the environment is a sin and clearly forbidden,” Imam Youssoupha Sarr was quoted by Al Jazeera.
“People need to be reminded of this.,”
Imam Sarr was addressing attendants at a mosque in Dakar’s overpopulated suburb of Guedwaye where gusts of wind and plastic bags sweep into the air of the narrow alleys.
Citing the deteriorated situation of the African country’s roads and rural infrastructures, Imam Sarrr urged the crowd to solve problems such as waste crisis and rubbish choking the streets, rivers and sea coast of the West African state.
“This isn’t just a local problem, it’s a global issue. One the Muslim world is ignoring!”, Imam Saar said while waving his finger in the air, in an indication of losing his temper.
For Muslim leaders like Saar, the issue reflects the failure from the leaders to contain the situation.
"One last word”, the imam said. "Protecting the environment is a moral calling; a message worth spreading."
Calls for declaring ‘green jihad’ comes as the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences has also prepared a draft declaration that will be finalised at a summit in Istanbul later this month.
“As we are woven into the fabric of the natural world, its gifts are for us to savour – but we have abused these gifts to the extent that climate change is upon us,” the draft read, RTCC news reported.
Muslims are concerned with this initiative because its inhabitants in Africa’s Sahel region are among the hardest hit by global warming, with increasingly unpredictable rains harming livelihoods and lack of proper medical care.
Taharah (purification) referred to the act of cleanliness in Islam, According to the consensus of scholars, whoever prays when he is not in a state of Taharah has to purify himself and repeat the prayer, even if that happens out of forgetfulness.
Islam enjoined all Muslim to protect the environment in which he lives and keep it free from the causes of illness, which harm individuals and communities.
Muslims make up nearly 94 percent of Senegal’s 13 million population, while Christians account for 5 percent and the remaining follows indigenous beliefs.
