veiled4allah: using Islam to help preserve the environment

The Koran is not widely known as a source of guidance on environmental and conservation issues, but that has not stopped one development organisation in Tanzania from using it to help conserve an island marine park. Fishing methods were destroying marine wildlife on the coral reef Religious leaders have been asked to promote conservation messages using the texts of the Koran - an approach which has proved a great deal more successful than government regulations... ...Once they realised that catches were falling dramatically, the non-governmental organisation Care International stepped in to persuade them to take better care of their environment - through a scheme based on Islamic principles.

"People didn't experience environmental destruction in their areas until very recently," says Ali Thani, Care's project director.

"And after what they are experiencing, they feel that Islamic environmental ethics might be better to create awareness in the community to protect their environment."

These fishermen have learned the benefits of fishing in a sustainable manner without harming the island's bio-diversity...

...It is thought this is the first time the teachings of the Koran have been used in Tanzania to promote conservation.

Local religious leaders like Shehe Mlekwa Lissani Bambi are now highlighting Islamic teachings about conservation in their sermons, though a certain amount of interpretation has been necessary, he says.

"Everything we see in the world is in the Koran," he says.

"We have not changed what is in it as this cannot be changed, but we are reading it with more knowledge.

"We are the guardians of God's creation. He asks us to protect what he created and we can do this by looking after the environment."