
Ramadan, the Muslim community’s annual month of fasting, has been celebrated for centuries. But that doesn’t stop modern debates from affecting how it’s observed.
In recent years, a growing number of Muslim communities have seen Ramadan as an opportunity to discuss their relationship to the Earth’s resources. They’ve aimed to reduce food waste at iftars and offered tips that Muslims can use in their kitchens all year long.
These events and campaigns are part of a broader effort to raise awareness of Islam’s teachings on the environment. Like leaders in a variety of faith groups, many Muslims leaders want members of their community to play a larger role in the world’s response to modern environmental challenges.
This edition of ReligionLink explores how to connect your coverage of Ramadan, which will likely begin on May 5 this year, to broader conversations about sustainability and climate change.
Background reading
- Read “Is food waste a religious issue?” from The New Food Economy on Nov. 29, 2018.
- Read “Faith and creation: Possibilities of an ‘Islamic’ environmental ethic” from ABC Religion & Ethics on Sept. 11, 2018.
- Read “For Ramadan, more Muslims shape diets around physical and mental health” from NPR on June 10, 2018.
- Read “In the U.S., Muslims are making slow inroads toward a greener Ramadan” from Religion News Service on May 22, 2018.
- Read “Public awareness is important to reduce food wastage during Ramadan” from New Straits Times on May 16, 2018.
- Read “Are you ready to reduce your food waste?” from Friday Magazine on July 4, 2017.
- Read “Saudi initiative begins campaign targeting Ramadan food waste” from Arab News on May 31, 2017.
- Read “Thou shalt not toss food: Enlisting religious groups to fight waste” from NPR on Jan. 18, 2016.
- Read “In Abu Dhabi, Ramadan a time for fasting and food waste awareness” from National Catholic Reporter on July 11, 2013.
- Watch “How to reduce food waste in Ramadan” from BBC News on Aug. 20, 2011.
- Read “Ramadan in Dubai: A month of soaring food waste?” from Reuters on Aug. 15, 2011.
U.S. sources
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Saffet Abid Catovic
Saffet Abid Catovic is a Muslim environmental leader. He co-founded Green Muslims of New Jersey and helped launch the Islamic Society of North America’s Green Masjid Task Force. In 2018, he shared his efforts to offset the carbon footprint of his pilgrimage to Mecca with Sojourners. Imam Catovic serves as Washington office director for the Islamic Society of North America. He earned a master’s in religion and society from Drew University, specializing in religion and the environment.
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Natana Delong-Bas
Natana Delong-Bas is an associate professor of theology at Boston College. She teaches courses on Islam, environmentalism and Muslim women.
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Frederick Denny
Frederick Denny is a professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research interests include contemporary Islam, religion and ecology and religion and human rights.
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Nana Firman
Nana Firman is Senior Ambassador for GreenFaith, an interfaith organization that promotes environmental stewardship. She previously worked with the World Wildlife Fund in Indonesia.
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Neekta Hamidi
Neekta Hamidi is a Muslim writer and environmentalist. She runs a blog called “Green Is Simple,” which offers tips on sustainable living. Contact her with the form on her website.
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Juliane Hammer
Juliane Hammer is an associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina. Her research interests include American Muslims, marriage and family, women’s rights and food. She is the author of Peaceful Families:American Muslim Efforts against Domestic Violence.
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Ameena Jandali
Ameena Jandali is a content manager and trainer for the Islamic Networks Group, which combats Islamophobia by educating people about Islam and organizing interfaith events. She also teaches courses on Islam and women in the Middle East at the City College of San Francisco. Arrange an interview through Ishaq Pathan.
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Sarah Jawaid
Sarah Jawaid is a leadership coach and community organizer who has worked on issues such as housing, criminal justice and the environment. She has spoken about the links between practicing Islam and caring for the environment.
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Khalid Latif
Imam Khalid Latif is executive director of the Islamic Center at New York University, where he also serves as a chaplain. He is also the co-founder of Honest Chops, New York City’s first organic, halal butcher shop.
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Jill Lightner
Jill Lightner is a food writer and the former editor of Edible Seattle. Her most recent book, Scraps, Peels and Stems, offers tips for reducing food waste at home. Contact Lightner with the form on her website.
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Gary Oppenheimer
Gary Oppenheimer is founder and executive director of Ample Harvest, which connects gardeners with local food pantries. He helps organize Food Waste Weekend, an opportunity for faith leaders to speak to their congregations about food waste.
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Omid Safi
Omid Safi is a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at Duke University, where he also directs the Duke Islamic Studies Center. He edited Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender and Pluralism.
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Katie Sorrell
Katie Sorrell is the interfaith wellness director for the University of California, San Diego’s Center for Community Health. In 2017, the center partnered with local Muslim groups to reduce food waste during Ramadan.
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Sohaib N. Sultan
Sohaib N. Sultan is Muslim life coordinator and chaplain at Princeton University. In July 2014, as part of a series of Ramadan reflections for Time, he wrote about why Muslims should avoid food waste.
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Kate Urbank
Kate Urbank is D.C. site director for Food Rescue US, an organization that picks up leftover food at restaurants or schools and delivers it to people in need.
International sources
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Odeh Al-Jayyousi
Odeh Al-Jayyousi is head of technology and innovation management at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain. His is the author of Islam and Sustainable Development and a member of the United Nations Global Scientific Advisory Panel.
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Zainal Abidin Bagir
Zainal Abidin Bagir directs the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. He researches religious life in Indonesia, the philosophy of religion and religion and science. He has written on Islam and the environment.
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Ivano Iannelli
Ivano Iannelli is the CEO of Dubai Carbon, which led a food waste awareness campaign in 2017.
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Rosemary Hancock
Rosemary Hancock is a research associate with the Religion and Global Ethics program at the University of Notre Dame Australia, where she studies religion and social justice, with an emphasis on Islam. She is the author of Islamic Environmentalism: Activism in the United States and Great Britain.
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Samira Kanji
Samira Kanji is president of Noor Cultural Centre, a Muslim organization in Toronto. In 2018, Noor hosted an interfaith Ramadan event on food justice.
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Fazlun Khalid
Fazlun Khalid is the founder of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, which seeks to increase environmental activism within the global Muslim community.
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Ingrid Mattson
Ingrid Mattson holds the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western University in London, Ontario, where she studies Islamic ethics, Muslim women and Christian-Muslim relations. She previously taught at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, where she developed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in the U.S.
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Muaz Nasir
Muaz Nasir is a Muslim Canadian environmentalist who runs Khaleafa, an organization that works to get more Muslims involved in environmental activism. Through its Green Khutbah campaign, Khaleafa encourages Muslim leaders to speak to their congregations about climate change. Contact Nasir with a form on his website.
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Salman Zafar
Salman Zafar is the editor-in-chief of EcoMENA, a sustainability advocacy group that has written about food waste during Ramadan.
Related research
- Read “Waste not, want not,” a 2019 report on food waste from the United Nations.
- Read “How much food do we waste? Probably more than you think” from The New York Times on Dec. 12, 2017.
- Read “U.S. Muslims concerned about their place in society, but continue to believe in the American dream” from Pew Research Center on July 26, 2017.
- Pew found that 62 percent of Muslims say protecting the environment is essential to what being Muslim means to them.
- Read “Half of all U.S. food produce is thrown away, new research suggests” from The Guardian on July 13, 2016.