Jakarta: Indonesia: The magnificent Istiqlal Mosque, located in the centre of Jakarta, was constructed with the intention of standing for a thousand years.
Soekarno, the man who founded Indonesia, came up with the idea for the mosque, which he intended to be a striking representation of the nation's independence. Visitors from all over the archipelago and the globe are greeted at its seven gates, which stand in for Islam's seven heavens. They don't, however, only notice the light now. It gives them energy.
Over 500 solar panels were added during a significant renovation in 2019 to the mosque's large roof, making them a significant and sustainable source of electricity for Istiqlal.
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And during this Ramadan, the mosque has encouraged an energy waqf to expand its ability to produce renewable energy. An energy waqf is a type of donation in Islam that bears fruit over time.
Her Pramtama, the deputy head of Istiqlal Mosque's Ri'ayah, or building management, division, hopes that donations from Muslims during Ramadan, when they visit mosques in greater numbers, will help the solar project gain momentum.
The mosque's advocacy for the environment is just one of many "Green Ramadan" initiatives in Indonesia and elsewhere that encourage a variety of changes throughout the Muslim holy month, which includes elements of fasting and, in many cases, feasting as people assemble to break their fasts.
Recommendations for a month that emphasises moderation and almsgiving include using less water for ritual washing before prayers, using reusable containers for cutlery and bottles at community iftars, and minimising food waste. Carpooling to mosques, consuming local produce, emphasising recycling, and using donations to support clean energy projects are some additional recommendations.
According to scientists, the use of dirty fuels for electricity and transportation, petrochemicals to make goods like plastics, and emissions from food waste in landfills all need to be drastically reduced if the world is to limit the effects of climate change, which are already causing worsening droughts, floods, and heat waves.
Individual initiatives only make up a small portion of that transition, but experts claim that increasing support for climate goals can have an impact.
Islamic-based organisations frequently highlight how the earth, water, and wastefulness are understood in the context of specific Qur'anic verses, Prophet Muhammad's practises, and Qur'anic sayings.
Ma'ruf Amin, the vice president of Indonesia, requested concrete action on climate change last year at a meeting of the Muslim Congress for Sustainable Indonesia. He specifically requested donations to solar projects like those at Istiqlal Mosque and urged religious figures and community leaders to "play an active role in conveying issues related to environmental damage."
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Educating people about clean energy is a "shared responsibility" for Muslims, according to Muhammad Ali Yusuf, a board member at the religious Nahdlatul Ulama's Institution for Disaster Management and Climate Change in Indonesia. Mosques' on-site solar panel installations can act as catalysts for a larger transition, he said.
According to Imam Saffet Catovic, a US Muslim community environmental activist, environmental organisations that started forming in Muslim communities in the United States and Canada in the middle of the 2000s independently of one another formed "green Muslim understandings" from within their religious traditions.
The mosques "were open to it in some cases," he said. In other cases, he continued, mosque leaders "didn't fully understand" the motivation. According to Catovic, Ramadan presents a "possibility for ecological training that is specific to the Muslim community." "A person has thirty days to change their habits."
According to the website of the Islamic Society of North America, Muslims should be "an eco-friendly community" and that protecting the environment is "based upon the premise that Islam has ordained us to be the stewards and protectors of this planet."
One small step at a time, some mosques and Muslims around the world are responding to such calls. This year, solar panels were donated to the mosque at Al Ma'hadul Islamic Boarding School in Indonesia ahead of Ramadan. These panels provide all of the mosque's needs with the energy they require. Schools and nearby roads are also illuminated by the solar panels' electricity.
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The Nizamiye Mosque in Johannesburg, South Africa, has a roof covered in domes and solar panels that help keep the mosque's lights on as well as the nearby schools, clinic, and bazaar. The mosque also has towering minarets and a roomy interior.