Dubai Floods And Indonesia's Green Islam Campaign - Ulema Of The Indian Sub- Continent Should Learn A Lesson From The Ulema Of Indonesia

By New Age Islam Staff Writer 30 April 2024 Two Islamic Countries Demonstrate Different Approaches To Nature Main Points: 1. UAE and Oman witnessed rare floods last fortnight. 2. 20 people were killed by the floods. 3. UAE has been adopting cloud seeding technology to precipitate rains for decades. 4. Indonesia's imams warn Muslims against interfering with Nature's eco system. 5. Green Islam campaign of Indonesian imams stresses to preserve Nature. ------ Cars are stranded on a flooded in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024 - Giuseppe CACACE ------ Recently, two different approaches to Nature and their good and bad effects were witnessed in two different Islamic countries. Two weeks ago, the UAE and neighbouring Oman witnessed rare floods that killed 20 people, inundated buildings, malls and airports and disrupted traffic. The desert region that generally has a dry weather with 50 degree Celsius temperature saw 256 mm rain only in 24 hours. The storm first hit Oman on 13 April and then reached UAE on 15 April. Due to the heavy rain, world famous city Dubai was flooded and life in the city came to a standstill. The heavy rains and the subsequent floods started debate on the reasons behind them. One of the reasons for the floods was told to be the process of cloud seeding adopted by the UAE government to precipitate rains. Cloud seeding is a modern technology in which planes fly carrying chemicals and spray it into the clouds to precipitate rains. This brings rains. Dubai is said to be adopting this technology regularly since the 80s. According to media reports, prior to the rains, cloud seeding was done on Sunday and Monday by UAE which caused the rains on Tuesday. However, meteorologists and environmentalists are of the opinion that cloud seeding alone can not be the cause of the floods. Man made climate change and global warming may also have contributed to it. According to reports, the global temperature has risen by 1.5 degree during the last 150 years. Therefore, the temperature of the UAE also has rien by 1.5 Celsius. A warmer atmosphere has more moisture and therefore is more likely to produce rain. It is said that when the cloud seeding was done, it was not really needed as rains were likely to come as a result of a warmer weather but the UAE authorities needlessly adopted cloud seeding that contributed to more rains to already heavy clouds. This speaks of the callousness of the UAE authorities and their total lack of considerations for the laws of nature. Cloud seeding process is a violation of the laws of nature and the UAE authorities ignored the serious consequences of interfering with the laws of nature for their benefits. They have been playing with Nature for decades to make life comfortable for themselves and ignoring the warnings of Nature. Man made climate change has been the cause of natural calamities in different parts of the world. Deforestation, excessive use of fossil fuels and rampant industrialisation have disturbed the eco system. Dubai's floods were also the result of man made climate change. The floods of Dubai were only a warning from Nature to the people so that they restrain themselves from playing with Nature. The wealthy oil rich Arab nations do not care for Nature as they think they can change the climate of their country with the help of money but they ignore the devastating consequences of disturbing the balance of the Nature. They ignore the warning of the Quran: "Corruption has spread on land and seas as a result of what people's hands have done so that Allah may cause them to taste the consequences of some of their deeds and perhaps they might return to the Right Path." (Ar Rum:41) Such floods are a warning to man so that they may return to the simple way of living. On the one hand, the rulers and the ulema of UAE and Arab countries have been ignoring the warning of the Quran and on the other, the ulema of another Islamic country Indonesia have woken up to the need to protect the earth and Nature to avoid doom and natural calamities. (Representative Photo) ----- The initiative was taken by the imam of the main mosque of Jakarta, Isteqlal Mosque, Maulana Nasruddin Umar. He started a campaign called Green Islam from his mosque. He told the Muslims that they should not treat the earth only as an object. They should care for it and work to preserve it by planting more trees and preventing deforestation. He cites hadiths and Quran to bring home the message that Islam teaches Muslims to care for the earth and preserve Nature. Therefore, as the first step towards Green Islam, he advised the Muslims to clean the river that ran by the mosque. Next, he got solar energy panel installed in the mosque to save high electricity bills. He also got water recycling system installed in the mosque. All these steps won the Isteqlal Mosque the Green Building status from the World Bank. Inspired and encouraged by the campaign started by Maulana Nasruddin Umar, other ulema and imams of Indonesia also issued fatwas urging Muslims to join the Green Islam campaign and plant more trees and work to stop deforestation. The central religious organisation of Indonesia, Ulema Council has adopted the campaign. Thus, the ulema of Indonesia have set an example before the ulema of the world. Generally, Muslim clerics do not take environmental issues seriously and regard them out of the purview of Islam. But Nasruddin Umar reminded the Muslims of the world that they can not ignore the environmental issues as they are linked to their survival. Climate change and global warming have affected the lives of the people irrespective of religion and it is the duty of every individual to protect nature. The ulema, therefore, have their duty to create awareness among the Muslims to preserve nature and the earth so that calamities like Dubai floods could be averted. The ulema of the Indian sub- continent should learn a lesson from the ulema of Indonesia and involve themselves in environmental and secular causes like afforestation, cleaning of rivers etc. They should also start campaigns against child trafficking, corruption, drug addiction, food adulteration and other social evils plaguing the Muslim society of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-environment/dubai-floods-indonesia-green-islam-ulema-indian-sub-continent/d/132230 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism