Last month I attended an environmental justice retreat led
by a Chicago-area interfaith group. I expected the retreat would be depressing.
I thought that because of the Trump administration decisions involving the
environment- pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, removing all references
to global warming from government websites, appointing a coal lobbyist to be
head of the EPA, defunding the EPA- would have all the attendees in a rather glum mood. I was
happily surprised. Everyone was actually quite upbeat and had a can-do
attitude. This was largely because Illinois had passed a multi-million dollar
clean energy/clean jobs bill and this group had a lot to do with its passage.
More about that governmental bill later.
At the end of the day, I was at a reception and talking to
one of the pastors. I said something like, “Well, with all these big hurricanes
and the warming climate, should anyone be that surprised?” The minister said to me, “You know, we don’t
feel comfortable any more preaching about how natural disasters are the result
of bad behavior. For example, this earthquake is a result of gay marriage or legalized
abortion. But with climate change and the amount of carbon we are contributing
to the greenhouse effect, well, it is hard NOT
to preach that message!” And I admit, I feel like all these destructive
hurricanes are just the chickens coming home to roost. As the surface water of
the ocean heats up, storms get more intense and destructive. This hypothesis is
not a liberal conspiracy: it is supported by empirical facts. We can measure
the water temperature, we can measure the storm intensity. In the 21st century, the activities we do as human
beings, particularly in developed countries like the USA, produce vast amounts
of carbon dioxide which affect our global climate. With more CO2 in the
atmosphere, our climate has greater chance of producing droughts, intense
storms, cooler summers, warmer winters, melting polar caps and rising ocean
levels. The more energy we require from fossil fuels, the more we grow our economy
with these fuels, the more we change our climate with often unpredictable and
unwanted effects.
In the Quran there are many examples of communities whose
behavior and spiritual practice led to unwanted effects, typically resulting in their own destruction. Noah told his people:
“O people, if you find my staying with you and warning
through God’s signs unbearable to you, know that I have reposed my trust in
God. So plan your move, and call your associates, and make certain of your
plan: then do whatever you intend against me, allowing me no respite. If you
turn away from me I do not ask any recompense from you. My reward is with God.
I have been commanded to be one of those who submit to Him.' Even then they
denied him: so We saved him and those with him, in the ark, and established
them in the land, and drowned those who denied Our signs. So think of the fate
of those who were warned.” 10: 71-73
Lot warned his community,
“Would you commit this abomination
with your eye open?Must you really approach men with lust instead of women?
Nay, but you are people without any awareness!” But his people’s only answer
was this: “Expel Lot’s followers from your township! Verily, they are a folk
who make themselves out to be pure!” Thereupon We saved him and his housefolk-
all but his wife, whom We willed to be among those that stayed behind- the
while We rained a rain upon the others; and dire is such rain upon all who let
themselves be warned.” 27:54-58
Salih preached to the people of the Thamud tribe
unsuccessfully. The Thamud people said,
“Are we to follow one single mortal,
one from among ourselves? In that case, behold, we would certainly sink into
error and folly! Why- on him alone from among all of us should a reminder have
been bestowed? Nay but he is a boastful liar!”54:24-25. They asked Salih for
proof of his divine warning, and God said,
“On the morrow they will come to
know who the boastful liar is! Behold, We are letting loose this she-camel as a
test for them; and thou but watch them, and contain thyself in patience. And
let them know that the water is to be divided between them, with each share of
water equitably apportioned.” But they summoned their companion and he ventured
and cruelly slaughtered (the camel) and how severe was the suffering which I
inflicted when My warnings were disregarded! Behold, We let loose upon them one
single blast and they became like the dried-up, crumbling twigs of a
sheepfold.” 54:26-31
The prophet Hud was sent to warn the people of ‘Ad: “Will
you not be conscious of God? Behold, I am an apostle to you, worthy of your
trust: be then conscious of God and pay heed unto me! And no reward whatever do
I ask of you for it: my reward rests with none but the Sustainer of all the
worlds. Will you, in your wanton folly, build altars on every height, and make
for yourselves mighty castles, that you might become immortal? And will you
whenever you lay hand (on others), lay hand (on them) cruelly, without any
restraint? Be then conscious of God and pay heed unto me and be conscious of
Him who has amply provided you with all that you might think of- amply provided
you with flocks, and children, and gardens, and springs. For verily, I fear
lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!” They answered, “It is all one to
us whether thou preaches or are not of those who preach. This is none other
than that to which our forebears clung, and we are not going to be chastised.
And so they gave him the lie; the thereupon We destroyed them. In this, behold,
there is a message , even though most of them will not believe.” 26: 124-139
Before they were destroyed by an earthquake the people of
Midian were warned by prophet Shu’ayb,
"O my people! Worship God alone: you have
no deity other than Him. Clear evidence of the truth has now come unto you from
your Sustainer. Give, therefore, full measure and weight (in all your dealings)
and do not deprive people of what is rightfully theirs, and do not spread
corruption on the earth after it has been so well ordered: this is for your own
good. If you would but believe. And do not lie in ambush by every road,
threatening and trying to turn away from God’s path all who believe in Him, and
trying to make it appear crooked. And remember when you were few and He made
you many: and behold what happened in
the end to the spreaders of corruption. And if there be some among you who have
come to believe in the message which I bear, the while the others do not
believe, then have patience in adversity till God shall judge between us for He
is the best of all judges.” 7:85-87
Now out of these many tales of destruction, there is one
prophet whose community did listen to him and they averted disaster. This
prophet was Yunus, Jonah. Intially, Jonah balked at warning his community,
seeking to escape his responsibility by taking a sea voyage. This didn’t work
out, he was swallowed by the whale.
Quran tells us:
“And him of the great fish? When he went off in wrath
thinking that We had no power over him! But then he cried out in the deep
darkness, “There is no deity save Thee! Limitless art Thou in Thy glory!
Verily, I have done wrong!” And so We responded unto him and delivered him from
distress; for thus do We deliver all who have faith.” 21:87-88
After that initial set back, Yunus resolved to warn his
community, and they actually listened to him, changed their ways, and
successfully avoided disaster.
“Why has there been no habitation that believed and profited
by their faith, except the people of Jonah? When they came to believe, We
removed from them the affliction of shame in the world, and made them
prosperous for a time. “ 10:98
As Muslims we believe that Muhammad was the Seal of the
Prophets, that prophesy ended with him. While we don’t have prophets and
miracles, we do have scientists and empirical evidence which can warn us of
imminent destruction and guide us to better behavior. The second half of my
khutbah will be about what we can do, as khalifas of this world, to promote climate justice.
PAUSE
I spoke in the first part of my talk about climate change which can be
defined by four parameters 1) changes in temperature ( extreme hot, extreme
cold, seasonal) 2) changes in precipitation (floods, drought), 3) changes in
sea level (rising levels, storm surges,
salt water intrusion) and 4) extreme weather ( storms, hurricanes,
tornados). These changes can effect our health in many ways: asthma,
dehydration, famine, water borne diseases, vector borne diseases. The problem
we face is that negative impacts of climate change (heat waves, droughts,
floods) are disproportionately felt by people and countries that did the least
to cause the problem, and can least afford to respond.
Therefore, we define climate justice as a local, national,
and global movement to protect at-risk populations who are disproportionately
affected by climate change.
For instance, in Illinois, we lead the country in the number
of fossil fuel burning plants located in communities of color. This is a big problem because in addition to producing greenhouse gases that
contribute to climate change, fossil-fuel burning power
plants emit pollutants that exacerbate asthma. Children of color are four times
as likely to be admitted to the hospital for an asthma attack and ten times as
likely to die from one as white children.
In 1987 the United
Church of Christ's Commission of Racial Justice issued a "Report on Race
and Toxic Wastes in the United States” which stated."... race was the best
predictor of the location of hazardous waste facilities in the U.S."
We clearly have a
lot of work to do in this country when it comes to establishing climate justice and
I would urge you to consider making climate justice part of
your spiritual practice. Justice is a common theme in Islam, and our stewardship
of the earth is explained to us in Quran 2:30 where God tells the angels “Behold, I
am about to establish upon earth a khalifah.” Well, how would God judge our
term as khalifahs if we did not strive to achieve justice? Fortunately, this
concept of stewardship and justice is shared by many billions of people in
world, Muslims as well as people of different religions, people who can be our
interfaith partners.
I’d like to share with you some words from Pope Francis’
2015 Encyclical Letter:
“Climate change is a global problem with grave
implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the
distribution of goods.”
“Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by
phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely
dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture,
fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources
which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters,
and their access to social services and protection is very limited. “
“Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our
brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our
fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.”
I said earlier we
don’t have prophets anymore, and I don’t believe we need strong political
leaders to tell us what to do. We need a grassroots movement of like minded
people telling the leaders what to do. While revolutions have a lot of drama
and energy, they can also sputter out or turn in on themselves. Grassroots
movements, while slower growing and a little more boring, allow for deep roots
and committed change. Although a lot of khatibs like to go over the battles and
victories of the early Muslim community, Prophet Muhammad himself saw the
treaties and cease-fires as real victories. Because it was during peacetime
where people had time to discuss and reflect, where hearts and minds could be
transformed.
To end I would like to explain to you why the people at the event I
attended last month were not depressed. Last year, the Illinois legislature
passed a law which would ensure clean, renewable energy for Illinois as well as
clean jobs (solar panel installers, wind turbine engineers, etc). Furthermore,
this group made sure that introduced into the legislation was the creation of
2000 jobs for graduates of the foster care system and returning citizens
(ex-convicts). They are planting seeds of opportunity for people who our
society often forgets.
What can you do? Look for opportunities to reduce, recycle and reuse.
Ask your electricity provider to only use renewable energy sources. Make
climate justice your spiritual practice and work together with partners of
similar mind set.
There is a famous hadith of the prophet narrated by Anas ibn
Malik which says:
“If the Hour (of Judgment) starts to happen
and in the hand of one of you is a palm shoot or seedling; then if he’s able to
plant it before the Hour happens, then let him plant it”.
What is interesting about this hadith is not only the sense of
impending doom and response to doom- plant a tree- but also the fact that a
date palm takes at least ten years before it bears fruit. The people of the
prophet’s time were keenly aware of the actions of their ancestors, they only
had to walk past a ruined city or a palm grove or an olive orchard to the see
the effect of past generations on their current prosperity. In keeping with the
spirit of our role as khalifas of this planet, Let us work together to buck the
trend of short-sighted decision making and aim for choices which will benefit
our children and our grandchildren and the world in which they live.
