Eco-Islam
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Farewell to a Saudi animal rights activist
"You see me in the eyes of cats, and I see you"
In late August, Twitter was awash with grief and disbelief at the gut-wrenching news of the passing of a man known only by the pseudonym Barg ou Ra'd ("Lightning & Thunder"). Reem Kelani says farewell to a popular Saudi animal rights activist whose identity was revealed only after his passing
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Interview with political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel
How are Middle East countries coping with climate change?
Climate change, water scarcity and declining oil revenues: the Middle East and North Africa face huge environmental challenges. Political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel has published a study on how the region is dealing with these pressing issues. Interview by Christopher Resch
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Private initiatives in Gaza
For a brighter future ... despite the blockade
As he sees the first of his successes making its way towards local markets, Azem Abu Daqqa feels very positive. The launch of an agricultural project in the south of the Gaza Strip, which challenges the reality of the Israeli blockade and the scarcity of job opportunities for the thousands of university graduates in this coastal area is promising. He isn't the only one to have seized the initiative. Fida Abu Elayyan, a pharmacist, is doing something very similar. A report from Gaza
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Environmental protection in Egypt
Did you enjoy your plastic meal today?
Has it ever crossed your mind that you are eating plastic on a daily basis? That you are drinking it? Apart from the thousands of trending pictures and videos on social media of animals and fish tangled in plastic, or even filled with plastic, are you aware that 83 % of our tap water contains microplastics? By Manar Ramadan
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Water shortage in the Maghreb
Morocco's thirst revolution and the luxury of watermelons
When residents of Zagora in southern Morocco protested in 2017, demanding the right to safe drinking water, the authorities arrested twenty-three of them in what became known as the "thirst revolution". The residents of Zagora and its environs, however, continue to suffer from a water shortage. By Ilhalm Al-Talbi
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Biodiesel production
Destroying Indonesia's virgin forests to protect the climate?
Germany continues to believe in the fiction that palm oil obtained from South East Asia to blend with diesel fuel is ecologically sound and climate-friendly. But that belief is mistaken, as Inge Altemeier and Stefan Buchen found out
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Interview with environmental expert Tarik M. Quadir
"If we don’t pull together to save the earth, we will ‘sink’ together"
Taking the Fridays for Future movement as his starting point, Muslim environmental expert Tarik Quadir talks to Marian Brehmer about the connections between Islam and environmental protection – and the attitude Islamic countries need to adopt in countering climate change
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Alternative tourism in Tunisia
Off the beaten tourist track
Demand for the classic Tunisian beach package holiday has slumped as a result of unrest in the wake of the Arab Spring and direct attacks on foreign tourists in recent years. Nevertheless, a small but growing number of local entrepreneurs are pursuing alternatives to the all-inclusive cheap deal, offering experiences that bring visitors closer to the country and its people – and that are kinder to the environment. By Madeleine Löning
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Islam and single-use plastics
Appealing to Indonesia's Muslims
The Indonesian government and Greenpeace have teamed up with Islamic organisations to promote plastic waste reduction. Can including religion make environmental campaigns more effective? By Rizki Nugraha and Ayu Purwaningsih
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Lebanonʹs rubbish crisis and youth protests
"If not us, then who?"
Something remarkable has begun in Beirut. Massive government mismanagement and the attendant rubbish crisis two years ago inspired and galvanised Lebanese youth to demand more of their government and to hold their leaders accountable. It all began with the closure of the Naameh landfill, which was over-capacity. Kareem Chehayeb recalls the protests
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Environmental protection in Islam
Patterning nature
What indicators of environmental protection and species conservation can be found in Islamic theology, the Koran and other Islamic lore? Answers from Muna Tatari, professor at the Seminar for Islamic Theology at the University of Paderborn
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Iran: paralysed by environmental neglect
Iranian politicians like to refer to their country as an "island of stability" in the Middle East. But the country has severe environmental problems and nobody feels responsible – with wide-reaching consequences. By Shabnam von Hein