December 1, 2011
12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Room NVC 9-150
Baruch College (CUNY)
55 Lexington Avenue at 24th Street
New York, NY 10010
A special Muslim Students Association 90-minute event was held at Baruch College, NYC to explore ideas that Muslim students can adopt to become more environmentally aware and active.
This event was the trial run for what is hoped to become a series of MSA events across the country that will focus on Islam's relationship with the natural world -- how the tenets of Muslim faith can be transformed into environmental action on campus and in local communities.
MSA President Yafees Sarwar introduced the two guest speakers: Ermin Siljkovic, Manhattan Recycling Outreach Coordinator for the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education, GrowNYC -- and Marty Ostrow, co-producer/director of RENEWAL.
Ermin spoke about his own Muslim background and the daunting environmental challenges we all face today (especially critical for a low lying Muslim country like Bangladesh that faces the threat of rising sea levels). After laying out a grim but realistic picture of the present eco-moment, he quickly moved to the promise of hope that exists within Muslim tradition that describes an intimate bond with all aspects of the natural world.
Ermin introduced Marty who, after talking briefly about the growth of America's religious-environmental movement, showed Food for Faith, the Muslim story from RENEWAL. The story focuses on an initiative in illinois that supplies meat and poultry that's both sustainably raised and halal (religiously correct by Muslim tradition) to Muslim communities in Chicago.
Following the film, Ermin spoke about Muslim faith inspiring environmental action. He then presented an entertaining and educational interactive demonstration about recycling as it's being carried out in NYC and on the Baruch campus.
The remainder of the session engaged the students in a Question and Answer Session as well as more discussion about adopting personal actions, changes of behavior (recycling, making choices about what we eat and the energy we use, etc) that can help solve our environmental concerns.
The overall message of the day: "Your Muslim faith can be translated into action for the environment -- for a greener, more sustainable future."