'Green Islam' Movement

'Green Islam' Movement

GS-3: Environmental Protection

(IAS/UPPCS)

Relevant for Prelims:

'Green Islam' movement, Vishnoi movement, Chipko movement, Appiko movement, Silent Valley movement, Jungle Bachaao Movement, Narmada Bachaao Movement, Anti-Tehri Dam Movement.

Relevant for Mains:

What is 'Green Islam' movement, Causes of starting the movement, brief introduction of movements related to environmental protection in India, Conclusion.

22/04/2024

Source: NBT

 

Why in news:

In recent times, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has started the 'Green Islam' movement.

  • Indonesia is committed to reducing its emissions under the Copenhagen and Paris Agreements.

What is 'Green Islam' movement?

  • Green Islam: This movement is related to environmental protection. This Islam movement is spreading rapidly in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
  • Objective: This movement has been started in Indonesia's capital Jakarta with the aim of creating environmental awareness among the people and preserving the earth.
  • Leadership: This movement is being led by the Ulemas of the big mosques of this country under the top leadership of Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasruddin Omar.

Message of this movement:

  • The island country itself is being affected by major changes in weather events. In Indonesia, with a population of more than 27 crores facing environmental challenges, some people look towards religion with special hope. In the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, there is a growing demand for an Islam that is environmentally conscious. This is being called 'Green Islam'.
  • The main theme of the religious teachings of this movement is environment.

According to Ulemas-

  • “Our most dangerous flaw as humans is that we consider the Earth a mere object. The greedier we are towards nature, the sooner the Doomsday will come.”
  • One-fourth of the world's Muslim population considers the environment to be most important.
  • They say that just as Muslims keep fast in Ramadan, they should also make it their duty to protect the earth. Like daily namaz, planting trees should also become a habit.
  • He says he is merely following Prophet Muhammad's instructions that Muslims should care for nature.

Reasons to start the movement:

  • Indonesia, due to its geographical and natural diversity, is one of the country’s most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
  • It is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in countries with high rates of deforestation and reliance on coal power.
  • Composed of more than 17,000 islands and with a long coastline, Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms.
  • Impact of climate change: Climate change is likely to cause many of its islands to submerge due to rising sea levels around the Indonesian archipelago.
  • Global Warming: Indonesia, besides being the country with the largest Muslim population, is also the largest exporter of coal and palm oil in the world. The production of coal and palm oil has increased carbon emissions in this country, which has increased the crisis of climate change.
  • Threat of coastal flooding: Coastal areas of most of Indonesia's islands are at risk from flooding.
  • Destruction of coastal biodiversity: Sea level rise can lead to the destruction of wetlands and biodiversity habitats.
  • Increase in dangerous storms: Higher sea levels are causing more dangerous storms causing loss of life and property.
  • Impact on infrastructure: The potential for high coastal water levels threatens basic services such as Internet access.
  • Threat to inland life: Rising sea levels can contaminate soil and groundwater with salt.
  • Threat to tourism: Due to negative impact on tourism in coastal areas, there is a decrease in employment and decline in the country's economy.

Brief introduction to the movements related to environmental protection in India:

Vishnoi Movement:

  • It is a non-violent movement of nature worshipers which was started by Rishi Somji around 1700 AD against deforestation. Later it was led by Amrita Devi.
  • Shri Guru Jambheshwar is considered to be the founder of Bishnoi sect who is also known as Jambhozi. The founder of this sect had given 29 rules for his followers.
  • 'Bishnoi' is made up of two words: Bees + No, meaning one who follows twenty-nine rules. Due to these 29 rules i.e. twenty and nine, this sect was named Vishnoi.
  • Affected states: Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Chipko Movement:

  • It was an environmental protection movement that was started by farmers in Uttarakhand (formerly Uttar Pradesh) of India to protest against the cutting of trees. Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt were the leaders of this movement. Women also participated in this movement.

Appico Movement:

  • Like the Chipko movement, this movement was also a revolutionary movement for environmental protection. This movement started in August, 1983 in Uttara Kannada region of Karnataka. This movement was started in Karnataka under the leadership of Panduranga Hegde for the protection of forests.

Silent Valley Movement:

  • Expanding over an area of 89 square kilometers, the Silent Valley of Kerala is famous for its dense biodiversity. In 1980, this movement was started by scientists, environmental activists and regional people in protest against the proposal of a dam to generate 200 MW power under a project on Kuntipunj River.
  • They believed that this was a threat to many special flowers, plants and endangered species of this area. Apart from this, it can cause huge harm to the centuries-old balanced ecology of the Western Ghats. Under pressure, the government had to declare it a national reserve forest in 1985.

Jungle Bachao Movement:

  • This movement started from Bihar in 1980. Later this movement spread to Jharkhand and Orissa. In 1980, the government introduced a plan to convert the forests of Bihar into forests of valuable teak trees, and against this plan all the tribal tribes of Bihar united and launched a movement to save their forests. It was named 'Jungle Bachao Andolan'. Many environmentalists call this movement a "game of political greed and populism".

Narmada Bachao Andolan:

  • This movement was a national level movement among the ongoing environmental movements in India.
  • The Sardar Sarovar Dam Project on the Narmada River was inaugurated by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1961. But no consensus could be reached on an appropriate water distribution policy among the three states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In 1969, the government constituted the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal to resolve the water dispute and start work on the project.
  • Environmentalists and local people started protesting against the construction of dams on the Narmada for the generation of hydro-electricity in 1985, which was known as Narmada Bachao Andolan. Medha Patkar has been the leader of this movement, who got the support of Arundhati Roy, Baba Amte and Aamir Khan.

Anti Tehri Dam Movement:

  • This movement was started by Sunderlal Bahuguna and other environmentalists in protest against the Tehri Dam Project.
  • Tehri Dam, built on Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rivers in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, is the largest dam in Asia and the fifth highest in the world (approximate height 260.5 m).
  • Its construction was approved by the Planning Commission in 1972.

Conclusion:

Green Islam movement is an important movement started in Indonesia to deal with the climate change crisis and spread awareness among people towards environmental protection. This movement is impacting many carbon emitting countries of the world. Many mass movements in India have been playing a major role in environmental protection and promotion.

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Mains Question

What is the 'Green Islam' movement? Comment briefly on the major movements started in India for environmental protection and promotion.