Bring Your Water and Wudhu to ADAMS this Ramadan

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When you visit ADAMS for iftar or tarawih this Ramadan, make sure you bring your water and wudhu. The ADAMS Green Team is putting an end to disposable water bottle usage this Ramadan. Last year the ADAMS community used 125,000 plastic water bottles during Ramadan; not this year! As a part of the 2015 Water Bottle Campaign, believers are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle to the masjid. The Green Team will also give out reusable BPA-free water bottles with the ADAMS logo or small biodegradable cups as the least sustainable option. Community members can then replenish their water at will from big orange coolers outside during iftar or from indoor water dispensers during tarawih.

Last January, ADAMS proudly announced after  jummah that the community had used 125,000 water bottles during the previous Ramadan. While some took the announcement as an indicator of  the number of believers ADAMS served during the Islamic holy month of fasting, to 17 year old, Hidayah Martinez Jaka, the announcement was inspiration to take a different, sustainable path. “This is not something to be proud of at all. We need to make a change and have these water bottles be reusable and waste less,” Jaka said.

The ADAMS Green Team, which Jaka founded with Ann Raheem and Saqib Raheem in January 2015, brainstormed many ways to start a green revolution, but with the approach of Ramadan, decided to make responsible water usage the priority. “It was natural to think this is something we can do something about rather than think someone else will do it,” explained Jaka, “This is the time to do something. Who will, if it’s not us?” The Green Team founders received a supportive, enthusiastic reception and official approval from ADAMS president and board members. They also invited the jummah khateebs to join in the endeavor , encouraging them to give green khutbahs and spread the word about Green Team efforts in announcements after Friday prayers. They used posters, the ADAMS Facebook page, and email lists to update and remind the community of Green Team endeavors.

This Ramadan, the Green Team is partnering with the Ramadan Team to focus the community’s attention on its water usage, getting the ADAMS community in the habit of using water mindfully and responsibly. The 2015 Water Bottle Campaign urges everyone coming for iftar and tarawih prayers to bring both their water bottles and wudhu every night. There will be coolers filled with ice water for believers to refill during the iftar meal.  Once tarawih begins, office style water dispensers posted indoors can be used to top off water bottles. If someone forgets to bring their water bottle, they’ll have a few options: the Green Team will offer BPA-free plastic , 24-ounce reusable water bottles with the ADAMS logo (for an optional donation) or small biodegradable cups. Water fountains will be available as usual. The Green Team will also be accepting email addresses so they can send reminders for people to bring their water bottles and wudhu to the masjid. Besides collecting points for sustainability, there are practical perks to bringing water and wudhu to the masjid: believers can easily break their fast, will have a drink on hand during iftar, and can skip the long lines for the bathrooms or wudhu stations at the masjid.

Jaka and the ADAMS Green Team are working to change the mindset of the masjid leadership and community toward a more environmentally friendly outlook and reduce the community’s ecological footprint. InshaAllah community members will apply the green principles they learn about and practice at masjid events into their daily lives both during and after Ramadan by recycling, reducing their waste, turning down the faucet to a trickle, turning off unused lights, and thinking “about everything you use and do…does this impact the earth? does this impact my fellow humans,” Jaka elaborated. The Green Team hopes to bring green issues to the forefront of peoples’ minds and cultivate a more environmentally minded community and masjid.

Jaka describes ADAMS as a community that is always working to make itself better and involve the youth. With the support of the ADAMS community, the Green Team plans to make changes to how events are run and the building is improved so that ADAMS becomes a green community reflecting the charge from the Qur’an to be a khalifa  of the earth. Jaka believes the Water & Wudhu campaign is important because it puts a spotlight on Muslim communities’ use of disposable products during one of the most sacred months of the Islamic calendar. The ADAMS Green Team’s goals include promoting mindfulness of the source of the disposable products we use and its impact on the environment. They also hope to demonstrate the importance and positive impact of environmentally friendly programs, buildings and communities to other masajid. “As Muslims we have the responsibility to be stewards of the earth . It’s in the Qur’an, so it should be very important to Muslims around the world.” So if you plan to visit ADAMS for iftar or tarawih this Ramadan, make sure you bring your water and wudhu.

Kori Majeed is a wife and homeschooling mother of a gaggle of five girls. Learn more about her sustainable Ramadan initiatives at GreenRamadan.com.

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