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Two New York City Muslims discuss the Islamic imperative to care for the earth“In the midst of the drama around the mosque that’s being erected two blocks from Ground Zero,” wrote Ibrahim Abdul-Matin in the Daily Beast in August, “a few details have been left out that provide some clarity as to the purpose of this project. Specifically, the project will be the country’s first certified ‘green mosque,’ in full compliance with stringent LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, which is why organizers have named the project Park51, rather than the oft-cited ‘Cordoba House.’”

If “green Islam”—or “green Any Religion”—sounds like an oxymoron, meet Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. Ibrahim is an environmental policy consultant who has worked with Green for All, Green City Force, Interfaith Leaders for Environmental Justice, the Prospect Park Alliance, and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning & Sustainability. And he believes that Islam calls on its followers to protect the earth, and always has.

To explore this, he spoke in November with Khalid Latif, Executive Director and Imam of the Islamic Center at NYU. In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg appointed Imam Latif to become the youngest chaplain of the New York City Police Department. He was named one of the world’s 500 most influential Muslims in 2010.

This conversation took place in New York City at Housing Works, a nonprofit bookstore, cafe, and event space that raises money to fight AIDS and homelessness. It has been edited for clarity and length

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