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Project Development:
ZANZIBAR
Laying down foundations of Islamic environmental practice:
setting up shariah based institutions and publishing Guide
Book for ulema and madrasa teachers.
OBJECTIVES
- To set up a working group to put forward proposals to
establish shariah institutions such as hemas and
hisbas to form the basis of an evaluation programme
for the Misali Island Marine Conservation Programme.
- To publish the "Guide Book for Islamic Environmental
Teachers" the drafts for which are now ready for use
by religious leaders and other environmental education teachers
in Pemba, Zanzibar to disseminate marine environmental conservation
messages to their respective communities.
- It is also proposed that this teaching resource be given
a public launch in order to obtain maximum possible publicity
for the following reasons –
A) Popularise the Islamic approach to environmental
protection amongst Muslims.
B) Inform the international community of the breadth
of the Islamic contribution to human welfare.
LOCATION
This project is located in Pemba Island, Zanzibar in the
United Republic of Tanzania.
It is specifically focused on fishermen from six of the thirty-six
Shehia/villages in Pemba who fish in the Misali Island Marine
Conservation Zone. The Guide Book and the experience gained
in this pioneering project will be made available to a wider
audience in the whole of East Africa.
BACKGROUND
This is the final component of the Misali Ethics Pilot Project,
which was itself a part of the Misali Island Conservation
Programme. It came into being because mainstream environmental
education had little or no impact on the behaviour of local
fishermen whose illegal fishing practices were causing irreparable
damage to the marine environment of Misali Island, noted for
its diversity of coral reefs and marine life forms. It is
estimated that the Misali fishing grounds support more than
ten thousand people (that is one third of the people living
in Pemba Island) as well as others in the area.
The mainstream environmental programme and the specific Qur’an
based ethics workshop was supported by CARE International
USA. As there was no allocation of funds for the wider dissemination
of Islamic teachings funding is now sort for the printing
and launch of the two editions of the Guide Book, which will
form the main educational component of the project.
This project is strategically located in the eastern coastal
region of Africa, also known as the Swahili coast. Muslim
communities throughout this region are faced with problems
similar to those evident in Zanzibar and it is envisaged that
a wider circulation of this publication will bring positive
benefits to both the people and the eco-systems of this region.
This Guide Book will also be used to develop other educational
resources such as posters, training notes, brochures, calendars
and other similar material.
IMPLEMENTATION
The Guide Book will be used to disseminate Islamic conservation
teachings in environmental education programmes that will
reach various audiences in the following ways –
- By the ulema within the villages to disseminate the core
teachings through their own deep understanding of Islamic
knowledge
- In the Kutbas during Friday prayers
- In the madrasas and in tarbiya classes
- Through the production of visual aids and displays such
as posters, video tapes, Islamic calendars and other similar
material
- Use as a resource to facilitate bylaw formulation that
will include the establishment of Shariah institutions such
Hemas, Harims, Awqaf and Hisbas
necessary for the successful implementation and monitoring
of the project.
LEAD ORGANISATIONS AND CONTACT PERSONS
Ali Abdullah Mbarouk
NGO - Misali Island conservation Association (MICA)
P.O.BOX 283, WETE, PEMBA
Zanzibar
Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Thabit S. Masoud
Zanzibar Area coordinator
CARE (TZ) PEMBA
P.O. Box 3526
Zanzibar
Tanzania
Email:[email protected],
[email protected]
Ali Khamis Thani
Islamic Conservation Officer
CARE (TZ) PEMBA
P.O. Box 3526
Zanzibar
Tanzania
Email:[email protected]
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