MSU Muslim group takes part in No Impact Week

Starting Monday, several Muslim students at MSU took small steps to help solve a global problem one day at a time.

The Muslim Students Association, or MSA, is taking part in a national movement known as No Impact Week, which encourages people across the country to take this week to notice how they can lessen their impact on the environment.

No Impact Week asked participants to take each day of the week to examine a different way to eliminate waste in their lives.

Areas such as consumption, food, transportation and utilities were areas of focus on during the week so people were able to build a better understanding of the environment one day at a time, said Ryan Strom, a former MSA president and MSU alumnus.

Although No Impact Week has no religious affiliation, Strom said it was important for MSA because of its strong religious similarities.

“Not only is this just good for the environment, not only does walking or biking to work reduce CO2 emissions by a huge amount, but there’s also a religious and spiritual aspect to it,” he said.

“God has put mankind on Earth as stewards of the Earth. He’s entrusted us to protect the Earth, use its resources wisely and to not be foolish and wasteful in our dominion over Earth.”

Strom, who graduated in the spring with degrees in political science and sociology, now works with the organization D.C. Green Muslims — an environmental and religious group based in Washington, D.C. — which promotes the event at the nation’s capitol.

MSA member and education junior Yasmine Abdulhamid reduced her food use and rode her bike more this week because she said she saw it as a great way to merge two important aspects of her life.

“It was really personal for me because it’s putting my environmental awareness along with my religion,” Abdulhamid said. “It makes you more aware throughout the day of what you’re supposed to do.”

Nehal Amer, a member of MSA and an international relations sophomore, said she always has been active in environmentalism, but still has learned a lot this week.

“It definitely has an impact on me,” Amer said. “I can just see the benefits of it and it’s making want to stick to these routines consistently.”

Amer said cutting back on some of her routines is not a huge inconvenience because she said she knows what she’s doing is in line with some of Islam’s teachings.

“Preventing damage is better than treating it afterwards,” she said.