This Project engages three religious institutions in Jerusalem –a church, mosque, and synagogue, or a seminary, in a “greening” process of both the physical building and grounds, as well as the educational content communicated to the congregants. One Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religious institution will be involved. ICSD will bring together clergy from each of the institutions involved in the process.
The project will create models for the greening of Jerusalem religious institutions and will undertake to educate their leaders and members on practical environmental actions based on religious teachings. It seeks to empower religious leaders and faith communities in Jerusalem to promote sustainable development at the community level. It will also create common ground and lead to positive change among Muslims, Jews, and Christians, Palestinian and Israelis.
Why is it needed?
Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world and is a holy city for all three major Abrahamic religions;Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The city hosts myriad historical, archaeological, and religious sites. Since billions of people hold the city close to their hearts, and millions visit it each year Jerusalem should serve as a global model for faith-based initiatives promoting environmental sustainability.
In addition, religious institutions in Jerusalem are unintentional contributing to local and global environmental problems. For example, the wastewater of Jerusalem’s holiest sites— the Al Aksa mosque, the Western Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, flows as raw sewage from the outskirts of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. With great irony, the sewage of people who pray pollutes the pathways of the Promised Land. Most religious institutions and people of faith are unaware or unconcerned about what happens when they flush the toilet, take a shower, or wash their hands in one third of the city.
Finally, a significant need exists to break down religious, ethnic, and cultural barriers and support a shared and collective approach. Bringing the two sides to a place of respect and understanding by finding common areas for collaboration may prove effective in promoting peace. In the Holy Land, Christians, Jews, and Muslims live on the same land, breathe the same air, and drink the same water. Environmental challenges transcend borders and religious affiliations and therefore exist as an arena of joint, urgent concern among people of diverse nationalities and faiths. Yet cultural and social separation poses a challenge when tackling issues jointly. ICSD seeks to address some of the root issues underlying violence in the Holy Land, including ignorance of the other and lack of concern for one’s surroundings. Acknowledging that much of Jerusalem’s population identifies with a faith tradition, ICSD utilizes the influence of religion to promote coexistence and environmental sustainability. ICSD has identified effective approaches in bringing students and community activists together to transcend their differences in the name of environmental and social justice.
Faith communities represent a key yet under-tapped avenue for climate action globally, with great potential transform people’s behavior and influence their societies and governments. Prior to Pope Francis’ Encyclical and the launch of the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change, faith communities had yet to take a major role in inspiring a response to climate change. It is critical to build on these gains to promote further work in the area.
Our aims
- Mobilize and advance collaboration amongst religious communities in Jerusalem to enable them to become leaders of a faith-based shift to sustainable living and to cultivate a sense of identification with and concern for sustainability issues.
- Work to overcome inter-religious strife by promoting interfaith cooperation, dialogue, and mutual respect through shared ownership of goals that further ecological sustainability and a climate of coexistence in Jerusalem
- Showcase Jerusalem religious institutions as pioneers of environmental sustainability and create an international multiplier effect – utilizing online and international media.
- Leverage the moral authority of Jerusalem religious figures to promote sustainable living and co-existence.
- Transform Jerusalem from a symbol of conflict and strife into a model for co-existence and responsible, sustainable living by creating an avenue for coexistence that brings together religious leaders from three religions and multiple ethnicities to co-operate and share the process.
Interfaith Greening of Jerusalem Religious Institutions Proposal 2019