– John Robbins

Inspiration

• The start of Spring
• The different kinds of eating in our community (meat eaters to strict vegans)
• Reading verses in the Quran that were focused around food

MPV Principle

• Universal Human Rights: 
  • We affirm our commitment to social, economic and environmental justice.
  • We believe that the full self-realization of all people, in a safe and sustainable world, is a prerequisite for freedom, civility, and peace.
  • We support efforts for universal health care, universal public education, the protection of our environment, and the eradication of poverty.

Ethics and Eating

During Ramadan, there is a lot of thought put into what we are, or are not, eating and drinking. There is focus on how we eat and the impact of eating on ourselves and the world around us. Other times, it seems we are often just eating to eat.

The purpose of this talk is to delve more into the ethics of eatings. How does one eat? What things does one eat? What are some ways to incorporate ethics and eating in one’s everyday life?

Lawful (Halal) – a loaded word

“Eat and drink all that is lawful and wholesome and pure.” Quran 2:68

The Quran (5:3, 6:145, 16:115)  talks about not eating animals that have died naturally, drinking flowing blood or eating the meat and fat (flesh) of pigs. It also adds not to eat things that have had any other name than God’s called over it. Hadith (Sahih Bukari/Abu Dawood/Muslim) is where the tradition of saying “Bismillah” (In the name of God) over food originates.

For some Muslims, keeping halal means they will only eat meat that is ritually slaughtered by Muslims (Zabihah). For others, it means they will eat meat that is provided by Muslims or Jewish or Christian people (Halal). Still, there are those who only care to just abstain from pork and others who simply do not care.

There are Muslims who completely refrain from meat and have started a movement towards vegetarian/vegan practices. They believe that if a person has the ability and since meat eating is not required in the Quran (6:145) that people should consider vegetarianism/veganism as a way to reflect the natural progression of humanity and the compassion and mercy of Islam. There are several members of MPV who are making the move towards no meat, including members of MPV-Atlanta. I found a couple of resources for those who are interested:
http://www.islamveg.com/ - Islamic Concern
http://www.greenprophet.com/tag/vegetarian/ - Green Prophet – Vegetarian Resources
https://www.facebook.com/groups/181900761828828/ - Muslim Vegetarians Facebook Group

Intention

What is the intention behind someone eating something? Each individual knows why they do or do not eat or drink something and that is part of a personal, spiritual journey. For some, the journey will include eating certain foods without consideration, for others, there is a lot of contemplation around food.

There are circumstances when some people will give no thought to what is eaten, including eating things that many would consider unlawful, like pork. Sometimes, this is a product of the environment. For example, if a person lives with family, it may be a lot more complicated than it seems to abstain from eating. The Quran talks about this in 16:115, “…But if one was compelled, without being one who is willfully disobedient, nor one who turns away, then, truly, God is Forgiving, Compassionate.” So, careful consideration of what one eats and why one is eating something matters. I do not believe that God, being forgiving and compassionate, would condemn a soul for the occasional ham and swiss, but I do believe the idea to to think before one eats, as there are consequences (health-related) to not doing so.

Part of intention is being aware of how much you eat. This is easy to think of during a month like Ramadan, but during the rest of the year, the idea of being aware of how much one eats is sometimes a foreign concept.

“Food for two suffices three, and food for three suffices four.” ~Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)

Recently, out of necessity, a couple in the community began to eat out less. As they began to eat out less, they also began to eat less at home to save even more money. Once they became more aware of what they were not eating, they found that they did not need as much as they thought in order to be satisfied with what they ate. What is more, they also found that they could eat fairly healthily and still have friends over for dinner on occasion.

Animal Welfare

The Quran speaks in several places about the importance of mercy and compassion in relation to animals (6:38, 24:41) In Hadith, Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) attitude towards animals was seen as positive towards animals. One particular account involved people who sat idly on the backs of camel. The response from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was as follows:

“Do not treat the backs of your animals as pulpits, for God Most high has made them subject to you only to convey you to a place which you could not otherwise have reached without much difficulty”

The Humane Society of the United States has a very interesting document about the welfare of animals in relation to Islam:
http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/faith/islam_and_animals.pdf

Several members have related how important animals have been to them. One member recounted how when she had some very large health issues, caring for animals gave her purpose. She found that when she started focusing more and more on the care of the animals that her health improved significantly. The American Humane Society has begun research into the correlation between improved health and animal assisted therapy (http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/programs/animal-assisted-therapy/).

The welfare of animals is a concern of the vegetarian/vegan movements, but also of halal practices. The ritual of halal slaughtering is considered by many Muslims to be more humane than many of the practices followed by other methods because it requires a sharp blade to be used so death is quick and the death has to happen out of the view of other animals. The death of any living creature is complicated, but for some, it is necessary and should be done in the best way possible.

How to Incorporate Ethics in Eating

We’ve gone over some of the basics of eating and Islam, which include the lawful side of eating, intention behind eating and welfare of animals. Now we will talk about some steps to take to bring more thought into the food one eats.

1. Buy local, Buy Organic, Buy Natural

This is often a hurdle for people because when they read local, organic or natural, they see $$$ instead of healthy or ethical. People also often believe that the contribution they make does not make that big of a difference.

• Buy Local – What does this mean? What is the impact?
  • This can mean as local as one’s own country to only buying food within a certain range from one’s home.
  • The further food has to travel, the more the food impacts the environment because of the transportation required to get the food there. The more people who demand locally grown food, the more local grocers (even “big box” stores) will stock the food. Even if local produce is only stocked during certain times of the year, it will still have a positive impact on the environment.
  • Look for frozen foods that are harvested locally or look for workshops that show you how to freeze/can foods that are in season (our county government is offering a class this month in honor of Earth Day).
  • Local food providers invest in your economy, including charities and programs that impact where you live
  • If you buy food locally, then you are in control of buying from people you know and trust.
  • Here is more about a study from the University of Georgia about the impact of buying locally: http://onlineathens.com/stories/082910/new_701635126.shtml
• Buying Organic
  • It is healthy and has a positive impact on the environment because it avoids pesticides and chemicals.
  • Animals from organic food programs are more likely to be treated well
  • Organic food is becoming more affordable. In fact, many stores, like Kroger, offer organic options that are often less expensive than the store brands (What? yes.)
  • As the popularity of organic foods has increased, so have the standards surrounding organic foods.
  • Read more organic foods: http://organic.about.com/
• Buying Natural
  • Natural foods have gone through a minimum of processing or treatment with preservatives
  • Giving food manufacturers feedback about the importance of natural foods help. Recently, for example, Yoplait replaced the high fructose corn syrup in its Original and Light versions and switched to natural sugar based on feedback from social media. (http://www.yoplait.com/yoplait-in-action/great-minds-think-alike)
  • Here is a helpful slideshow that shows what natural foods are: http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/23-ways-eat-clean-natural-foods

2. Consider Gardening

“It is He Who produces gardens, with trellises and without, and dates, and tilth with produce of all kinds, and olives and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in variety): eat of their fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered.” Quran 6: 141.

Having your own garden is an inexpensive way to not only have fresh fruits and vegetables at home, but to have a fun hobby on the side. Many plants can produce year round. Several members shared stories of their own gardening experiences and what seemed like an overwhelming task at first, with some guidance, turned into a rewarding experience.

If you are not the gardening type, look to friends and family. Maybe you can help harvest fruits and vegetables, prepare recipes or offer to help take care of others’ gardens.

If you are not sure where to start, here is a helpful guide for first time gardeners: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/planning-your-first-vegetable-garden/

You might also check out your local extension office, which sometimes offers advice and help with gardening: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

3. Eat less meat

This particular step is very easy if one is a vegetarian or a vegan. However, many people are meat eaters. So, what do you do if you are a meat eater and what impact does one less day of meat have?

• Better health – According to the American Heart Association eating less meat can help reduce cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease and stroke. Use the tips for cooking better: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/PreventionTreatmentofHighCholesterol/Cooking-for-Lower-Cholesterol_UCM_305630_Article.jsp
• Better Finances – Meat costs more than non-meat protein sources. For example, this week, a can of organic northern beans used to make a bean-based meal costs 89 cents at my local Kroger compared to the sale price of  $2.99/lb for 80% lean ground chuck. That’s quite a bit of savings! I personally like my meat, but I do try to eat meatless meals a few times a week for my pocket as much as for the other benefits. What can you do with your savings? Pay off  debts, save for vacation, or give money to charity, like the Atlanta Community Food Bank (http://www.acfb.org/) or MPV (http://mpvusa.org/donate/).
  Healthy Bean Recipes - http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_bean_recipes
• Better environment – Cutting down on meat consumption helps reduce your carbon footprint. How? According to the United Nations, livestock accounts for one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions affecting climate change. The amount of water used on livestock is more than what is consumed by humans.
  Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
  http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/reasons-to-cut-down-on-meat-00000000019664/index.html
  http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/02/eat-less-meat-and-save-the-planet/

4. Consider packaging

Think about the type of packaging you are using at home and the type of packaging you are getting from outside of your home. Try to bring reusable grocery bags with you to the store or do without bags. If you do use reusable bags, be sure to use disinfectant with them  regularly.

If you go out and do not have a choice on packaging, like at a restaurant, try to go for the least amount. Skip the bags offered by the restaurant unless you use those for other things later and/or have a way to recycle them later.

Speaking of an old standard…

5. Reduce, reuse, recycle

This “old” standard is a great motto to have.

Reduce what you eat, throw away, use, etc…

Reuse as much as you can. Reuse grocery bags. I use mine as garbage bags, lunch bags (if they are clean), and sometimes, even as really quick overnight bags. My local grocery stores have a recycle bin for grocery bags. Even though I am working towards using less of them, I feel a bit better when I reuse and recycle them.

Recycle what you can. Many local areas have recycle programs that are not too difficult. My county, for example, lets me dump all recyclables together and then sorts them at a facility. I love this, as I am definitely a “lazy” recycler, but have definitely become more aware about what I am buying as a result.

Need more ideas and help?

Try http://www.epa.gov/recycle/

Find out why recycling is important - http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/

And finally…

6. Try Composting

This is one area I will confess I have not ventured, but several members of the community have and love the process and free mulch they have all year round.

Here are some tips on how to start composting: http://epa.gov/recycle/composting.html

If you are like me and do not compost (yet), use a garbage disposal. A garbage disposal breaks down food waste so it gets treated at a sewage treatment plant where it can eventually end up as treated water, renewable energy or fertilizer.

Conclusion

“Eat and drink but waste not by excess, for God loves not the wasters.” – Quran 7:31

The idea of the verse from the Quran is not to scare you into immediately following all of the advice given, but to hopefully give you a starting point for how to approach ethics and eating in your everyday life. There are many (many) considerations and just putting a little more thought into how and what we eat can go a long way into hopefully bringing more sustainability to life and the planet.

Prayer

Prayer of the Farm Worker’s Struggle – Cesar Chavez

Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
So I will know my people’s plight.
Free me to pray for others;
For you are present in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life;
So that I can be free at last.
Grant me courage to serve others;
For in service there is true life.
Give me honesty and patience;
So that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration;
So that the spirit will be alive among us.
Let the spirit flourish and grow;
So we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for
justice;
For they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us;
So we can change the world.

Other Resources:

http://www.uua.org/environment/eating/121903.shtml
http://www.islamic-relief.com/ramadan/eating-in-Ramadan.aspx

(Click for PDF Version)

Los Angeles, CA – March 28, 2013: MPV, a progressive grassroots organization, stand with our LGBT citizens in support of their rights.

Since its inception in 2007, MPV has always stood for the rights of LGBTQ Muslims regardless of whether it was the popular stance to take or not. We believe that “Justice for All” of our Constitution reiterates the values of the Quran as in verse 5:8 – “…Be just, this is closest to being God-conscious.”

In light of this Quranic verse we strongly condemn the homophobic sentiments of our fellow Muslims who oppose marriage equality for same sex couples. The Quran teaches us marriage is between two consenting adults. Verse 24:32: “…and [you ought to] marry the single from among you… “. It is time for Muslims to reassess their understanding of marriage in Islam and to support everyone’s God-given right to marry.

Muslims for Progressive Values recognizes the worth of every human being as endowed by our creator.  Seeking to enact justice through word and deed, MPV has worked to create inclusive spaces where LGBT Muslims could embrace both their faith and their sexual orientation. MPV has supported intellectual and spiritual approaches to the intersection of Islam and homosexuality.

To learn more about MPV please visit www.mpvusa.org.

#​#​#

Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) is a 501 (c) (3) founded in 2007.  MPV asserts that Islam is inherently progressive, inclusive and egalitarian which is an understanding that informs the ten principles by which the organization is guided. In the short years since its inception, MPV has expanded to include chapters in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Atlanta, Columbus, Salt Lake City, Ottawa and Toronto, Canada as well as Paris, France. More information can be found at www.mpvusa.org.

Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance to Israeli Occupation

Palestinian Non-Violent Leader and Activist

Iyad Burnat

Join us for a Shabbat dinner, Isha Prayer and Discussion

What are the roles that we can play to support an end to occupation and to gain justice and peace for Palestinians and Israelis?

When: Friday February 1st from 7:30-9:30 pm

Where:   3500 Piedmont Road (Two Securities Bldg.)

This event is co-sponsored by Muslims for Progressive Values, Jewish Voice for Peace,

Interfaith Peace-Builders & Fellowship of Reconciliation

To RSVP for dinner and for more info contact ilise at ilise.cohen@gmail.com

Iyad Burnat was born in 1973 in Bil`in, Palestine, where he heads the Bil’in Popular Committee. Since 2005, citizens of Bil`ih, joined by Israeli and international peace activists, have held weekly non-violent demonstrations against the Israeli separation wall and the encroachment of illegal settlements. The protesters have maintained a commitment to non-violent resistance in the face of armed military opposition, and have suffered many injuries and some deaths. The demonstrations are the subject of the 2012 Oscar-nominated documentary film 5 Broken Cameras, which was made by Iyad’s brother, Emad Burnat.
Iyad became involved in popular resistance as a teenager, and was accused of throwing stones, arrested, and imprisoned for two years by the Israeli military at age 17. Since then he has been arrested and imprisoned several times. During his 2012-2013 American tour, Iyad will tell the stories of Bil’in and life in the occupied West Bank, and talk about strategies for non-violent popular resistance with a goal of peace and prosperity for all people. Iyad is married and has four children.

In March MPV-Atlanta hosted a special event with the human and religious rights organization Soulforce.  Since 2006 Soulforce has sent young adults on Equality Rides (modeled after the Freedom Rides in the 1960’s during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement) across the US to wage “relentless non-violent resistance” against discrimination toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTIQ) people especially in religious and academic institutions. The Equality Riders are currently on their 2012 tour and we were glad to meet and greet them in Atlanta.

We began the program by sharing a meal together and mingling informally. Afterwards Soulforce staffer, Mason, provided a brief and engaging primer on Soulforce and their Equality Rides program. Next we were treated to the passionate and personal testimonies of three 2012 Equality Riders. One person revealed the heartbreak of being shunned and denied participation in communal religious activities because of their sexual expression and gender identity. They were even made subject to attempted exorcisms to relieve them of their supposed deception and confusion around sexual identity. Another impressed upon us the complexity of his ongoing theological negotiation

s with his clerics. The last speaker shared the triumphant relief of finding religious spaces where she was fully accepted as her whole self without shame, secrecy, or fear.

During the second half of the program, with about 30 people present, we broke into small groups to discuss gender and equality in our religious communities. We talked about the compromised access that LGBTQI believers have to religious rituals like marriage, burial, child blessings and coming of age ceremonies. Within Islam we spoke about the culture of gender injustice that is rampant in many of our religious communities. We were careful to note, though, that this is not the case among all Muslims. In fact MPV-Atlanta works hard to maintain an intentional safe space for prayer, worship, and community for people of all sexual identities and gender-expressions with equality and respect.

Though the Equality Riders had to be on their way to their next destination, MPV Atlanta was refreshed by their presence and reminded of the importance our presence in the greater Atlanta area and the ummah at large. As the Noble Quran says, “You [Muslims] are the best nation brought out for Mankind, commanding what is righteous and forbidding what is wrong…” (3:110). We are committed to being a place of righteous welcome for all.

Salaams.

-Trina Jackson- MPV-Atlanta Board Member

Imran Ahmad, author of the internationally acclaimed memoir The Perfect Gentleman – A Muslim Boy Meets The West, will be giving an entertaining and educational talk entitled: Islam and the West – A Personal Journey, followed by Q&A and book sales/signing.

Email us with any questions.

Free!

May 3rd at 8:00pm

Action Against Domestic Violence  with United4Safety