Schools and institutions award, commendation: Youth Engineering the Future.
Who ever thought that Muslim places of worship could have a water footprint? There are about 189 masjids, the Muslim places of worship, in the Western Cape.
Five times every day nearly half a million Muslims come here to perform their prayers. Each time they pray, they use about 41 litres of water to rinse their faces, hands and feet. Until recently, the used water was just thrown away.
But now that is changing, thanks to the work of an innovative community-based organisation: Youth Engineering the Future (YEF) Projects Trust. YEF, which targets youngsters between the ages of 14 and 20, is a project of the Islamic Media Agency supported by the Muslim Judicial Council. Its objective is to revitalise the mosque as an integral and vibrant part of youth development.
Looking after the environment is an important aspect of this and there is a special emphasis on progressive water care. It all began in 2009 when hifdh (Qur’anic recitation) learners from the Ibn al-Jazariy Academy competed in a wide-ranging school competition hosted by the Cape Town city council.
The topic the learners researched and presented was the ‘relationship between humans, water and religion”. The study compared the water usage of the four major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam and found that Muslims consume the most water.
This is not surprising, because water plays such an integral part in their daily religious worship — not just at prayer times, but also in relation to washing and personal hygiene.
The study pointed out that although Muslim religious rituals involve purification with clean water, no soap or any other additives are used. Thus, the water can be easily recycled to flush toilets and water gardens.
‘It was the first time that religion was presented in a science competition. The judges remarked that it was the first time they had moderated a project from a religious perspective and they found it interesting,” said YEF project manager Sanaa Petersen.
This year the YEF began to conduct water audits in masjids to create an awareness of the scarcity and sacredness of water, to reduce wastage and to develop sustainable mechanisms to preserve and recycle water. The project aims to emphasise the importance of individual responsibility in this endeavour and that it should be regarded as a religious responsibility.
Since March the YEF has conducted weekly audits of three seaparate masjids to compare their water usage. At weekly Friday prayers, the collected data is communicated to the congregations and is used as the basis for ongoing discussion about how to preserve and recycle water more effectively in future.
‘If 189 masjids can teach their congregations to save water, we can save thousands of litres a month,” said Petersen.
The judges noted that the YEF entry was ‘very strong” because it not only embodied an ‘innovative idea” but also showed the power of participation and ‘uniquely looked” for where it could make a real impact.