Seattle Dawoodi Bohras Host Events for World Environment Day

United Nations World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 each year, serves as a global call to action for protecting the environment. In celebration of this day, the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community of Seattle organized a series of events aimed at reducing waste, recycling, upcycling, and safeguarding our planet.

Aligning with this year’s theme, "Our Land, Our Future," which emphasizes land restoration, combating desertification, and enhancing drought resilience, members of the Dawoodi Bohra community took the initiative to plant trees around their homes.

The Dawoodi Bohras also conducted a workshop on mindful decluttering, a practice that encourages individuals to thoughtfully and purposefully clear their physical spaces. “Mindful decluttering involves evaluating your possessions, releasing items that no longer serve a purpose, and organizing what remains,” explained Munira Miyaziwala. “It’s about creating a space that aligns with your goals, values, and overall well-being, rather than simply discarding things.”

During the workshop, participants explored various types of clutter—physical, digital, emotional, mental, social, time, and sentimental—and their impacts on mental and physical health. The workshop leaders provided practical tips for decluttering, such as sorting sentimental items, organizing documents, and making decluttering a regular habit.

"Having moved coast-to-coast, decluttering has always been a routine for our family,” said Ruqaiya Saifee, a member of the Seattle Dawoodi Bohra community. “This event educated us on where to look and how to declutter effectively, and changing our lifestyle to adopt a circular economy. "

Participants were then encouraged to declutter their homes and donate unwanted items to a community sale. "Your Excess, Others' Essentials," was a virtual and in-person sale of donated items including electronics, books, toys, clothing, and housewares. Unsold items were donated to the local Goodwill.

The event underscored the community's dedication to environmental stewardship. For the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, preserving and enhancing nature and its ecosystems are fundamental values of their faith.

Background
Islam emphasizes conservation and protecting the natural environment and the creatures that dwell within it. The earth and its resources, as the Holy Quran teaches, are bounties from the Almighty, and safeguarding them for future generations is considered a responsibility that falls upon every individual. The Prophet Mohammed states: ‘All of Creation is a family dependent upon Allah, the most beloved to Him, therefore, is the one who benefits His family the most.’

Inspired by this Islamic philosophy, the Dawoodi Bohras advocate for environmental responsibility and action. The community’s environmental awareness arm, Burhani Foundation (India), has initiated programs that work towards a greener, cleaner earth since it was founded by the late His Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in 1992, at a time when the conversations about the environment had yet to gain the momentum they have today. The foundation seeks to catalyze the environmental efforts of the Dawoodi Bohra community and make a lasting impact in five key streams: water conservation, renewable energy, green cover, zero waste and sustainability, cleanups. Among other milestones, the foundation distributed a record breaking 52,000 sparrow feeders on the occasion of the late His Holiness’ 100th birthday in 2011.

Project Rise, the umbrella organization for the Dawoodi Bohras’ philanthropic initiatives, also includes a wide spectrum of activities focused on environmental responsibility and nature conservation in addition to its contributions in healthcare, food and water security and nutrition, and sanitation.

Under Project Rise, the Bohra community strives to address pressing issues such as providing water and food relief to those facing environmental crises induced by climate change, initiating water conservation projects such as rainwater harvesting and sustainable farming, along with planting thousands of trees across the world.

Project Rise volunteers around the world undertake regular cleanup drives, such as tidying and removing trash from streets, beaches, local parks and water bodies. With the world’s oceans increasingly polluted by plastic waste, the Bohra community recognized the immediate need for individuals and collectives across the globe to join forces in the fight against plastic pollution. Partnering with UN Champion of the Earth, Advocate Afroz Shah, Project Rise implemented a water body cleanup movement called Turning the Tide Against Plastic Pollution.