As climate disasters ravage much of the Muslim world — from record-breaking heat in the Middle East to devastating floods in Pakistan — Earth Day and Eid al-Fitr falling on the same weekend feels kismet to some Muslim Americans.
“My faith is the biggest reason I have for climate optimism,” said Zahra Biabani, 24, an American organizer and author who is of Pakistani and Indian descent. “When we look at how much of our text is about nature and valuing it and caring for it, that can be a really powerful tool. Protecting people and things that can’t speak for themselves is the most pure thing you can do.”
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the month of Ramadan and is determined by the sighting of a new moon. It’s a joyous time, and Biabani hopes it can also be a powerful moment of reflection.
The new, young faces fighting climate change want their peers to know that while their mission is urgent, it doesn’t have to be depressing. They are working to rebrand their message through social media, celebrity and festivity — and doing so online has helped a new generation get involved from home.
Saad Amer, 28, is a Pakistani American climate activist who has led this effort and even taken it to the White House and United Nations. With tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and Twitter, he meets Gen Z and Alpha where they are.
Over the last few years, he’s become something of an influencer himself, regularly going viral for his work. He poses on red carpets with movie stars and YouTubers, but he also doesn’t shy away from taking to the streets with a bullhorn and rallying voters during election seasons.
Amer will stand at a White House lectern one day and lead a protest outside its doors the next.
“The key is authenticity,” said Amer, also the founder of the social impact group Justice Environment. “I will never compromise who I am to do the work that I do.”
Most Gen Zers have grown up with climate change being discussed as a pressing reality…
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