Zanzibar Imams Essay

The Imams are the leaders and educators of Islam in Zanzibar, a community in which 99% citizens prescribe to Muslim ideology. As the Imams, we are committed to teaching the lessons of the Qur’an, our sacred text which contains the words of God. As the Imams, it is our duty to use Islamic ideology and the messages from the Qur’an to promote ecological conservation in Zanzibar. Using the teachings of the Qur’an, the Imams are encouraging the people of Zanzibar to protect the environment as part of their religious practice. When negotiating the zoning regulations and management structure for the Marine Protected Area (MPA) surrounding the island of Unguja we will argue for the most sustainable options in order to protect Unguja island, God’s creation, …show more content…
Our negotiation positions have been shaped by our religious beliefs of sustainability and we plan to argue for environmental regulations that will prevent erosion that will damage the island, with a specific focus on high restriction coastal forest buffer zones, which will protect the vegetation that mitigates the effects of erosion, and a 70m coastal development setback, which will prevent development that will cause coastal …show more content…
As the Qur’an instructs, we have to preserve God’s creation, a 20% buffer zone does this, as it prevents unsustainable marine practices from taking place on Unguja. Fishing and tourism activities surrounding Unguja put the islands coral reef system, a habitat for marine life, under ecological stress, therefore, a large marine protected area of 20% would protect the marine life and coral reef systems surrounding Unguja (Mustelin et al.,