By educating both the Muslim community and the wider public about Islamic environmental teachings, Michigan Green Muslims aims to help people reconnect with the natural world and become effective stewards of nature. The statewide group was founded in 2024 by Huda Alkaff following the success of Wisconsin Green Muslims, which she also founded. The organization educates residents about emerging environmental threats across the Great Lakes region, contributing to reports on topics such as proposed data centers, and explaining how people can have their say before they are built. Because they redirect water from communities, new data centers are especially harmful in this region, where drinking water is often contaminated with lead or PFAS. As such, the group also distributes water filters and teaches people about pollution-based health risks. By harnessing mosques as sites for education, the organization acts as a catalyst spurring on the Muslim community’s fight for environmental justice.
PFAS foam in Van Ettan Lake in Oscoda, Michigan. Photo: Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Rather than acting in a silo, Michigan Green Muslims joins broader coalitions of environmental organizations both locally and across the Midwest. It recently took part in the world record display of origami fish to raise awareness about the risks of the Line 5 pipeline, which transports 22m gallons of crude oil through Michigan every day. With just five volunteers, the group is bigger than its parts, as it leverages its strong presence in the Islamic community to guide people to start their own environmental project, and hosts discussions where people can learn from the tactics that worked. It also runs the Michigan Green Ramadan Campaign, encouraging people to carry out an environmentally-friendly task – from shopping organic to planting a tree – each day of the holiday. Long term, the group hopes to keep combining faith and environmental action by turning all mosques in the state zero waste, and to continue teaching people how to grow plants that feature in the Quran and the Hadith.
Some of the origami fish created in the record-breaking event to raise awareness of the risks of the Line 5 oil pipeline on the Great Lakes. Photo: Michigan Green Muslims