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As the river has dried up, the Jordan Valleyhas suffered an ecological collapse. Half thevalley’s biodiversity has been lost. The Dead Sea,sustained only by inflowing water from the Jordan,is sinking by more than a meter every year.This is not just a tragedy for wildlife. Springsthat irrigated farmland for thousands of yearshave started to falter and fail. Wells used forgenerations have run dry. Refused access tothe river and denied a fair share of the waterpumped from beneath the land, Palestiniancommunities have seen fields turn to dust,“The neglect of this river exacts a heavyprice from the nations that share thevalley, crippling the growth of an economythat could be supported by tourism andexacerbating the political conflicts thatdivide the region.” The Lower Jordan River begins at LakeTiberius and flows south for about 120kmbefore reaching its end at the Dead Sea. The diversion and pollution of thiswater has caused an ecologicalcollapse - more than 50% of the valley’sbiodiversity has been lost. The Lower Jordan Valley is divided betweenJordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians.Palestinians have no access to the Jordanand do not receive water directly from theriver. The dying of the Jordan is also causingthe Dead Sea to disappear – it is nowsinking at the rate of approximately onemeter per year. Until about 1950, some 1.3 billion cubicmeters of water flowed through the valleyevery year. FoEME estimates that Israel diverts abouthalf of the river’s average annual flow,while Syria and Jordan take the rest. 96% of that flow has been diverted. Untreated or poorly treated sewage hasbeen dumped or allowed to leak intothe river for over 50 years from Israeli,Jordanian, and Palestinian communities.17In just over 50 years, the countries that sharethis watershed have dammed and diverted morethan 96% of the river’s historic flow. What littlewater remains is polluted with saline, sewage,and agricultural run-off. In places, the river islittle more than a stagnant canal of effluent.livelihoods lost, and families forced to migrate.The neglect of this river shows a disregard forour own cultural heritage and for our moralresponsibility as custodians of God’s creation.It also exacts a heavy price from the nationsthat share the valley, crippling the growth of aneconomy that could be supported by tourismand exacerbating the political conflicts thatdivide the region. This is an ecological collapsewhose severity and cost – economic, ecological,human – we are only now beginning to count.RIVER OUT OF EDENNeither the natural beauty nor the spiritualsignificance of the Jordan has been enough tosave the river from being degraded. Daniel Adamson / FoEME Jonathan Kalan / FoEMEAn ecosystem destroyedTHE DESTRUCTION OFTHE JORDANSOME FACTS AND FIGURES

“All the natural resources in thisworld are trusts, and it is thereligious duty of Muslims to takecare of these sources and use Jonathan Kalan / FoEMEthem in a sustainable manner.The Jordan River is included.”Prof. Mustafa Abu Sway (Al AqsaMosque & Al Quds University)A failure of wisdomGiven the intensity of political conflict in theregion, this zero-sum struggle for the valley’swater might seem inevitable. But it is, in thelong term, an approach that will underminethe interests of all concerned. This is a singlewatershed: the flow of its streams does notcorrespond to the borders drawn on our maps,and its rain and rivers cannot be sustainablymanaged through a process of competition.The abuse of nature is surely not what wasintended when God appointed man as His ViceRegent (Khalifah) on earth. As Dr. AbdullahOmar Nasseef, Secretary General of the MuslimWorld League, wrote in the Islamic Declarationon Nature in Assisi in 1986 For the Muslim, mankind's role on earth isthat of a Khalifah – Vice-Regent or trustee ofAllah. We are Allah's stewards and agentson Earth. We are not masters of this Earth;it does not belong to us to do what we wish.It belongs to Allah and He has entrusted uswith its safekeeping.This duty to care for the earth that Godentrusted to us was modeled by the Prophet(SAAS), especially in regard to the use of water –Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr reported that ProphetMuhammad (SAAS) “passed by Sa d [Ibn AbiWaqqas] while he was performing ablutionand said to him: Why the excessive use ofwater? [Sa d] asked: Even in ablution thereis excessive use of water? [The Prophet]replied: Yes, even if you were at a flowingriver.” (Narrated by Ibn Majah, Ch.2)The respect for water and for all of nature,shown by the Prophet (SAAS) has been lost,along with our sense of wonder at the creationand of responsibility for the world that Godmade. All of this has contributed to thedestruction of the Jordan River. The revival ofthe Jordan, then, requires not just a shift inpolicy, but a renewed spiritual effort to honorthe creation that God has entrusted to us.19At the root of the problem is conflict. The basinthat drains into the Jordan River is dividedbetween Lebanese, Syrians, Jordanians,Israelis, and Palestinians. Instead of seeing thevalley as a single, trans-boundary watershed,these nations have raced to capture the greatestpossible share of the Jordan’s water. FoEMEestimates that Israel diverts about half of theriver’s average annual flow, while Syria andJordan take about a quarter each. Palestinians,denied access to the river, take almost nothing.The degradation of this valley also reveals aprofound failure of respect for the natural andnon-human world. It exemplifies an attitudein which nature, including its water and all itsforms of life, is seen as nothing more than acollection of resources to be mined for humanuse. This directly contravenes our Muslim duty,clearly expressed in the sunna of the ProphetMohammed (SAAS) to show respect to allliving creatures. As recorded in the hadith, theProphet (SAAS) said “There is reward in [caringfor] every living being” (Sahih Muslim, Ch. 7).RIVER OUT OF EDENWhy has this happened? How have we allowedthis to happen to a place of such exceptionalbeauty and value?

Given the scarcity of water in parts of this regionand the state of relations between the countriesthat share the valley, realizing this vision will notbe easy. But difficulty cannot be an excuse forinaction. To do nothing is to leave a landscapeirreparably damaged by our own neglect.The starting point of any new approach must beto see this river and its tributaries as a single,interconnected ecosystem. If we want theJordan to survive – if we want to use this waterto sustain farms and families and economies –we have no choice but to manage it sustainablythrough cooperation.“If we want the Jordan to survive, we haveno choice but to manage it sustainablythrough cooperation.”In the last three years we have seen the first signsof progress in the struggle to revive the river.Responding to years of advocacy, nationalgovernments and municipalities are nowworking to prevent the dumping or leaking ofuntreated sewage into the river. New treatmentplants are in development in Jordanian, Israeli,and Palestinian communities throughout theJordan Valley. FoEME is confident that half acentury of using the Jordan as a sewage canalcould soon come to an end.2013 also saw the first release of clean waterinto the Jordan River in 49 years. The IsraeliWater Authority has agreed to allocate 30mcm(million cubic meters) of fresh water everyyear from Lake Tiberius to help revive the river.This sets an important precedent for futureallocations, but it falls far short of FoEME’srecommendation that a third of the historic flowbe returned as part of an international effort torehabilitate the Jordan.FoEME is also developing the first cross-bordermaster plan for the management of the JordanRiver Valley – a plan that takes account of thevalley’s fragile ecology as well as recognizingthe legitimate human need to draw on its waterresources.The plan puts scientifically sound andeconomically realistic policy recommendationsbehind our vision for the Jordan. Keyrecommendations include the return of 400600 mcm (million cubic meters) of freshwater to the river; an end to the dumpingof raw or poorly-treated sewage, saline,and other effluents into the stream; and theestablishment of functioning internationalmechanisms for the joint management of thevalley’s water. With the support of nationalgovernments, this master plan can become theblueprint for the revival of the river.21This is a vision that reflects our moral andspiritual obligations as Muslims, that showslove and respect for the creation, and that is inharmony with Islam’s attitude of care towardsGod’s earth.A Measure of ProgressRIVER OUT OF EDENFoEME has a different vision for the JordanValley - a vision in which a clean, living riverruns from Lake Tiberius to the Dead Sea; inwhich the valley’s plants, birds and animalsare afforded the water they need to flourish;in which the springs flow as they have formillennia; and in which water extracted forhuman use is divided equitably between thenations that share this valley and amongst thepeople who live here. Ofer Stein Daniel Adamson / FoEMEA New Vision of the Valley

FoEME believes that a living JordanRiver can bring prosperity as well asecological health to this valley, and thatthe management of the valley’s waterprovides a practical opportunity for regionalcooperation and for the advancement ofjustice and peace. FoEME recommends the release of 400600 million cubic meters (mcm) of freshwater into the river every year. In addition, the Jordan needs to flood atleast once each year in order to keep theriver’s ecosystem healthy (100m3/sec for24 hours). FoEME recommends that Israel release220mcm of water into the river eachyear, Syria 100mcm, and Jordan 90mcm.FoEME also recognizes that Palestine, asa riparian to the river, has a right to a fairshare of the Jordan’s water. FoEME’s analysis has identified over abillion cubic meters of water that couldbe saved by these countries (primarilythrough reduction of leaks, improvementsto irrigation efficiency, water harvestingand grey-water recycling, and demandmanagement) and used to revive the riverand to restore Palestinian water rights. The revival of the river requires thatJordanian, Israeli, and Palestiniandecision-makers implement nationalpolicy strategies to manage their owndemand for water, and to cooperate inthe implementation of a comprehensivetrans-boundary master plan for the river. This master plan should determine levelsof water flow, set water quality standards,identify ways to eliminate pollution,define ecological corridors, supportenvironmental rehabilitation programs,and advance plans for the development ofeco-tourism in the Jordan Valley. Implementation of a master plan requiresthe establishment of a functioning transboundary commission to manage thevalley’s water resources, resolve disputes,and strengthen the mechanisms ofcooperation.23In the past decade FoEME has opened ecoparks – ideal places to stay and learn - onboth sides of the Jordan. We are now workingtowards the creation of a trans-boundaryecological peace park centered on one of theriver’s historic crossing points, on the borderbetween Israel and Jordan. This reserve willwelcome visitors from both sides of the valley,providing a much-needed point of access to ariver which, for much of its length, remains aclosed military zone.Reviving the JordanRIVER OUT OF EDENWe believe the Jordan can be revived withoutweakening the valley’s agricultural economy orcausing a shortage of water for human use. Inthe countries that share the valley, FoEME hasidentified over a billion cubic meters of waterthat could be saved (see the fact box below)and used to restore basic water rights to thePalestinians, to revive the Lower Jordan River,and to save the Dead Sea. Francesco Zizzola Israeli Electric Company ArchivesJustice, peace, prosperity

II. WATER, ECOLOGY, AND THE JORDAN RIVER IN ISLAMRIVER OUT OF EDEN25Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) reminded us, we will be held accountable: ‘Verily,this world is sweet and appealing, and Allah placed you as vicegerents therein; He will see what you will do.

Islam, Muslims andthe Jordan River Imam Zaid ShakirZaid Shakir is a prominent American Muslim writer, thinker, and social activist. He cofounded Zaytuna College in California, where he now teaches Islamic law and history.Although the Jordan River contains no specificimport in the life and career of the ProphetMuhammad, some of his most prominentcompanions are buried in the heart of its valley.We can mention among them Abu 'Ubaydah b.The Jordan also has tremendous symbolicvalue. Formed by the meeting of two of theearth's tectonic plates, the river has long beena meeting place for different societies, culturesand religions. Since the advent of Islam, thelands surrounding the Jordan River have beena space where Jews, Christians and Muslimshave been able to not only peacefully coexist,generally, but to create a vibrant and dynamicshared culture. Sadly, in more recent times, alack of coordination and cooperation betweenthe states which have emerged in the areahas resulted in too much water being divertedor pumped out of the river and far too muchsewage and other pollutants deposited intowhat remains of her dissipating flow.Saving the Jordan River will require the jointeffort of all of the people, states and religiouscommunities surrounding her. If we can allcome together to do just that, perhaps a vibrantriver, full with life and surrounded by the lushvegetation that once filled the adjoining valleycan revive our hearts and alert us to the factthat there are interests that transcend those ofour respective nations.“Perhaps a vibrant river can revive ourhearts and alert us to the fact that thereare interests that transcend those of ourrespective nations”There are human, moral and ecologicalinterests that we can ill afford to marginalizeas we have done for much of the 20th Century.If we can bring those interests to the fore andon their bases begin a meaningful restorationof the Jordan River, perhaps the area will onceagain be a meeting place; one symbolizingour ability to transcend conflict through apurposeful pursuit of the common good.27Hence, when Muslims read of those eventstranspiring in the lives of Abraham, Joshua,Lot, John the Baptist or Jesus in and aroundthe area of the Jordan River, we feel as if we arereading Islamic history and we experience anintimate historical connection to the river andits surrounding lands. That connection is onlystrengthened when we reflect on the fact thatthe Jordan River is part of the blessed precinctssurrounding the “Farthest Mosque” (Qur’an18:1), and its terminal point is the Dead Sea, aplace many Muslim exegetes opine is the areareferred to in the Qur’an (30:3) as Adna al-‘Ard(the lowest land).Jarrah; Mu'adh b. Jabal; Shurahbil b. Hasana;'Amr b. Abi Waqqas; and Darar b. al-Azwar. Thespecifically “Muslim” history connecting thelives of these individuals to the area, along withthe Qur'anic references mentioned earlier, onlydeepen its significance in the hearts of Muslims.RIVER OUT OF EDENOne of the beautiful features of Islam, one notfully appreciated by some of its adherents, isits ready acceptance of all of the Prophets andMessengers of God who preceded Muhammad.Hence, Muslims view Abraham, Moses, David,Jesus and many others as Prophets of Islam. Weread in the Qur’an, “We surely sent revelationunto you, as We sent it onto Noah and theProphets succeeding him. We sent revelationto Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes,Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon, and untoDavid we gave the Psalms (4:163).”

Reviving the Jordan:A Challenge for YoungMuslims Dr. Husna AhmedBismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem, in the nameof Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful,As-Salaamu Alaikum.It is wonderful to be with you today to share somethoughts about our precious planet and what partyou and I can play to affect positive change.You - young Muslims, men and women - are ourfuture. Your intentions, deeds and actions willdetermine your destiny and the destiny of thisprecious planet.On behalf of the present and past generationsI want to apologise to you for leaving you aworld which is in turmoil, and crisis, a worldwhere the generations before you only thoughtof themselves (or thought they were doing youa favour by pursuing reckless industrializationand materialism). Global hunger, populationgrowth, poverty, rising debts, wars andinstability within nations – these are all issueswe have to deal with in the 21st century.The elders in the Muslim community tooka long time to wake up; and many are stillsleeping. I apologise to you for this and for thefact that we are leaving such a huge burdenon your shoulder – the burden of climatechange. Climate change has been identifiedas the greatest challenge of all time as wellas increasingly becoming one of the ‘world’sgreatest injustices.’What I don’t want you to do is think you can turnyour back on any of these issues and that they willbe resolved by someone else. If everyone thoughtlike that it would be disastrous for humanity.‘It is Allah who created the heavens andearth, who has sent down water from thesky and with it brought forth produce tonourish you; He has made ships useful toyou, sailing the sea by His command, andthe rivers too; He has made the sun and themoon useful to you.’Qur’an 14: 32-33Islam teaches us to respect Allah’s creationand maintain the balance He created. Allahcommands ‘Do not cause corruption on theearth’ handing us the obligation to practice‘stewardship’ over nature.decades now, conflict and human arrogancehave been responsible for the demise of theLower Jordan River. Cooperation in search ofpeace and sustainability is the only hope torestore it to health.You have a double responsibility as Muslimyouth, because you need to perform yourIslamic duties and show the world that asMuslims you are making a valuable contributionto our precious planet. You want it to be a morebeautiful, peaceful, and just planet. You need tolet the world see how beautiful our actions asMuslims can be; that we are not all terroristsand radicals, we are ordinary decent citizenswho want to live in peace within our Deen.Always remember that Islam is the religionof peace – let us show the world through ouractions and deeds that peace is what we wantfor all citizens of the world.I will speak first of all about the importance ofwater in Islam and particularly the significanceof the Jordan River; and then focus on theactions that you as young Muslims canundertake in partnership with EcoPeace /Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) topush for the rehabilitation of the Jordan Riverand thereby work towards peace in the region.Let us work with other faith communities tobring about positive change in our society andinternationally. Every one of the world’s greattraditions contains a core moral and ethicalunderpinning that life should be just and fair.Let us pursue justice and fairness, let us pursuepoverty alleviation, let us pursue clean drinkingwater for all - by campaigning together, throughadvocacy, through social media and throughglobal and regional causes!The Jordan RiverToday I want to talk to you about getting involvedin a regional cause which is quite unique - Iwould like to talk about the Jordan River. ForWater and IslamThe word for water, Ma appears more than 60times throughout the Quran, as well as otherwords related to water such as rivers, sea,fountains, springs, rain, hail, clouds and winds.The theme of water in the Quran is exploredboth symbolically and at a practical level.‘In the creation of the heavens and the earth,and the alternation of night and day, andthe ships that run in the sea with that whichbenefits mankind, and the water that Allahsends down from the sky, then gives life withit to the earth after its death and spreads init all (kinds of) animals, and the changing ofthe winds and the clouds made subservientbetween heaven and earth, there are surelysigns for a people who understand.’Quran 21:10729The following is a talk addressed to young people within the Islamic community.You may be one person, you may think you areinsignificant, and you’re probably thinking asa young person, who would even listen to you?But trust me you are the key! You are the futureand the hope for humanity.RIVER OUT OF EDENDr. Husna Ahmad (OBE) has a PhD in environmental law from London Un

RIVER OUT OF EDEN: WATER, ECOLOGY, AND THE JORDAN RIVER IN ISLAM ECOPEACE / FRIENDS OF THE EARTH MIDDLE EAST (FOEME) SECOND EDITION, JuNE 2014. COVENANT FOR THE JORDAN RIVER We recognize that the Jordan River Valley is a landscape of outstanding