Today, Moscow hosted the opening of the 7th Moscow International Exhibition Halal Expo 2016. This year, the exhibition presented not only new platforms and new participants, but also new trends. One of them is eco-halal. The director of the Environmental Certification Center Green Standards, Rashid Ismailov, spoke about what there is it at the exhibition opening.
"At the moment, the topic of environmental protection and environmental management is becoming extremely relevant and socially, economically and politically important both in Russia and around the world. Today, the issues of climate change, natural resources scarcity, primarily limitation of access to potable water, waste management, development of green technologies and green energy are on the agenda of the leaders of states not only in the Islamic world," Ismailov stated.
Speaking about the connection between ecology and Islam, Rashid Ismailov said that "considering their harmonious and natural interosculation, we can make a conclusion about the existence of common ideological approaches between ecology and Islam in the formation of the life values of a person and ensuring his vital activity. A 'green', environmentally motivated, environmentally responsible approach to life, which is also based on green standards, it is, in fact, a lifestyle by the laws of eco-halal. A clean house, clean surrounding area, thriftiness in relation to the gifts of nature, food naturalness, naturalness and purity of thoughts – those are the rules of life of every Muslim."
Rashid Ismailov emphasized the social doctrine of Russian Muslims, published by the Council of Muftis of Russia: "It's chapter 'Care for nature and animal world' specifically highlights that 'man and nature are great and sacred creations of the Creator. Not only your own house must be clean, but also the house of Allah, which is any piece of land. We must not forget to thank the Almighty for the nature, which our Creator generously bestowed upon humanity.' Thus, Islam directly demands a caring and respectful attitude towards nature from every Muslim."
In addition, Ismailov said that, by presidential decree, 2017 will be the Year of the Environment in Russia: "With this in mind, we have prepared a number of proposals on the development of environmental direction in the activities of the Council of Muftis of Russia and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia. It includes issues of international cooperation in environmental protection, the environmental enlightenment of Muslims, especially the younger generation, for whom the concept of eco-halal should become a modern and fashionable trend."
However, Rashid Ismailov complained that right now a environmentally responsible approach in business has a huge, but underrated importance: "It includes increasing competitiveness, supporting the government, consumer choice in favor of environmentally friendly products, goods and services, which increases all over the world. The principle of eco-halal may manifest itself in various industries. In the energy sector it is the development of renewable natural energy sources; in construction it is safe housing; in agriculture it is land that is free from chemicals; in aquaculture it is thriftiness; in the meat industry it is ecologically natural products; in the medical industry it is adherence to ethical standards. This list can be endless. Even in the fashion industry the eco-approach is gaining momentum today. Naturalness in fabrics and production, refusal to use animal fur and chemicals are becoming fashionable and popular. Today, all of these industries have great potential for investments both in Russia and in other countries of the Middle East and Asia regions for so-called "green" financing, which can surely be described as eco-halal investments."
