Restoring the Balance
What role could a major religion play in tackling the environmental crisis? In Restoring the Balance, earthrise explores how a groundbreaking Islamic environmental charter – Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth – is inspiring action across continents. From its high-profile launch at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya, to grassroots projects in the United Kingdom and water-stressed communities in Jordan, presenter Amanda Burrell follows its journey over the course of a year. Along the way, she meets ecotheologians, farmers, faith leaders, and youth activists all drawing on Islamic principles of stewardship, justice, and balance ('mizan') to protect the planet. As climate and nature breakdown intensifies, could Islam help restore harmony between humanity and the natural world?
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Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Al Jazeera
British parliament votes in favour of assisted dying law
The terminally ill adults end of life legislation passed by a vote of 314-291, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle. The United Kingdom's parliament has voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people, paving the way for the country's biggest social change in a generation. On Friday, 314 members of parliament voted in favour and 291 against the bill in the House of Commons, the UK's lower chamber of parliament. The bill will go on to Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, where it will undergo months of scrutiny, but while there could be changes to the bill, the Lords will be hesitant to block a bill that has been passed in the Commons. The 'Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)' law would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical help. Those who would want the procedure would have to be signed off on by two doctors and a panel of experts. Labour Party MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the bill, said changing the law would 'offer a compassionate and safe choice' for terminally ill people. The vote took place 10 years after parliament last voted against allowing assisted dying. In November, the previous vote on the assisted dying bill was 330 to 275 in favour. According to a YouGov poll that surveyed 2,003 adults last month, which was published on Thursday, 73 percent of people supported changing the bill. 'Kill the bill, not the ill' Outside of Parliament on Friday, protesters both in favour and against the legislation gathered. Advertisement Those in favour of the bill held placards that said 'my life, my death'. Sign up for Al Jazeera Breaking News Alert Get real-time breaking news alerts and stay up-to-date with the most important headlines from around the globe. Subscribe Your subscription failed. Please try again. Please check your email to confirm your subscription By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy protected by reCAPTCHA David Walker, 82, told the AFP news agency outside of Parliament that he supported the bill because he saw his wife suffer for three years at the end of her life. 'That's why I'm here, because I can't help her anymore, but I can help other people who are going through the same thing, because if you have no quality of life, you have nothing,' he said. On the other side of the coin, those who rejected the bill held placards that said, 'Let's care, not kill' and 'kill the bill, not the ill'. Elizabeth Burden, a 52-year-old doctor, said she feared the bill could open 'a floodgate' of people being forced to end their lives. 'It is a slippery slope. Once we allow this. Everything will slip down because dementia patients, all patients … are vulnerable,' she told AFP. If approved by the Lords, the UK will follow Australia, Canada and some United States states that allow for assisted dying.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
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Two jailed for 30 years over 2019 Kenya hotel attack
A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabab fighters who were behind a deadly attack in Nairobi that left 21 people dead in 2019. On Thursday, Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards. The pair also provided financial assistance to the group. 'Without financiers, facilitators and sympathisers, terrorists cannot actualise their activities,' the judge said during sentencing, stressing that their support made the attack possible. 'The convicts may not have physically wielded the weapons that caused harm to the victims, but their facilitation directly enabled attackers who were heavily armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests,' Kavedza said. 'This was not a crime with isolated harm; 21 lives were lost,' she added, acknowledging statements from survivors about their ongoing psychological struggles. 'The emotional scars of the attack run deep,' she said. Abdile and Ali were convicted last month for facilitating and conspiring to commit a 'terrorist' act. Both men denied the charges and now have 14 days to appeal. The assault on the upmarket DusitD2 complex in the Kenyan capital began on January 15, 2019, when gunmen stormed the compound and opened fire. Security forces launched an operation that lasted more than 12 hours. The government later announced that all the attackers had been killed. Al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying the assault was in retaliation for then-United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The siege was the first major attack in Nairobi since the 2013 Westgate mall massacre, which killed 67. In 2015, al-Shabab also attacked Garissa University, killing 148 people. Since Westgate, high-end venues in the capital have ramped up security, including vehicle and pedestrian checks. The DusitD2 complex, like Westgate, catered to wealthy Kenyans and foreign nationals, groups often targeted by al-Shabab. The Somalia-based group has repeatedly struck inside Kenya, aiming to force the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia, where they are part of a regional force battling the rebellion.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
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‘Growing number' of Britons view Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide: Poll
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