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Muazzam Mir speaks to fellow Kenyans, activist and founder of Halal Safaris, Samia Bwana and conservationist and Mandela Washington Fellow, Raabia Hawa, about the conservation of wildlife and the environment, specifically from a Muslim perspective. They talk about whether hunting animals for sport is permissible in Islam, and discuss the responsibility of travellers to ensure their travel practices are ethical and not harmful.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE
- Poaching
- Living amongst animals (watching TV with monkeys!)
- Kenya’s hunting ban
- Hunting in Islam: did the Prophet (pbuh) hunt animals as a sport?
- Climate change and its correlation with the extinction of wild animals
- The harm travellers can cause wildlife (riding elephants, tigers)
- The ethical responsibility of travellers to avoid experiences that harm animals
- Halal Safaris– their ‘tayyib’ goals
- Benefits of avoiding the most heavily visited national parks and opting for smaller ones
- Safari experiences (aerial safari, horseback safari)
PEOPLE/THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Muazzam’s Lamu Insta Story
- DeCoalonize Lamu
- Save Lamu
- Halal Safaris
- Walk With Rangers
- ‘Khilafa’ on earth “[Prophet], when your Lord told the angels, ‘I am putting a successor on earth,’ they said, ‘How can You put someone there who will cause damage and bloodshed, when we celebrate Your praise and proclaim Your holiness?’ but He said, ‘I know things you do not.’” Q2:30
- Story of Prophet Sulayman and ants in the Quran: “and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.” Q27:18
- Hunting ban, Kenya
- Maasai Mara
- Lion that adopted an oryx
OUR GUESTS
Samia Omar Bwana
Samia is the founder of Halal Safaris Africa Ltd, a responsible luxury travel company catering to Muslim travelers and providing Islamic heritage trips in East Africa. Halal Safaris is the first travel company in East Africa and the first luxury travel company is Sub-Saharan Africa to sell Islamic heritage safaris as a means to preserve heritage sites in danger, and the first to sell women-only exclusive beach-bush-heritage safaris.
Samia is also an environmental activist. She was the former the County Executive Member for Trade, Tourism, Culture, and Natural Resources for the County Government of Lamu, from where she resigned in August 2016 in protest against the first coal power plant in Kenya. After her resignation she worked with the local organization Save Lamu to mobilize national and international organisations and co-found DeCOALonize campaign, where she now sits as a Board Member to advocate against coal power production and mining in Kenya.
Samia is a recipient of several awards recognizing her public service including, but not limited to: Delta Omega Honor Society for achievement in Public Health, Al-Muslimah Top 30 Under 40, Kenya’s Business Daily’s Top 40 Under 40 Women in Kenya, The Norman H. Edelman Achievement Award, J.W. Saxe Award, John C. Holland Award, the J.W. Saxe Public Service Award, and many more.
Find her on Instagram: @samiaobwana
Raabia Hawa
Born in Kenya in 1982, Raabia has over 10 years of experience working in the field of wildlife conservation. She successfully launched East Africa’s first nonprofit organization focused on ranger empowerment, welfare, and facilitation- Ulinzi Africa Foundation; through which she conducted the cross-country trek- Walk With Rangers. The first trek lasted 15 days and won the support of 70 global participants from 16 different countries who walked over 200 miles to raise awareness about the challenges facing rangers on the ground.
In 2011, Raabia was appointed Kenya Wildlife Service Honorary Warden by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and has since been able to further her actions and mission to aid rangers and bring critical conservation attention to remote regions of her country.
Small in frame but large in heart- her commitment to conservation has not gone unnoticed by the global community. In 2015, she was selected among less than two dozen other passionate Kenyans, to participate in a Conversation with Civil Society hosted by President Barack Obama. She was then selected by his Young African Leaders Initiative and is now a Mandela Washington Fellow.
Find her on Instagram: @raabia.hawa
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