Last weekend, a colleague said to me, “It’s going to be warm this week. If you like warm weather, I hope you get to enjoy some of it.”
As much as I do like the warm weather with the breathtaking fall foliage surrounding us, it is concerning that the brush fires that burned hundreds of acres in Massachusetts this week followed the hottest Oct. 21 on record. As I sit writing this op-ed outside Tunnel City Coffee, admiring the reds and yellows of the maples and ginkgos, I could not help but think about how the year-long war in Gaza — and now in Lebanon, Israel, and Iran — is impacting the climate right here in Williamstown, with carbon emissions from the war’s flights and munitions potentially triggering broader climate consequences, according to a study co-authored by Benjamin Neimark, senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London.
It brought to mind the “How’s the view?” sign at the Rim Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, where I often camped while living in Arizona. The sign asked visitors to compare a photo of the view on a clear day with the hazy and obstructed view I saw each visit. The sign read that the smog originated from urban and industrial areas hundreds of miles away — “even from Asia.”
That image reminded me that we are all interconnected in this world. Even as we breathe our “good” quality air in Williamstown, we are not far removed from the fire and the toxic fumes, dust, and carbon produced by military weapons.
We may not experience the stench of burning bodies, such as that of the 19-year-old college student Shaaban al-Dalou who tragically burned to death after Israel bombed the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound in Gaza. Yet, the same horrific acts against humanity are causing greenhouse emissions that contribute to the warm days we are experiencing 5,500 miles away. I can’t stop thinking about the destruction of centuries- if not millennia-old olive trees, razed farms in Gaza, and bulldozed towns in the West Bank as I walk around our beautiful campus. With the election less than a week away, we simply cannot ignore what’s happening in Southwest Asia and North Africa.
As someone who cares about Mother Earth and the plight of people in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran — some personally connected to the Muslim students on this campus I support — the choice I face as an eligible voter during this presidential election is harrowing.
The Biden-Harris administration has been pushing for net-zero emissions yet has sent thousands of bombs to Israel, dismissing the concerns of Arab and Muslim Americans over the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon. We also know that the Trump administration has a record of rolling back environmental policies and implementing the “Muslim Ban” that deprived close to 25,000 community members of opportunities for family reunification, jobs, and education in the United States. The Green Party’s presidential candidate, Jill Stein, has picked a well-respected African American Muslim scholar, Rudolph “Butch” Ware, as her vice presidential running mate, with climate change and an arms embargo of Israel at the forefront of her policies. However, voting for a third party may merely be “symbolic” on the national level. Hence, Muslim Americans like myself are facing a huge ethical dilemma, balancing the desire to support both their siblings in Islam abroad and their progressive values here within the United States like environmental stewardship.
If you are registered to vote on Nov. 5, read about the policies of the candidates that appear on your ballot. While your vote may not make or break the presidential race, you can impact local elections depending on whether you vote in a swing state. Call your local representatives and demand peace.
Even if you are not eligible to vote, read about what’s happening in communities around the world. Even better, read what those communities themselves are writing — through their own publications — to glimpse events from their vantage point.
Find ways to meet people outside of the “purple bubble,” because one-on-one interactions allow us to see each other’s humanity and force us to leave behind what may be flimsy stereotypes or, worse, racist beliefs about the “other.” Most of all, use your liberal arts education to think critically about world events rather than snuggling up to the one view or perspective that feels safest to you.
Whether or not you are Muslim, you may be debating similar choices to those my fellow Muslim American voters face regarding international and domestic issues that matter to you. You may be grappling with the power of your vote altogether. Assistant Professor of Religion Saadia Yacoob, Associate Professor of American Studies Jan Padios, and I will hold a conversation circle contending with the choices Muslim Americans face, and the possible impacts of those choices on Monday, Nov. 4, in Griffin 3 at 4:30 p.m. Rather than looking for definite answers, we will hold space for our many questions about this extremely difficult decision.
I will leave you with a teaching that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is said to have given regarding the end of the world or the end of someone’s life, depending on one’s interpretation: “If the Final Hour comes while you have a sapling in your hand and it is possible to plant it before the Hour befalls, you should plant it.”
We are each responsible for taking action to better this world we all call home. We are all interconnected in the web of creation, and it is time we drop the pretense that what happens across the world does not impact us.
Sidra Mahmood is the College’s Muslim chaplain.
