Does it seem extreme to declare a Jihad on litter?
Not to a group in Small Heath in Birmingham. Clean Medina says that Muslim neighbourhoods in the city are far too messy and they want to change that. So they’ve launched a “struggle’ against rubbish and waste, and whilst they’re at it they also want to reclaim Jihad as a positive force. The campaign kicks off this weekend (23rd september 2007):
Inner city Muslims and friends will be taking to the streets of inner city Birmingham on 23rd September to launch a jihad (struggle) against waste. Rappers, drummers, flag wavers with litter pickers to hand will converge on Small Heath’s Somerville Road to clean up the district.
Tired of rubbish-strewn streets, Muslims have decided to clean up and recycle, going from mosque to mosque, starting with Noor ul Uloom mosque, Birmingham’s oldest. TheClean Medina Campaign will be launched with a big push, a shout (Allahu Akbar!) and a (movie) shoot (cast of thousands, mujahidin all). We’re also making a film: Smallywood Heath in Brum!
Listen to the podcast to hear rapper Omar Hassan (foregound in the picture), campaigner Assed Baig (behind Omar) and film maker Ayman Ahwal (see picture here) explain why they’re so fed up with the dirty streets that give Muslim neighbourhoods a bad reputation.
[...] As it will already be the fasting month, we won’t be eating until sunset. So have breakfast (Iftar) with us then. All Welcome! These things concern us all. We’ll get the street so clean you can eat off it! … Halal, of course! There’s a good podcast about the initiative here.I really love the community activism combined with a sense of humour and fun! [...]
[...] So decided to get started by geotagging my recent podcast on Clean Medina – the Jihad on Litter in Small Heath. Indeed geotagging is a potentially a powerful tool for neighbourhood news and local blogging. It should also help public bodies keep track on who is sayng what about which neighbourhoods. [...]
Salamz keepup the good work nd are please post details ofany more events taking place.safe tc
[...] been documenting people running local campaigns about issues in their local communities, like the Jihad on Litter campaign supported by the Birmingham Community Empowerment Network (unfortunately it appears to no [...]
Nobody uses ‘jihad’ when they are refering as a ‘struggle for a cause’; also this is clearly pro-Muslim PR, it could be also achieved by secular means.
On the other the cause is good, just the wording rather unfortunate.
Thanks for the comment, I’m curious why you say pro Muslim PR? The story says that Muslim’s in parts of the city are far too messy – all this group has done is appropriate a term to try and do two things: encourage people to clean up and draw attention to the problem.
>reclaim Jihad as a positive force
Keep up the good work!