Indian Islamic centre warns Muslims against felling trees

LUCKNOW, (India): One of India’s most influential Islamic centres has warned Muslims not to chop down trees or burn fields after harvesting to help stem climate change and surging temperatures.

Much of northern India has been gripped by a deadly heatwave with temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), killing scores of people by heatstroke.

“Every Muslim must ensure no green trees and crops are set on fire,” Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahal, chair of the Islamic Centre of India, told AFP.

Mahal, a top scholar in the northern city of Lucknow, issued the non-binding fatwa or ruling on Sunday, saying that the religious duty of Muslims to conserve greenery and water was “stated in the Holy Quran”.