Terengganu's mosques to help fight poaching

Sean Augustin, New Straits Times 16 Mar 09;

KUALA TERENGGANU: The success of Friday sermons in raising awareness of turtle conservation has prompted the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to use the same approach to tackle poaching.
The sermons, which are scheduled to be delivered at the state's mosques between April and May, will also touch on the conflict between humans and nature.

The WWF is co-organising the sermons with the Kelantan Islamic Council and the Islamic Understanding Institute of Malaysia (Ikim).

Last November, 482 mosques throughout the state preached about turtle conservation and environmental preservation.

The sermons were the result of efforts made by the Ma'Daerah Heritage Community Association (Mekar) to use the state's mosques as a medium to spread the message of turtle conservation.
Mekar also prepared the text for the sermons with the help of Ikim.

The one off event was deemed a success and received a lot of positive feedback.

WWF Tiger and Rhino communication officer Sara Sukor said the latest sermon would only be preached at a few mosques in Jeli as the poaching of animals such as pangolins, tigers and elephants at forest reserves there was deemed "critical".

The clearing of forests for agricultural purposes in the area has also seen a high conflict between the communities and elephants, especially in the past two years.

"We hope it will have the same impact as the sermon did on turtle conservation in Terengganu," she told the New Straits Times, yesterday.

"People think poaching is not wrong in Islam, but the Quran does mention protecting the wildlife.

"In addition people justify their actions, claiming poaching is done in self-defence. And in the case of elephants, the community needs to realise that elephant habitats are being destroyed and that is why they raid plantations and villages.

"We also hope we can later use the sermon for the whole of Kelantan," she added.

Sara said the organisation is planning a similar sermon in Perak as the state was a hotbed for wildlife trade.

Malaysians to preach tiger protection in mosques
The Associated Press, Jakarta Post 16 Mar 09;

Preachers in some Malaysian mosques will urge worshippers to help stop the poaching of tigers, elephants and other endangered animals after similar sermons on turtle conservation were well received, an environmentalist said Monday.

Dozens of preachers in northern Kelantan state bordering Thailand have agreed to read sermons against the illegal wildlife trade, said Sara Sukor, an official with the World Wildlife Fund.

The sermons "talk about how Islam teaches you to conserve animals and plants. We try to connect the Quran verses with the issues themselves," she said. "It has gotten very critical of late. In unofficial reports we hear about all this conflict and poaching going on."

Last year, Islamic preachers in neighboring Terengganu state stressed the importance of turtle protection in a specially written sermon. World Wildlife Fund officials say the sermon received a good response. Figures indicating the impact of the sermons on illegal trade in turtles were not immediately available.

Sukor said the sermons to protect elephants and tigers were expected to start in April or May.

Among other messages, preachers will explain how chopping down forests takes away elephants' and tigers' natural habitats, forcing them to raid plantations and villages for food.

Wildlife fund officials say only 500 Malayan tigers still live in the wild in Malaysia - down from 3,000 in the 1950s - while about 1,300 Asian elephants remain on peninsular Malaysia, according to government figures.

The World Wildlife Fund said it also hopes to work with local Islamic authorities in other states to distribute conservation sermons nationwide, dealing with each area's specific issues and animals.

Kelantan and Terengganu states are among Malaysia's most conservative. Some 60 percent of Malaysians are Muslims, and Islam is the country's official religion.