Let’s Do More to Protect the Mediterranean

There are moments when nature has a way of drawing our attention away from everything else. It does not take vast landscapes or spectacular places to make us look in another direction. Sometimes, all it takes is sitting by the sea, immersing ourselves in crystal-clear water, and observing what is happening among the rocks.

In Tunisia, along some of the rocky Mediterranean coastlines, you may catch sight of small crabs slowly emerging from their hiding places. They move between the rocks, stop, and retreat back into hiding whenever they sense movement, only to emerge again once their surroundings become quiet.

To some, it may seem like an insignificant scene. But if we truly stop to observe, that small creature reminds us of the extraordinary nature of life, which exists everywhere.

Among seemingly motionless rocks and the plastic waste scattered everywhere, a world in need of protection reveals itself — a universe alive within the water. If every creature has its own space, its own behaviour, and its own way of surviving, we should ask ourselves why we interfere with a world that we have no right to destroy, but rather a responsibility to contemplate and respect.

Learning to Observe

The Qur’an repeatedly invites human beings to observe creation. Not merely to look at it superficially, but to reflect deeply on the existence of the sky, life on earth, animals, rain, plants, and the sea. If we fail to recognise the signs of God, we cannot fully embrace our responsibility to respect nature.

Perhaps this is exactly what happens when we watch a small crab emerge from a crack in the rock. We realise that not everything important needs to be large.

Life does not need to demand our attention in order to have value. A small crustacean living among the rocks is part of the same creation that we admire every day.

A Question

And so, as we look out across the sea, we can ask ourselves a simple question:

What right do we have to destroy what we did not create?

A plastic bottle discarded among the dunes or left on the beach may seem like nothing more than waste. Yet that same environment is home to countless small creatures.

That same expanse of water is the habitat of millions of living organisms and, at the same time, a complex ecosystem.

What is rubbish to us can become a serious problem for nature itself. Respecting the environment means learning to see what we do not normally notice at first glance.

Beauty Does Not Belong to Us Alone

When we arrive at a beautiful coastline, we naturally think about ourselves: swimming, sunbathing, taking photographs, and enjoying a pleasant day.

But that coastline was not created solely for our enjoyment. The small crabs moving among the rocks belong there just as much as we do.

This does not mean that human beings cannot visit coastal areas or live along the shore. It means that we must do so with moderation and responsibility.

The True Meaning of Wonder

Perhaps being amazed by nature should become more than a passing emotion.

It should become respect.

If we are captivated by crystal-clear water, we should want to protect it.

If seeing fish in the sea moves us, we should care about marine pollution.

If we stop to watch crabs emerging from the rocks, we should remember that even this small ecosystem deserves to be preserved.

Beauty reveals value, while awareness reveals responsibility.

Creation Is Not an Object

One of the mistakes of modern society is to view nature primarily through the lens of its usefulness.

How much is a beach worth?

How much does it produce?

How many tourists can it attract?

How much can we exploit it?

But there is another question:

How much is it worth simply because it is part of creation?

The Qur’an invites us to change our perspective every day, to recognise the signs scattered throughout the universe.

The sea, the rocks, the animals, the rain, and the vegetation invite us to reflect. Even a small crab emerging from a rock can become, for those who know how to observe, an opportunity to practise gratitude.

Protecting What We Often Fail to See

We may see a polluted beach without immediately noticing all the organisms being harmed. We do not always see what is happening beneath the surface, nor the consequences that may unfold over the years.

Protecting the sea also means protecting the silent life that exists among the rocks, beneath the sand, and within the water.

Crabs cannot speak up to defend their habitat.

But we can choose to do so on their behalf.

A Responsibility Before Allah

For Muslims — people who recognise the oneness of God and seek to live according to His guidance — this trust carries an even deeper meaning. Allah has entrusted us with an Earth rich in life.

The Qur’an warns us against corruption on land and sea and calls upon us not to exceed the limits. Nature is not simply something to admire; it is a genuine responsibility.

For this reason, when we stand before the Tunisian sea, or any other sea, we can immerse ourselves in its crystal-clear waters, allow the waves to carry us, observe the small crustaceans emerging from the cracks between the rocks, and remind ourselves that we are not the only inhabitants of this world. We are part of creation.

And precisely because we have the ability to profoundly alter the world around us, we also carry a greater responsibility to protect it.

The next time we see a small crab emerge from a rock, perhaps we can pause for a few seconds longer.

Not to catch it or disturb it, but simply to watch.

And perhaps, in that small movement among the rocks, we will remember that creation is far greater than we are.

The sea is not merely a place to visit. It is, above all, a world to respect.

Every creature we encounter, no matter how small, reminds us that this world has been entrusted to us.

An Appeal to Governments

But responsibility cannot rest solely on individuals.

We call on governments to do more. The Mediterranean is a natural heritage that belongs to both present and future generations, and we cannot protect it through individual goodwill alone. We need stronger laws against littering and pollution, more effective enforcement, meaningful penalties, and concrete investment in waste collection, plastic reduction, and recycling.

We also call for greater protection of coastlines and marine ecosystems, as well as greater accountability for companies that produce and use large quantities of plastic.

We cannot continue asking nature to endure the consequences of what our society produces.

Protecting the Mediterranean means protecting the life that inhabits it, the communities that depend on it, and the future of those who will come after us.

We call on governments to show courage, responsibility, and a commitment to concrete action.

The Mediterranean does not need only to be admired.

It needs to be protected.