AKI - Scholars who met in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to discuss Islam and the environment, have concluded that Muslim values support Indonesia's efforts to face its environmental challenges. The dialogue was held on Wednesday at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in cooperation with the British Embassy in Jakarta.
The director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES) in England, Fazlun M. Khalid, said that in contrast to common misperceptions, Islam was more than a ritualistic religion; Islam also provided universal values that underlined the importance of maintaining a balanced interaction with nature. He said Islamic teachings helped position human beings as the khalifah or administrative deputies of God on earth.
"Ulemas in Indonesia are way ahead ... in translating the sharia into fatwa (religious edicts)," he said. Khalid also said Indonesian ulemas issued many Islamic edicts that affirmed various environmental problems, including the burning of forests, illegal logging and mining, as well as the latest on the conservation of forests. He said Indonesia needed a "support mechanism" that would ensure the involvement of politicians and stakeholders in spreading religious beliefs related to the environment.
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