pixabay.com
The controversial policy of the outgoing Joko “Jokowi” Widodo government to grant coal mining concessions to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) — Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization — is posing a serious threat to the country’s efforts in the fight against global warming.
The policy is dangerously myopic, given that Indonesian coastal communities are among the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of global warming. But what is more concerning is the fact that the NU establishment is now engaging in intellectual gymnastics to justify the policy by dismissing the issue of climate change as merely a matter of opinion, rather than scientific consensus. It is normalizing climate change denial in the world’s largest Muslim country, which is already struggling to protect its forests and end its addiction to coal.
Islam and climate change
The controversy has sparked a fierce debate among Indonesian Muslims over whether Islam condones coal mining. The debate was triggered by an op-ed published on the frontpage of Kompas daily by NU central executive board member Ulil Abshar Abdalla, in which the former Liberal Islam Network (JIL) icon accused those critical of NU’s involvement in coal mining of being “alarmist” and driven more by ideology than rational considerations.
In a group discussion held by the Maarif Institute, attended by prominent Indonesian Muslim scholars and environmental activists, Ulil reiterated his point that the issue of climate change has become so ideologically polarising that it resembles the schism between Sunnism and Shi’ism in Islam.
Ulil proposed the use of fiqh (Islamic legal reasoning) to deal with the matter, approaching it simply from the logic of costs and benefits. In short, he argued that the issue of climate change should be downgraded from one of belief (aqidah) to one of policy (fiqh), in which differences in opinion are the norm.
We argue that this thinking is gravely misguided. In his defense of NU’s policy, Ulil obscures the science of climate change by approaching it through the lens of Islamic jurisprudence that may not yet have developed a coherent understanding of modern environmental issues. Moreover, his argument wrongly implies that there is no consensus among the scientific community that the planet is gradually overheating – and it does not help that he repeatedly cited climate change skeptic Bjorn Lomborg to back up his argument.
It is now clear that greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide (Co2) that comes from the burning of fossil fuel such as coal, are building up in the atmosphere and warming the planet at a faster rate, disrupting “weather patterns and the usual balance of nature”.
Even if Ulil’s argument is accepted that the controversy over the granting of mining permits to NU should be seen simply as a problem of costs (mafsadat) and benefits (maslahah), as commonly practiced in fiqh tradition, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that benefits of the use of coal are far outweighed by the costs of climate change.
NU and elite politics
Theological debate aside, the controversy marks a new stage in the long history of elite co-option of Islamic organizations in the country to advance their interests.
Regardless of the veracity of Ulil’s view on climate change, NU’s relationship with the power holders has influenced its position on the question of coal and climate change. The Islamic group has propped up the Jokowi administration throughout his presidency, particularly in the face of opposition from radical Islamist groups. NU was critical for his re-election in 2019, when Jokowi tapped then NU supreme leader Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate. It was also important for the electoral victory of the Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s son, in the February election.
Elite co-option of civil society forces is the norm in Indonesian politics, given the oligarchic nature of its body politic, which is characterized by the absence of powerful social forces capable of countervailing the oligarchic powers, many of whom are powerful coal tycoons. However, the granting of mining permits to NU is a new low and could even be seen as the beginning of the end of its reputation as a traditionalist but socially progressive Islamic organization.
This is, of course, more than just about NU’s image. It is important to note that the NU establishment’s decision to engage in coal mining does not necessarily represent the sentiment of most of its members. The reality is that like many other Indonesians, there are plenty of NU members who have become victims of destructive mining activities.
But perhaps our gravest concern is that NU turning a blind eye to the downsides of coal mining could be seen as a major boost for the coal industry and end up derailing efforts to fight global warming.
