Progressive Muslim Environmentalism: The Eco-Theology and Ethics of the Nahdliyyin Front for Sovereignty over Natural Resources (FNKSDA)

Wednesday Forum – 27 October 2021

The discourse of Islam and Ecology in Indonesia pays much attention to theological and ethical-normative aspects on how Muslims should deal with the environmental problems. Questions concerning concrete social problems, political contestations, as well as interaction of actors within the context of unequal power relations are rarely addressed. Drawing on the empirical case and comparative literature of Islam and ecology, this talk will presents the case of FNKSDA as progressive Muslim environmentalism that engages with direct advocacy for the people affected by agrarian and environmental conflicts. Employing the hermeneutical privilege of the oppressed (mustadh’afin), FNKSDA integrates Marxist epistemology with traditional fiqh to bring a new voice into the discourse of Islam and ecology.

Ali Ilham Almujaddidy is staff member at Institute of International Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada. He holds his master degree on Islam and Ecology at Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, UGM. He is also one of the contributors for the book Varieties of Religion and Ecology: Dispatches from Indonesia (2021), published by LIT Verlag. He will present his writing at COP26-Enviromentalism in the Muslim World 2021 seminar series at the University of Edinburgh.

The full poster of this event is available here.