The pesantren scholars’ Fatwa on global warming and climate change: An integrative analysis of Islamic law, theology, and environmental sciences on the practice of multidisciplinary Ijtihad

Abstract

Environmental issues are commonly responded by scientists and are addressed through policies by world countries. However, the Indonesian government was considering environmental theology and fatwas formulated by a group of Indonesian ulama to address these issues. . In 2009, Ulama of Pesantren and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry held a fruitful and large-scale conference aimed at discussing the issues of global warming and climate change, accompanying international activities on global warming and climate change, which were attended by delegations of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) members in Bali, Indonesia in 2007. Therefore, this research aims to investigate what kind of environmental theology and fatwas they published, how they formulated their theological positions and fatwas on the issue of global warming, and why the Indonesian Government and environmental scientists accepted them. The main data were the meeting minutes, which would later be printed in a documentary book, and the report of in-depth interviews with key figures at the meeting named halaqah. As a result, we found that pesantren ulama proposed an environmental theology that included a thesis statement that protecting the environment is not seen as a profane activity but a form of worship to God. Therefore, actions that destroy nature is a grave sin. Meanwhile, maslahah is the main argument for issuing fatwas that carbon emissions and trading are permissible (mubah), and the ratification of the Kyoto protocol is compulsory (wajib). These pesantren ulama’s environmental theology and fatwas concerning global warming issues were collaboratively discussed with environmental scientists during halaqah and thus accepted by the Indonesian government. Moreover, both the Indonesian government and environmental scientists recognized the need to apply adaptation strategies to deal with global warming by including Pesantren Ulama in the Indonesian context.

Keywords

• Fatwa
• pesantren
• global warming
• climate change
• Ijtihad
• environment