Is Green Islam going to support environmentalism in Indonesia?

Abstract

Various newspaper and scholarly articles have appeared in the past few years which enthusiastically claim that a Green Islam is emerging in Indonesia. This movement is supposedly going to have a major positive impact on pro-environmental behaviour. In contrast to this optimism, on the basis of our observations of daily life in Indonesia, we question the belief that such a powerful Green Islam is emerging. We argue that, in the cases we have studied, contrary to the scholars and journalists writing about Green Islam, Muslim religious frameworks do not lead to an activist environmentalism. There is no reason to assume that Islam is a major force for pro-environmental behaviour, and we are therefore doubtful about the potential of Green Islam. Many people, however, interpret their diverse interactions with the environment in religious terms, and Islam does certainly support and legitimize behaviour which is good for the environment, albeit more in the form of unforeseen side-effects.