The Indonesian Ulema Council (mui), the top body of religious scholars, is also involved.Over the past decade it has issued a series of fatwas, or non-binding legal opinions, to promote green causes.In 2011 it declared environmentally destructive mining operations forbidden under Islamic law.Three years later it banned the killing of endangered species.In 2016 it condemned slash-and-burn farming practices as haram (proscribed by Islamic law).Indonesia is officially a secular country.But its clerics wield serious clout.A survey in 2020 by Katadata Insight Centre, a local research firm, found that Indonesians place the highest level of trust in information from religious institutions.Imams have sought to convert that trust into political power.Ma’ruf Amin, Indonesia’s vice-president, was personally involved in drafting and defending the environmental fatwas as an mui leader.He still gives green sermons from his political perch.Indonesia’s pesantrens, or Islamic boarding schools, have become testing grounds for what some call the eco-Islam movement.Around 4m pupils study in these schools.Alumni often go on to lead important religious and political institutions.At Darul Ulum, a pesantren in Java, teachers tell stories of the Prophet Muhammad planting trees and protecting wildlife.
