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| The situation of yesterday's Sunday dawn lecture at the Mosque of AR Fachruddin. (Foto: Istimewa) |
To strive with a praiseworthy aim can be done in various fields, including the natural environment. It makes the University of Muhammadiyah Malang encourage its students to engage in environmental struggle. One of them is to educate them through the Sunday dawn lecture by the Islamic and Muhammadiyah Studies Affairs team on 11th December 2022. Hundreds of students participate in this program after performing dawn prayer in the AR Fachruddin Mosque.
On the lecture occasion, UMM invited the Head of the Environmental Agency and Disaster Management Division, Hening Purwati Parlan, M. M. She started her explanation with the progressive character of Muhammadiyah: enjoining good and forbidding wrong. It has enclosed the attitude to preserve the environment and the Earth.
The concept of charity owned by Muhammadiyah encourages society to constantly take care of humans, animals, plants, and natural environments. The founder of Muhammadiyah, KH. Ahmad Dahlan also emphasised the idea.
Hening asserted, ”Muhammadiyah even started to initiate to establish an environmental assembly since green movement appeared in the 1990s until in 2000s it generated an environmental council.”
She said that she likes the term “eco-based Islamic struggle”. In her view, this is an interesting struggle. The word Eco means ecology, related to the natural environment. Meanwhile, to struggle needs strong effort. Therefore, eco-based Islamic struggle (Translation of "Eco Jihad") refers to the spirit of changing the natural environment to be better.
Many studies discuss climate change, primarily when it focuses on the Earth’s natural environment, which gradually worsens. She mentions that one of the practical solutions is implementing a cultural and religious approach. Students of UMM can do that through small things which can inspire society, like reducing the use of plastics, turning off lamps if not used, etc.
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Eco-based Islamic struggle also garners the participants’ attention. One was Reva Abiah, who perceives that the Sunday dawn lecture inspires her to make changes. She also realises Islam regulates and encourages humankind to preserve the natural environment because it not only benefits the environment but also protects humans from disaster.
“If we do not take care of the environment, I feel that the natural disaster percentage like floods and landslides can increase. Then, Eco Jihad can be a good solution for society. I also expect fellow students and young people to be able to engage and inspire broader society about the importance of natural environment,” she asserted while ending. (imh/rev/wil)
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