**1. Introduction**

In today's world, when natural degradation is seemingly an unstoppable process of degradation, various groups, local, national, and international, take part in the global fight to prevent the earth from further deterioration. Among the cause for concern is the uncertain climate shifts. The world temperature continues to rise over the last four decades [1]. Indeed, global warming and climate change have become the concern of mankind.

The established facts paint a bleak picture: 99% of people worldwide do not breathe clean air, according to World Health Organization (WHO)'s latest data [2].

But an even more serious concern is for tropical countries, such as Indonesia. Scientists worry about developing nations in tropical regions that, in their attempt to catch up with the developed nations' standard of living, move from agrarian societies to urban manufacturing-based societies, marred with villagers migrating to cities that cause overpopulation, slum areas, and sanitation problems [3].

Several scientists have demonstrated that global air pollution exposure in the perinatal period is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in newborns. While the main cause is under investigation, but air pollution is believed to be one of the contributing factors [4].

Babara A. Maher and friends identify the abundant presence in the human brain of magnetite nanoparticles that match precisely the high-temperature magnetite nanospheres, formed by combustion and friction-derived heating, which are prolific in the urban environment [5].

A joint study by the World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) discovered that an estimated 5.5 million lives were lost in 2013 to diseases associated with outdoor and household air pollution, causing human suffering and reducing economic development [6].

To this global problem, there is a public opinion that while religious followers make up the majority of the world population, they have less concern with the degrading planet they live in, or, to say the least, they lack action on this issue.

Mary Evelyn Tucker, a senior lecturer at the Yale School of Environment, wrote in her book *Worldly Wonder: Religions Enter their Ecological Phase* that 88% of the world's population are faithful believers. This makes religions a gigantic power to save the planet if they work together [7].

On July 2009, more than 50 Muslim scholars from around the world announced what they called the Muslim 7-Year Action Plan against climate change, after a twoday intensive discussion and deliberation in Istanbul, Turkey.

The plan includes proposals for developing the major Muslim cities as a green city model, environmentally friendly goods and services, and sustainable practices of Islamic businesses. The Islamic trust fund called *waqf* will be established to make this plan into reality.

Today, there is a need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century, which means halving annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Still, global warming is likely to exceed 1.5°C in the next two decades. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for more than 25% of the warming, we are experiencing today [8].

It becomes obvious that climate change causes extreme weather events that kill or displace thousands and result in economic losses measured in the trillions. This situation entails investments in renewable energy as a main step to reduce global carbon emission [9].

According to UNEP, ecosystem degradation affects the well-being of an estimated 3.2 billion people or 40% of the world's population [10]. The degradation will continue if there was no measure to prevent the process. And so, there is a need to restore at least 15% of the converted lands, while stopping the further conversion of lands and its ecosystem.

In 1960s, forest covered around 80% of Indonesian lands—the third largest forest in the world after Brazil and Congo. But since then, the forest cover has been steadily on decline and the country is known to undergo the fastest deforestation rate in the world. In 1990s, the country's forest area shrink to 114 million hectares. And a decade later, it further dwindled to 90 million hectares [11].

From 2000 until now, more and more Indonesia's forest area is converted to oil palm plantations, after it was logged excessively by a number of forest concessionaires. Between 2000 and 2015, nearly 1.6 million hectares and 1.5 million hectares of primary forests were converted to oil palm and wood fiber plantations, respectively [12].

*Perspective Chapter: Integration of Science and Islamic Teachings by the PPI-Unas to Fight… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109453*

Indonesian forest includes more than 24 million hectares of peatlands, which store about 35 billion tons of carbon. When these peatlands are drained, burned, and replaced by plantations, it releases thousands of tons of carbon dioxide and sets the stage for devastating forest fires. The country is still among the world's top emitters of CO2 along with the U.S., European Union, China, India, Russia, and Japan, with 85% of its emissions profile coming from rainforest and peatland degradation and loss [13].

The uncontrollable forest conversion has led to a huge loss of biodiversity and brought a number of valuable trees variety and animal species to near extinction. The population of unique species, such as Javan eagle, orangutan, and Sumatran tiger, continues to decrease and now is close to extinction. Quoting the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), 15,000 species of animal and trees will extinct within the next 15 years [14].

Indonesia has actually been making serious efforts to fight its ecological degradation by ratifying international conventions on the environment since the Stockholm Convention in 1972, Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, Paris Agreement (2015) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to Stockhom+50 in Sweden, in 2022.

Among Indonesia's important policies are the establishment of the Ministry of Environment and the BKSDA, Indonesian acronym for Natural Resources Conservation Body under the Forestry Ministry. As part of these policies' implementation, the Forestry Ministry has designated 50 national parks as the country's conservation areas.

During the period of 2012–2022, in light of Stockhom+50, Indonesia has issued Regulation No 16 Year 2016, which adopts the Paris Agreement to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Regulation No 11 that ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

### **2. Islam on the environment**

The Islamic scripture Quran has its own narration about environmental degradation and what causes it:

*Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people's hands have done, so that Allah may cause them to taste* ˹*the consequences of* ˺ *some of their deeds and perhaps they might return* ˹*to the Right Path*˺*. (Quran 30:41).*

So, environmental degradation according to the Quran is caused by human action. That is why the Quran brings a set of regulations and ethics to govern human action. The main message of the Islamic scripture is for human to submit their desires and action to Allah's will.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH said that his main duty is to excel in the human code of conduct, called *akhlaq*, which is a set of values that guide how humans behave in interaction with God, human fellows, and nature. Prophet always encourages Muslims to live modestly and stay away from excessive behavior. He himself is an example of modesty, self-control, and affection to humans and nature. And he said: "I was sent to perfect moral." (Hadits narrated by Al-Baihaqi).

Allah said in the Quran that he created a human being and give them a mission as *khalifa fil ardh*, which literally means vicegerent on earth. It gives the meaning of steward and custodian of earth. A human being is given such a heavy mission because Allah equips him with intelligence, a discrete faculty that gives him the ability to think, reflect, and have free will.

The Quran also explains that life springs forth from the water, making it essential to all living creatures. "*We made from water every living thing*" (Q.S. 21:30). The water of rain, rivers, and fountains runs through the pages of the Quran to symbolize God's benevolence: "*He sends down saving rain for them when they have lost all hope and spreads abroad His mercy*." (Q.S. 25:48).

Prophet Muhammad PBUH said that one-day people will wage war over rivers of gold, indicating the vital role of water. On several occasions, he denounced the inefficient use of water by his followers. He even allowed used water to be used for *wudhu* (ablusion).

Prophet Muhammad likes planting trees and always encourages his companions to do it. He said, "Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded" (Source: *Musnad*). Planting tree is a form of *sadaqah jariyah* (continued charity). When someone plants a tree, and a human being or an animal takes shelter under it or fetches and eats a fruit it produces, then he or she gets rewards that do not last even after his or her death.

#### **2.1 Hima'**

Prophet Muhammad PBUH assigned an area near Madina where hunting, tree cutting, and land conversion are not allowed. This assignment is for conservation purposes. The assigned land is called *Hima al-Naqi*. Hunting is forbidden within a four-mile radius and tree cutting and destruction within a 12-mile radius. The caliphs who succeeded him established additional *himā*-s for the cavalry, the camels allocated for charity, and the livestock of the poor.

Later, the second Caliph Omar ibn Khattab built Hima al-Syaraf and Hima al-Rabdah. His successor Caliph Othman ibn Affan then extended the hima, so that it was capable of harboring at least one thousand animals every year [15].

*Hima'* is actually part of the Arab tradition since before Islam, which then functioned more as a private reserve for chieftains, who usually used it for personal or tribal pleasures. Islam changed its function to became public property. Tribes had their own *himā*-s with the permission of the state and acted as self-government in the absence of state control.1

#### **2.2 Harim**

The word *harim* is another form of the word *haram*, which means inviolate zone that includes sanctuaries or places where contending parties could settle disputes peacefully. Towns were usually built near rivers in order to get sufficient water supplies. The *harims* were built to restrict urban sprawl, protect water courses, watersheds, and oases.

The *harim* scheme was introduced by Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century to protect river and water resources, which were fundamental for Muslim ablution from pollution and damage. The *harim* area for a river

<sup>1</sup> Ibid.

*Perspective Chapter: Integration of Science and Islamic Teachings by the PPI-Unas to Fight… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109453*

extends to half of the river's width on both sides and for a tree extends from the tree to a radius of two-and-a-half to three meters. There is also a forbidden zone for wells or water sources that can extend to a 20-meter radius.2

*Harim* is part of the *hima'*, which is a system of resource tenure that has been practiced for more than 1400 years in the Arabian peninsula. Prolonged political conflicts and war has hampered the implementation of hima over the last centuries.

Some modern Muslim scholars describe *harim* more as a conservation zone along the river and upstream and it is more related to the protection of water resources. As a protected and inviolate zone, *harim* is also enacted to the consecrated space in a masjid. *H*̣*arim* can also mean a site of high sanctity. The two sanctified sites in Islam are Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. The two are wellknown as "*haramain*" or two sacred sanctuaries.

#### **2.3 Ihya al-mawat**

The opposite of hima is what is called *Ihya al-Mawat*, which literally means bringing the dead to life. In this case the dead is land. There should not be abandoned lands in Muslim areas. Muslim scholars describe *al-mawat* as neglected, unirrigated and dry lands, so that they produce nothing, let alone crops or vegetation.

And so, lands become sources of the economy, health, and prosperity. Those who cultivate and manage the dead or abandoned land are entitled to take benefit of the lands. And after a certain period of time, the cultivators are legally given ownership of the lands. As shown in Islamic history, the revival of the dead and abandoned lands brings prosperity to the community and the state.3

The *ihya' al-mawat* is one of the important issues during the administration of Prophet Muhammad, the Khulafa' al-Rashidun, and the ensuing caliphates from the Umayyads to the Ottoman.

Conservation sites of Islamic tradition can be found in a number of Muslim countries with different terminologies, such as *harim* zone, *hawtah*, *aqdal*, *mahjar*, *qaraq*, *doviste*, *mazarat*, and in Indonesia: *tanah adat*, *tempat keramat*, and *lubuk larangan*. In Lebanon, there are 18 himas that include important bird and biodiversity areas. This Islamic legacy of conservation sites is maintained and preserved by the local community and social organizations.

### **3. Discussion**

#### **3.1 The PPI-Unas**

The Center for Islamic Studies Universitas Nasional or in Bahasa Indonesia *Pusat Pengajian Islam Universitas Nasional* (*PPI-Unas*) was officially established on February 20, 1985, or 30 *Jumadil Awwal*, 1405 in the Islamic calendar. The Rector of Universitas Nasional Prof. Dr. Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana and the then Minister of Religious Affairs jointly inaugurated the Islamic study center.

The two leaders jointly signed a charter that set the ultimate PPI-Unas goal: Promoting Islamic thoughts and perspective to face the present challenges.

<sup>2</sup> Ibid.

<sup>3</sup> Ibid.

The PPI-Unas focuses on exploring Islamic thoughts and perspectives to face up to the present challenges, mainly those related to the environment, nature conservation, and climate change. This institution builds a bridging network and communication among Muslim communities and scholars as well as environmental practitioners for the good of mankind and this planet.

PPI-Unas Chairman Fachruddin Mangunjaya sees that modern science and Islamic teaching is actually no stranger to each other. He said what we call now "modern science" is a continuation of middle-aged Islamic thoughts and science. Modern science is the child of the middle age Islamic civilization.4

The Islamic study center integrates Islamic teaching with scientific studies to make a contribution to local, national, regional, and international initiatives on environmental projects. Fachruddin pointed out that Muslim scholars and leaders made numerous formulas from the Quran and hadits not only to deal with environmental arising but to turn the Quranic message into real action.5

After a series of research, the PPI found two main phenomena among Indonesians in relation to environmental issues. First, those who practice Islamic teachings on nature and the environment with lack of knowledge and scientific information about what they are practicing. Second, those who possess sufficient knowledge and scientific information about what they are doing while unaware that it is part of Islamic teaching.

The first phenomenon is in general due to the notion that science, much less modern one, is a secular domain that is less relevant to *ibadah* (religious practice). This view leads to the lackluster attitude in seeking scientific knowledge, which give a further impact on the quality of religious practices, particularly in relation to taking care of nature.

The second is seemingly the flip side of the same coin: Those who think they engage in modern science see religion as an old and obsolete knowledge and tradition, which is irrelevant to the current and latest innovations, research, and inventions. Religion should be left behind and prevented from meddling with scientific methodologies. They see religions, including Islam, do not deal with the current global issues, such as sustainable development, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, global warming, climate change, and the like.

It turns out that in many cases, the implementation of Islamic teaching on the environment is not up to the expected outcomes. On one hand, religious practice lacks a scientific perspective, so that it becomes dull and ineffective. On the other hand, science-equipped activists lack spiritual strength and enjoyment to bring their works to the expected results.

These works led to accreditation by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), a recognition by the UN body of the PPI-Unas contribution to global efforts to address environmental problems.

#### *3.1.1 Lubuk Larangan*

In 2021, the PPI-Unas started its studies on the traditional river protection called *lubuk larangan*. This tradition is found in four provinces: West Sumatra, North Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi. The fact that this tradition was based on Islamic teaching,

<sup>4</sup> Interview with Fachruddin Mangunjaya on Oct 14, 2022.

<sup>5</sup> Ibid.

#### *Perspective Chapter: Integration of Science and Islamic Teachings by the PPI-Unas to Fight… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109453*

as seen in the Quran recital in the closing and opening ceremonies, has drawn PPI-Unas's attention and interest in studying this practice.

Muslim community in Mandailing Natal in the Riau Province keeps a sacred place called *lubuk larangan*, which literally means "forbidden site." The establishment was based on an Islamic tradition that referred to hima. Later, the *lubuk larangan* obtains stronger legal bases after the government declared it a national park with the name Taman Nasional Batang Gadis (Batang Gadis National Park). Such higher legal status makes the site even much more significant as a source of a sustainable economy.

The National Park status was proposed by the local administration and community in order to strengthen the protection of biodiversity-rich and its ecosystem. Under the status of the national park, the *lubuk larangan* becomes the destination of ecotourism, non-timber economic resources, object of research, a safe home for biodiversity and genetics, as well as the world's carbon sink.

Jambi Province has also its sacred site with the name of Hutan Adat Keluru, while the Minangkabau people in West Sumatra Province have hutan adat and hutan nagari, which are deeply rooted in the sharia law. The Minangkabaunesse has a popular saying: Adat basandi syara, syara basandi kitabullah (the custom leans on the sharia, and the sharia lean on the God scriptures).

Fachruddin Mangunjaya said that in Rimbang Baling, Riau Province, the lubuk larangan is open for fishing for a certain period of time. "And the local community makes the opening and closing ceremonies by reciting the Quran. They are aware of the *harim* zone."

#### *3.1.1.1 Lubuk Larangan in Jambi Province*

The PPI-Unas research team found 21 *lubuk larangan* in Muara Bungo District, scattered in several villages, which are run through by the Telang River. Among the 21 are Tebat, Lubuk Mayan, Lubuk Rantau Pandan, and Muara Buat. These lubuk larangans are located by the riverside and upstream in order to protect the river from pollution and sedimentation. The Telang River runs through, among others, the villages of Laman Panjang, Buat, Lubuk Beringin, and Senamat Ulu.

In the downstream area, the river water was found to be polluted by tailing resulted from illegal gold mining nearby. Fishes were not found in the part of the river because, as Nurdin, the Head of Bathun III Ulu subdistrict, said that fishes cannot live in a river that is contaminated by tailing and mercury. He said that there had not been a regulation by the local village administration to prevent the gold mining.

After a series of discussions, the PPI-Unas and the local village administrations made a decision to bring village administrations into a joint agreement on the tailing and mercury treatment.

#### *3.1.1.2 Lubuk Larangan in Riau Province*

In the Sungai Salak and Rokan Hulu villages, the *lubuk larangan* is taken care of by the village administration. The *harim* is located by the riverside that straddles the two villages and within the oil palm plantation. When the oil palm plantation began, fish disappeared from the river due to chemical fertilizer contamination. After almost one year since the *harim* was established in 2019, fish species were seen again in the river.

The lubuk larangan covers 5 km<sup>2</sup> , which includes riverbanks and the river. In the lubuk larangan Bendahara, the river is 100 m wide. *Harim* zone is required to include one and a half of the river size, making the Bendahara harim covering 150 m on both

side of the river. This enables the river ecosystem to recover well. The harim regulation that allows fishing only once a year speeds up the recovery.

PPI-Unas presented the pivotal value of the *lubuk larangan* in the international workshop on sacred natural sites in Islam on April 24–26, 2017 in Malta. The workshop was attended by participants from 12 countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malta, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Serbia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey).

#### *3.1.2 Harim Cihilir*

In the green hilly area of Lido, Sukabumi district, West Java, around 80 km from Jakarta, there is an Islamic boarding school, locally called *pesantren*. The school compound is big—more than enough to accommodate 300–400 students. When the founders of the Darul Ulum boarding school started building the school compound in 1995, it was so hot and humid that they had second thoughts about whether the place was really suitable for learning.

Next to the *pesantren* compound runs the Cihilir river, which was then heavily polluted and silted as more people from outside built cottages by the riverside. Mineral water producers also utilize the river by pumping the water up to their refinery tanks. Headmaster of the Darul Ulum Ahmad (one name) said that the mineral water producers take the water out of the river without paying attention to what they should do to make the water supply sustainable.6

Four years later, the air around the school is cool and fresh and 700 trees—mango, avocado, rambutan, and durian—thrive in the zone. This huge change came about because the founders decided to set aside one hectare of the 7-hectare area as a harim zone. Any form of production and settlement in it was banned. And what is more, every student is required to plant a tree before they can take the school's final academic test.

"We imposed a policy called 'one student one tree,'" Ahmad said, adding that teachers evaluated students not only on planting trees but also on how they maintained them. "If the trees they have planted grew well, they would get a high score," he said.

Now, after almost all the allotted land has been filled with trees, pesantren leaders are under pressure to find additional land to grow trees. Besides trees planted by students, the pesantren also grows teak trees, now numbering about a hundred.

The Darul Ulum's success story in protecting nature drew other pesantrens in Bogor, to follow suit. On July 29, 2008, 19 pesantrens, representing 31,900 students converged in Bogor to launch a more ambitious move: protecting the Gunung Gede Pangrango and Halimun-Salak national park through the implementation of himma.

Data at the ministry of religions shows that 1311 of West Java's pesantrens are located in mountainous areas, 1065 in agricultural estates, 87 on coastal lands, and 114 by rivers.

While conservation has become a trigger for making Islamic teaching more relevant, it has an additional benefit—to dispel the image that pesantrens are factories for bombs and organizing suicide attacks on "kafirs," or infidels. In Garut, one of the pesantren bases in West Java province, ulemas, or Muslim scholars, have gone a step further and issued a "fatwa" or religious decree, ruling that harming nature is a serious violation of Islamic law.

<sup>6</sup> Interview with Ahmad on Nov 22, 2022.

#### *Perspective Chapter: Integration of Science and Islamic Teachings by the PPI-Unas to Fight… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109453*

Thantowi Yahya Musaddad, leader of the Al-Washilah pesantren, has also made an all-out effort to protect the environment, even composing a "*shalawat lingkungan*" or a song of praise to Prophet Muhammad, containing environmental messages. "I see this green campaign as a call. This is a matter of faith."7

#### *3.1.3 Ekopesantren*

The PPI-Unas observes the role of Islamic boarding schools (*pesantren*) as innovative Muslim institution, where Muslim young generation study Islamic thoughts and teachings related to nature, learn environmental sciences, and take part in practical activities that involve science and Islam, such as organic farming and tree planting on *pesantren* grounds.

As to why the pesantren is significant in restoring the degrading environment is for several reasons. For one, most of the traditional schools has spacious compounds. On average, one pesantren compound covers five hectares of land. The PPI sees the potential of a massive green movement with these traditional schools. If half of one pesantren land is used to grow trees, then tree planting in thousands of pesantren will make a great leap toward a more sustainable environment and healthy ecology.

For another, most of the pesantrens are located in rural areas and have a deeply rooted influence on the community around them. The pesantren leaders, locally called kyais, are often more influential than the local administrations. The influence is almost in all aspects of the community, stemming from culture, religion, economy, and politics.

The PPI-Unas sees a very strategic outcome in incorporating the pesantrens in the green campaign. Fachruddin said that villagers, members of the rural community, listen more to their religious leaders, who are mostly leaders of pesantren, than to scientists or officials. So, if an organization were able to socialize a program or an action through pesantren, the community will join or at least give their support," Fachruddin said.8

Thanks to this strategic move, by September 2021, the PPI-Unas won a prestigious Grant from John Templeton Foundation for supporting a 33 monthly project entitled: "Strengthening the Integration of Islam and Environmental Sciences in Islamic Boarding Schools through the Ekopesantren Program."

Further development of the Ekopesantren was carried out through a simulation of the environmental education module of the Pesantren Assalam Naga Beralih, Riau Kampar District, Riau Province on November 2, 2021. Twenty-five participants, including santris (student), ustadz (teacher), and the pesantren staff took part in the simulation.

Four out of 10 ekopesantren projects are directly related to greenhouse gas reduction: (1) efficient use of natural resources and energy; (2) waste treatment; (3) alternative transportation; and (4) utilization of the pesantren compound for tree planting. The remaining projects are indirectly related to GHG reduction, among them is the moral code (*akhlak*) to the environment. The santris are given a lesson on how to behave in the environment according to Islamic ethics.9

<sup>7</sup> Interview with Thonthowi Djauhari Musaddad on June 18, 2021.

<sup>8</sup> Ibid 16.

<sup>9</sup> The PPI-Unas 2022 Annual report.

#### *3.1.4 Green Hajj*

More than 42,000 tons of waste are produced during Hajj in the form of food waste, plastic bottles, discarded clothing, and other materials. The local authorities are also helping to combat this by providing recycling bins throughout the sites of the Hajj.10

Green Hajj is a well-formulated guide to perform Hajj ritual with minimum waste and pollution. The concept is aimed at reducing carbon footprint and developing cleaner Hajj rituals. On the eve of Hajj season year 1442 of Islamic calendar, Global One launched a Hajj application called Green Hajj on July 19, 2021.

A carbon calculator shows that each pilgrim produces 2.3 tons of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is based on 43.13 passenger miles flown per gallon of jet fuel and an average distance of 4000 miles for each Hajj.11

#### *3.1.5 Facilitating the Ulema's fatwa on wildlife trade*

In 2014, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) issued an unprecedented fatwa (decree) that bans the trade of wild animals. It was unprecedented because the wild animal trade is regarded as not a religious issue. Nowhere to be found in the Quran or hadits that wild animal trade is forbidden or haram.

Almost unknown to the public; however, the fatwa was preceded by a series of discussions, exchange of views, and scientific information between the MUI and the PPI-Unas. For its part, the PPI-Unas provided scientific information and data on the threat of wild animal extinction and the consequences it may cause.

The PPI-Unas also convinced the MUI that Islam has a strong message on the protection of animal species and trees although it was not literally and directly mentioned in the Islamic scriptures. In fact, the MUI took the PPI-Unas scientific information and came up with the fatwa.

Fachruddin said his organization held a very intensive meeting and discussion with the MUI. The ulemas literally mean people of science. So, the scientists characterized with openness to thoughts and information. If one had a strong argument and valid data, it is not difficult to convince them.12

The PPI-Unas did not merely provide scientific information and facilitate the issuance of the fatwa, it also took action to ensure that the fatwa was effective. It socialized the fatwa in areas, where illegal hunting and trade of wild animals are rampant. The PPI-Unas then built cooperation with local administration of Riau Province, NGOs, and Muslim leaders to protect the endangered Sumatran tiger in Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary (RBWR).

### **4. Analysis**

Earlier it was mentioned that the PPI-Unas deals with two groups: secular and religious. In this case, being secular does not necessarily mean being ignorant and unconcern about religion, rather, it means this group does not make religion a

<sup>10</sup> Al-Hajj. Sustainability and Religion.

<sup>11</sup> Yamin. Kafil. A Green Hajj? Latitude.nu. Oct 18, 2013.

<sup>12</sup> Ibid 16.

*Perspective Chapter: Integration of Science and Islamic Teachings by the PPI-Unas to Fight… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109453*

foundation or consideration in making decisions. Government officials who make decisions based on nonreligious consideration are categorized as secular.

In the same perspective, the religious group does not necessarily mean being ignorant and unconcerned about science. It just means that this group does things mainly for religious reasons. The MUI, pesantrens, and the masjid congregation are in this category.

After fatwa training with religious and community leaders, 96% of participants agreed that the Quran teaches that humans have an obligation to protect nature. After fatwa-themed sermons, congregants demonstrated an improved understanding of conservation issues and regulations (e.g., understanding about prohibitions on caging wildlife as pets increased from 37.5 to 64.4%).

A recent survey of teachers and religious leaders revealed that those understanding ecosystem services rose from 50 to 92% after the training. Those who understood the Islamic systems for natural resource management rose from 0 to 100%.

In 2017, after 2 years of raising awareness on the fatwa in Muslim communities in Sumatra, villagers who take action on conservation increased from 48.4% in 2015 to 71.6% in 2017. It was found that the level of intention to act in ways that benefit conservation also indicates the level of success in behavioral change. This accomplishment can be regarded as a point of integration of science and religion.

The attainment of stronger legal status from "lubuk larangan" Mandailing Natal to the Batang Gadis National Park is another example of the integration of science and religion. When the site was initially claimed as lubuk larangan based on Islamic teaching with less information and knowledge about the highly important value in terms of an ecological system. On the other hand, the Forestry Ministry officials and NGOs see the need to protect the area with less knowledge about how Islam has a strong message about it.

Data on whether or not the number of cases of illegal hunting, and logging is decreasing after the lubuk larangan became a national park is not available, but according to locals' testimonies the number of such cases is significantly decreasing.13
