How Indonesian Muslims created a fatwa against the illegal wildlife trade The global decline in endangered species has preoccupied wildlife groups for decades, but has not been seen as a subject for faith groups to debate until relatively recently.
With growing awareness of the crisis facing our climate and biodiversity, religions are increasingly concerned to do what they can to limit the harm human beings are doing to the planet. Hence the move by Muslims in Indonesia, one of the nations with the richest diversity of wildlife on the planet, to take a stand against the exploitation of rare species. This was to be no mere discussion but a fatwa – an instruction telling all the faithful that this exploitation must stop.
Unambiguous direction from a fatwa
‘A fatwa provides certainty on how Islamic teaching can guide you on a particular subject,’ explained Dr Fachruddin Majeri Mangunjaya, chairman of the Centre for Islamic Studies and lecturer at the Universitas Nasional (UNAS) Indonesia. Dr Fachruddin is part of a team that worked on the fatwa – or religious edict – against the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.
‘We’re in the public eye and we feel that, if we do things persistently, we’ll be able to show that our work is a positive thing – morally, ethically, and for the planet’ – Dr Fachruddin Majeri Mangunjaya
The unprecedented ruling was a global first: the Fatwa for the Conservation of Endangered Animals for the Balance of Ecosystems forbids (under Islamic law) the hunting, killing, or harming of endangered species, except in self defence.
Use of social media
‘Social media can be negative if you have political opposition,’ Dr Fachruddin said. ‘We feel it was both positive and negative. We’re in the public eye and we feel that, if we do things persistently, we’ll be able to show that our work is a positive thing – morally, ethically, and for the planet. Forget the negativity – we have to be optimistic.’
News of the campaign spread far and wide. A Google search of the term “wildlife fatwa” in July 2021 produces 510,000 results – the vast majority of the top-ranked pages referring directly to the Indonesian example.
Peatland fires lead to new fatwa
The wildlife fatwa was followed in 2016 by a similar fatwa against the deliberate burning of forest peatland. Deliberate deforestation had become a major problem in Indonesia. Fires are set to clear land for agriculture, but the consequence is a degraded environment that is more susceptible to flooding, and robs countless species of their habitat – from orang-utans to microbes.