Burning Forest Is A Sin – Indonesian Islamic Council Declares

Indonesia’s highest Islamic authority has declared that it is a sin, or haram, for people to deliberately burn a forest or plantation, BBC reports.

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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dr Chuzaimah T. Yanggo, from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI),  said that a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, has been issued by the council in relation to the burning of land in the country.

She said: “The fatwa specifically addresses the intentional burning of forest and plantation land, we are not referring to accidental fires.”

Addressing a press conference that the council jointly held with the Environment and Forestry Ministry in Jakarta, she stated that the facilitating, neglecting or taking advantage of the burning of forest or plantation land is haram.

Also speaking, Hayu Prabowo, head of environmental protection at MUI, said most of the forest burning was done by companies, but declaring it haram, should make the public feel empowered to stand up to them.

“This fatwa will make religious leaders and the general public who in the past didn’t care, care and start to take responsibility to end forest burning in their area,” he said.

Unlawful slash-and-burn farming has devastated giant areas of Indonesia, causing air pollution, which impacts international locations across the area.

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