Indonesia's Islamic groups must reverse out of mining industry

Jokowi's awarding of concessions to religious organizations highlights a troubling shift

Imam Saffet Catovic and Hajj Fazlun Khalid

September 24, 2024 05:05 JST

An excavator loads raw nickel ore into a dump truck at a mining site in Sorowako, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, on March 29, 2023. © Reuters

Imam Saffet Catovic is director of the United Nations operations of nongovernmental organization Justice for All. Hajj Fazlun Khalid is founder of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

A controversial move just a few months before the end of Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's second and final term has deeply unsettled both environmental and religious communities in Indonesia.