The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag), together with the Ministry of Environment (KLH) and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen), launched the Ecological Repentance Movement Toward Adiwiyata Schools. Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar called on the faithful to live in harmony with nature through the spirit of ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah, or brotherhood among all creatures.

The Minister made the remarks at the launch of the Ecological Repentance Movement Toward Adiwiyata Schools at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in Jakarta. The movement serves as a platform for collaboration to strengthen environmental conservation in educational institutions.

The event, titled “Taking the First Steps Together Toward Environmentally Conscious Schools,” was attended by Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH) Muhammad Jumhur Hidayat; Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Atip Latipulhayat; ministry officials; educators; and students from schools and madrasas at various levels.

The Minister explained that the universe is not lifeless matter to be exploited at will. Religion views the universe as alive and bound to humanity by a cosmic bond of brotherhood known as ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah.

"Religion introduces ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah, brotherhood among God's creatures. As long as we regard the universe as lifeless matter to be exploited, the end of the world will come sooner," the Minister said emphatically at TMII, Jakarta, on Monday (10/12/2026).

Minister Nasaruddin Umar stressed that religious teachings and language play a strategic role as an “inner supervisor” that can guide human behavior in protecting nature wherever people may be. Law enforcement and physical oversight by authorities are limited by space and time. Spiritual awareness instilled through religious teachings is therefore an effective instrument for preventing environmental destruction.

“Religious language is very important because it can guide people. Even in the middle of a vast forest with no police around, people will not damage nature, because religious language watches over them wherever they are,” the Minister said.

He also proposed that this approach to environmental protection, based on religious language, be adopted not only in Indonesia but at the global level.

The Minister further affirmed the Ministry of Religious Affairs' readiness to integrate the values of nature conservation into learning at hundreds of thousands of religious educational institutions. “The Ministry of Religious Affairs recognizes that the Adiwiyata program and environmentally conscious schools require synergy to strengthen character and environmental awareness. We are working to support these smart ideas so that nature can actively contribute to human well-being,” he said.

The Minister described this three-way collaboration as highly strategic, because saving the planet requires a complete combination of government regulation, school curricula, and spiritual foundations. "And this is how the Ministry of Religious Affairs is working to support these ideas, so that nature actively contributes to the well-being of humankind," he concluded, while inviting the Ministry of Environment to help popularize the term ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah.

Minister of Environment Jumhur Hidayat welcomed the invitation. He said the Ministry of Environment fully agrees with the concept and has adopted ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah as an important pillar of the Ecological Repentance movement.

“What is often forgotten is ukhuwwah makhluqiyyah. It is extraordinary, and it will become a keyword for the Ministry of Environment, from a religious perspective, in protecting biodiversity and fostering solidarity among all living beings,” Jumhur said.

Jumhur added that environmental damage today is often driven by a loss of individual responsibility, such as plastic waste thrown into rivers that ends up as high levels of microplastic contamination in ocean fish. By strengthening moral and religious perspectives, the Ministry of Environment aims to build the ecological repentance movement on three core principles: recognizing past wrongdoing, not repeating the damage, and taking concrete restorative action.

Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Atip Latipulhayat said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is ready to oversee the instilling of moral values and environmental ethics from the elementary school level. "Right now, we are launching this through habit-building. Schools are places of education and habit formation, so that the school environment is orderly, safe, and comfortable, and becomes part of caring for the environment," Atip explained.

The synergy of inner supervision grounded in religious values, character-building habits in schools, and firm law enforcement is expected to create a sustainable environmental protection ecosystem in Indonesia. (Bureau of Public Relations and Public Communication)