Testing Muhammadiyah's Green Line in the Mining Fields

The decision of the Muhammadiyah Central Board to accept a Special Mining Business Permit Area (WIUPK) from the government continues to fuel heated debate to this day. This pros and cons does not only come from outside the organisation, but has also become a noisy academic anxiety within its cadres, youth, and muamalah academics. Some see it as a golden opportunity towards the economic independence of the ummah (jihad ikhtisadi). However, for others, this step is seen as risky because the coal extractive industry has a dark track record regarding environmental sustainability.

So far, Muhammadiyah has been known as a pioneer of an environmentally friendly theological movement through its legal products, such as ‘Water Fiqh’ and ‘Disaster Fiqh’. When the large ship named Muhammadiyah finally officially plunges into the chimney of the mining industry, a clash of values becomes inevitable. As students studying management and muamalah ethics, we need to view this polemic clearly: How does Muhammadiyah formulate its business ethics so that involvement in the mining field does not collapse the moral compass of the Progressive Islam movement?

Between Stomach Benefit and Environmental Damage

In contemporary muamalah fiqh studies, a business cannot be judged legal just because its administrative documents are complete. Business feasibility must weigh the balance between maslahah (benefit) and mafsadah (damage). We have a classic fiqh rule that firmly reminds us:

دَرْءُ الْمَفَاسِدِ مُقَدَّمٌ عَلَى جَلْبِ الْمَصَالِحِ

‘Repelling harm is prioritised over seeking benefit.’

The financial profit from mining projected to finance free schools, hospitals for the poor, or cadre scholarships is indeed a tangible benefit. The organisation’s financial sector will clearly be helped. However, the story is different if the coal extraction process leaves behind deadly pits that destroy the community’s living space, pollutes water sources, and triggers a local ecological crisis. There, a great mafsadah is being produced.

The Qur’an itself has long given a red signal regarding destructive human behaviour towards nature in Surah Ar-Rum verse 41:

ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

‘Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned, so that He may let them taste part of what they have done, that perhaps they will return.’

This is where Muhammadiyah’s Al-Ma’un Theology is being tested in the field. The defence of the mustad’afin (the weak) must not be two-faced. We cannot be proud of financing an orphanage in one city if the money comes from a business that displaces the future of children in the mining ring. Muhammadiyah must prove that it is capable of creating an antithesis to the conventional, often reckless, capitalist model of mining.

Formulating a ‘Progressive Mining Muamalah’

The gavel of decision has been struck, and now the challenge is to oversee its technical implementation in the field through a Green Muamalah approach. This foundation must refer to the spirit of the Prophet’s hadith: ‘Lā dharara wa lā dhirāra’ (There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm).

To avoid the element of dharar (harming others), there are three non-negotiable ethical boundaries for the organisation:

First, the implementation of Eco-Shariah Compliance. Shariah compliance in Muhammadiyah’s mining operations must not stop at merely being free from Riba or Gharar on paper contracts. There must be new indicators that bind environmental aspects. If Muhammadiyah’s mining company fails to carry out total land reclamation or is proven to pollute settlements, then according to fiqh, the circulation of money within it is syubhat (doubtful) because it contains elements of ecological injustice.

Second, Radical Transparency. The management of this mining concession must be audited periodically by an independent institution—not just financial audits, but also environmental and social impact audits. The results must be laid bare to the organisation’s members and the public. This is tangible proof of the Siddiq (truthful) and Amanah (trustworthy) character in modern business management.

Third, Profit Conversion for Energy Transition. The profits from this coal business must not be enjoyed as a comfort zone for the organisation. Muhammadiyah must commit to using the largest portion of the net mining profit to fund research and the construction of renewable energy infrastructure (such as solar panels or wind energy). This mine must be positioned as a transition bridge towards clean energy, not as a field of dependence on dirty energy.

Conclusion

The mining business has brought Muhammadiyah to a very steep crossroads. This is no longer just a matter of black-and-white textual fiqh, but the greatest test of moral integrity in the organisation’s modern history. If Muhammadiyah dissolves and falls into the dark circle of the mining oligarchy that destroys the earth, the moral legitimacy of its enlightenment preaching before the younger generation will collapse. Conversely, if Muhammadiyah can give birth to a mining business model that is the most environmentally friendly, most prosperous for local communities, and dares to restrain itself for the sake of religious ethics, then this will be the greatest tajdid (renewal) in muamalah fiqh of the 21st century. The answer now no longer lies in seminar rooms, but in the ethical commitment of the organisation’s policymakers.