Thirty Young Muslims Develop Framework for Just Energy Transition at Climate Hijra Workshop
Seizing the momentum of the holy month of Ramadan, the Just Energy Transition (RUTE) Forum for West Java in collaboration with Muslims for Shared Action on Climate Impact (MOSAIC), Escalation Space, and AktivAsia organised an Intensive Pesantren: Climate Hijra Workshop. Under the theme “Just Energy Transition and Environmental Stewardship”, the three-day event took place from 9 to 11 March 2026 at Ecocamp, Dago, Bandung.
The intensive programme was attended by 30 carefully selected participants comprising young Muslim men and women with leadership backgrounds, environmental and social activists, and community organisation representatives. The primary objective of this initiative is to respond to the global climate crisis and its increasingly felt impacts in Indonesia through a moral, spiritual, and collective action approach grounded in Islamic values.
Unlike typical intensive pesantren programmes, the Climate Hijra Workshop combined spiritual reinforcement (worship practices such as Qiyamul Layl night prayers and Qur’anic reflection) with critical analysis of the climate crisis, formulation of social action based on Green Ziswaf (Zakat, Alms, Religious Endowment, and Energy), direct ecological practices such as gardening, and campaign and media literacy classes.
Erland Fabian, Project Lead of the Just Energy Transition Forum for West Java, underscored the urgency of this event amid massive environmental challenges. “In this holy month, we invite young people to reflect on Islamic religious values to sharpen their environmental perspective and respond to pressing issues such as the climate crisis. We hope this activity can become a space to hone skills and leadership with an Islamic spiritual perspective as the foundation for collective action towards ecological justice,” he said.
The concept of the importance of ecological awareness from an Islamic perspective was further developed through a session on ‘Dissecting the Book of Islamic Jurisprudence on Just Energy Transition’. Niki Alma Febriana Fauzi, an official of Muhammadiyah’s Tarjih Council and a speaker at the event, explained the close relationship between Islamic theology and earth sustainability. “Understanding the relationship between humans and nature must be corrected. We rarely regard our interaction with nature (the earth) as part of worship,” she said.
Yet nature is not merely a place to live. “Our relationship with nature can also bring consequences in this life and the hereafter. Do not only see that humans play a role in managing nature, but also in protecting and caring for it as part of worship and humanity’s stewardship on earth,” she continued.
The intensive pesantren did not stop at discussion and theory. Young people were encouraged to broadly and strategically disseminate this awareness.
Didit Wicaksono, AktivAsia Indonesia Lead and speaker in the Narrative and Campaign Workshop within the pesantren, emphasised the importance of young environmental activists understanding media literacy. “In this very fast digital era, where information flows so rapidly, it seems important that young people are able to harness this space as a medium for positive campaigning and build strong narratives, particularly on environmental issues and just energy transition. Therefore, this intensive pesantren is the right forum to bridge that need,” he explained.
Aldy Permana, Programme Director of MOSAIC, revealed that this Bandung activity was the fourth to be held, following previous events in Bogor, Yogyakarta, and Semarang that brought together 60 participants from across Indonesia. Twenty-six projects related to sustainable energy transition have been implemented by young Muslim leaders as a follow-up from this training.
The event concluded with presentations of action plans from participant groups. “Through the Climate Hijra Workshop, we hope to produce more young Muslim leaders who are not only intellectually competent and spiritually devout, but also resilient in championing earth conservation and energy justice in Indonesia,” Aldy said.