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Paper short abstract:

The strategic utilization of Islamic sentiments in Jakarta's environmental activism provides insights into how urban activists perceive the city's underlying problems and how they aim to transform the relationship between residents and the environment towards a more sustainable future.

Paper long abstract:

This article discusses the strategic instrumentalization of so-called Eco-Islam in Jakarta's environmental activism landscape- particularly in waste and wastewater campaigns. For this purpose, the author explores how Jakarta's activists perceive and link the city's ecological and social problems and thus, integrates historical, political and theoretical perspectives in her analysis.

The study discusses the (re)vitalization and (re-)interpretation of religious norms in Jakarta's public and private sphere against the backdrop of capitalistic modernization and economic developmentalism permeating Indonesia's political agenda for decades and which have its roots in the archipelago's colonial past.

Additionally, by including Islamic notions in their campaigns and interventions, activists participate in a transgressive form of environmentalism. Namely, they challenge and transform the design of established environmental knowledge production and ethics. The Quran offers a sound basis for this approach, since the holy text presents an elaborate environmental concept and practical guidelines that contrast dominant ecologies and prevailing behavioral routines. With the given maxims and in collaboration with scientists, economists, and religious leaders, Jakarta's activists aim for a more sustainable relationship between Jakarta's residents and its environment.