Environmental damage and climate crisis continue to occur because of human greed. “Because of human greed, humans must return to the basic values of their religion and beliefs,” said Hening Parlan, Director of the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah Program. According to her, the climate crisis which is starting to boil has become a global phenomenon that requires many parties to work together. “By using the value of faith, Eco Bhinneka invites friends from various religions and beliefs to create a movement together,” she said at the Iftar and Dialogue event entitled ‘Brothers in Peace and Happiness’ in Jakarta (03/2024).
Furthermore, according to Hening, in peace building activity, ecology cannot be separated. “When we talk about the environment, it is a way for us to achieve peace together, a way where we, people across religions and beliefs, work together in a humanitarian context,” she said.
Abdul Mu’ti, General Secretary of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah said that Eco Bhinneka is part of Muhammadiyah’s commitment, to invite people of all backgrounds to live side by side peacefully and care about environmental sustainability. “The Eco Bhinneka program is a well-grounded program. This movement is community-based, and prioritizes culture-based activities, where we explore various local wisdoms that exist in Indonesia as a wealth and a big capital that we can share together,” he continued.
Lambert Grijns, The Netherland Ambassador to Indonesia, appreciated the values of various religions in preserving the environment which had been expressed by the participant representatives in this dialogue event. “Environmental issues can connect us all, because the environment and the world where we live, are God’s creations that we must respect and protect together,” said Lambert. According to him, with a humanitarian perspective, people of all faiths can work together to prevent environmental damage.
This event was also attended by Kate Fletcher, DFAT Australia Politics team who manages interfaith issues. According to Kate, because Australia and Indonesia are neighbours, of course the current environmental conditions can have an impact on both countries. “Australia and Indonesia will work together in this area, to protect the environment and our earth, which is a gift from God,” said Kate.
This meeting received a warm welcome from various interfaith figures, as expressed by Aldi Destian, a representative of the Confucian Religion, “I am happy to be invited to attend this event because I met friends from across religions, had the opportunity to share what diversity is, and can enjoy the ifthar food this month of Ramadan,” said Aldi. The same thing was expressed by Rev. Alfriani is a representative of Christianity. “Here we are like brothers and sisters, we don’t look at different religions, but we have the same goal for nature, for humanity,” she said.
Regarding caring for the environment, several participants also agreed that people across faiths need to move together. As stated by Juliana Ojong from representatives of Buddhism and Engkus Ruswana from representatives of Believers, “May all beings be happy. But how do we make all beings happy? Of course by taking care of our earth together,” said Juliana. “We can work together to care for the environment by looking back at the values that exist in traditional communities, and using them in modern life,” said Engkus.
Throughout the event, participants are allowed to create stories on their Instagram account. Apart from being reposted by Instagram @ecobhinneka, interesting stories will also receive special prizes from Eco Bhinneka. The event closed with a meal together, where the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah Team served food in beautiful packaging or boxes that could be re-used, so it will reducing the waste.
The Iftar and Dialogue which will take place on Wednesday 27 March 2024 at 16.00 – 18.00 WIB can be watched again live streaming on YouTube tvMu Channel. A total of 130 participants attended this event in the Hall of the Muhammadiyah Da’wah Center Building, Central Jakarta. They came from the Netherland Embassy, Local Partner JISRA Indonesia, interfaith figures and activists, organizations or NGOs working on issues of religious harmony, extended families of PP Muhammadiyah Jakarta Office employees, as well as representatives of PP Muhammadiyah Councils, Institutions and Autonomous Organization.
(Dzikrina Farah Adiba)
