Can Indonesia's Muslim leaders help combat climate change?

Activists take part in a rally pushing for awareness of the climate crisis due to massive environmental exploitation outside the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 21, 2022. - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation): From packed mosques during Friday prayers to the classrooms of thousands of Islamic boarding schools, Indonesia's Muslim leaders have been urged to use their sermons and influence to boost conservation efforts and win over climate change sceptics.

The country's top Muslim representatives met last month at South-East Asia's biggest mosque, the Istiqlal in the capital Jakarta, to discuss ways to raise awareness about global warming and develop climate solutions linked to Islamic teachings.