Session Name: Human-riverine interactions in Southeast Asia I
Breaking River Embankments: Climate Adaptation of Muslim Community to the Ecological Crisis in Northern Coastal of Java, Indonesia
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)
This research project highlights how religion (Islam) plays a role as an antidote to the ecological crisis by looking at the empirical experience of the local Muslim community in Southeast Asia. It focuses on the adaptation of the northern coastal communities of Java, Indonesia in facing tidal flooding, so-called ‘rob’. The rob floods, which is what local people call the term of overflow of sea water through the urban rivers during certain seasons every year, have become a public concern in recent years. This is natural phenomenon has caused a lot of harm, not only physical but also psychological. Some local residents have taken the initiative to raise their houses and build a water-retaining fence around to avoid annual natural disasters that occur at any time. This research project is conceptually an in-depth analysis by setting out three main interrelated objectives; 1) to advance empirical knowledge about the links between Islam, flood and local Muslims’ perceptions of water management issues; 2) to reveal the ecological practices of local Muslims in dealing with floods; 3) and to contribute to the understanding of the adaptation of local Muslims to the water ecological crisis in Indonesia. The study of adaptation processes, which looks at the symbolic interactions between ecology and spirituality, is at the heart of this research project.
Presenter(s)
Ibnu Fikri
State Islamic University Walisongo Semarang, Indonesia