Every week, millions of Muslims attend Friday prayers at mosques, yet the courtyards of these places of worship are often left scattered with plastic bottles, food scraps, and ablution water discarded without recycling. This condition raises a fundamental question about the definition of piety in Islamic religious practice, particularly with regard to environmental responsibility.
The National Mosque Cleanliness Movement (GEBER MAS) is expected to become a turning point for connecting ritual piety with social-ecological piety. This movement is not merely an annual community service activity, but an effort to break down the separation between religious practice and environmental management. Yogyakarta, through an activity at Masjid Jami' Tajem in Maguwoharjo, Sleman, is attempting to offer a concrete model by integrating the local philosophy of Hamemayu Hayuning Bawana with environmental theology.
Supporters of this movement say there is a need to integrate mosque management board data into the Ministry of Religion's Mosque Information System to reform the management of places of worship. Mosque management boards, they argue, should not only be tasked with scheduling imams and preachers, but should also act as environmental managers by building independent waste management systems and installing ablution water recycling facilities for greening the surrounding areas.
This paradigm shift requires strong collaboration among various institutions, including the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion, the Indonesian Mosque Council, and philanthropic organisations. A coordinated action is scheduled for Monday, 10 August 2026, serving as an initial manifesto, but supporters emphasise that the real challenge lies in consistent implementation after the ceremonial activities end.
The hope is that mosques across Indonesia will eventually become centres of public education that vocally raise awareness about climate change through consistent Friday sermons, so that ecological consciousness among congregants grows as a spiritual need rather than merely compliance with government regulations.
