Islamic Ecotheology and Digital Counterpublics: Muhammadiyah Youth Activism against Mining Concessions in Indonesia
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Green Cadres of Muhammadiyah, Islamic ecotheology, mining concessions, digital activismAbstract
The decision of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah (Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah, PPM) to accept a mining concession from the Indonesian government has drawn opposition from the Green Cadres of Muhammadiyah (Kader Hijau Muhammadiyah, KHM)—an environmental movement based on Muhammadiyah’s youth community. This article analyzes how KHM mobilizes Islamic ecotheology as a moral basis for criticizing the decision and constructs an alternative framing through digital activism, thereby forming a digital counterpublic within the Muhammadiyah community. Drawing on Robert Entman’s framing function, this study analyzes KHM’s website publications and social media content from December 2023 to December 2024. The results show that KHM frames mining not merely as an economic opportunity but as an ecological, social, institutional, and moral issue. Moral evaluation is the most prominent framing function, linking rejection of mining to Islamic ethics, social justice, ecological responsibility, and Muhammadiyah’s normative commitments. Meanwhile, recommendations for action are implemented through calls to reject the concession, mobilization of collective action, petitions, public pressure, and reaffirmation of Muhammadiyah’s ecological commitment. These findings suggest that ecotheology can serve as a source of internal legitimacy for organizational resistance and support the articulation of a digital counterpublic that challenges dominant institutional interpretations of Muhammadiyah’s involvement in extractive industries.
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