Fatwas on Boosting Environmental Conservation in Indonesia
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This paper held out the promise of bringing important information and insights to the readers about environmental efforts in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the paper needs some major structural work to render it a scholarly publication.
The opening section tries to provide some context, but some points may be disputed. Islam reportedly first arrived in Indonesia through Sufi traders, not due to the request of kings according to the standard literature. If this is a new historical contribution, these points need to be well-documented.
The opening abstract states that there have thus far been 7 fatwas issued by MUI with respect to the environment, but page 4 lists only 6.
Historical coverage and development reads like a laundry list of factual statements. I recommend shifting to a more analytical focus - and asking whether the historical information conveyed here is really essential to the topic of the paper. I personally am not certain how important it is to have a sense of how Islam came to Indonesia or about the Dutch colonial heritage unless it is directly relevant to the topic at hand.
The discussion of the fatwa, what it is and isn't and how it functions is very important. I think that discussion can be streamlined and clarified by better organizing the information - general information and definitions first, followed by specific information about the fatwas under discussion. Is the main focus supposed to be on the mechanics of the fatwas or on their content? I think the content is more relevant to the topic.
Discussion of the fatwa on the conservation of biodiversity was especially important and even further analysis of the challenges facing Indonesia in this regard and the impact of the fatwa would be welcome, esp. if there are any numbers available demonstrating impact - as was conveyed well in the following fatwa on forest fires.
Very important points in the section on forest fires, such as material law being insufficient to address the problem. It might be worth stating in the Introduction that the study is a combination of laws and fatwas, along with human behavior since both are needed in order to achieve actual change.
At this time, I believe the paper is incomplete. There is comprehensive analysis of 2 of the 6 fatwas listed. I would like to see a full discussion of all of them plus a sense of what public reaction/response look like.
This is a very important topic and has the potential for strong impact. But the piece needs some additional work to get it there, particularly in terms of consistency in coverage.
Author Response
Please see attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
On line 325, there seems to be superfluous spacing between "Jazuli" and "2019"
Lines 469 to 470 read "for changing behavior. based on religious morals (Islam)." The is a problem with the capitalization.
Line 479: The transliteration of the Arabic does not follow standard scholarly conventions. See, for example: Sabilal Muhtadin Li Tafaqahu fi Amirid-din
Line 520. There is problem with capitalization in "Tracing Maqasid al-Shari‘Ah." That "A" should not be capitalized.
There are many other such problems.
Author Response
thank you for the review, here are my respons:
On line 325, there seems to be superfluous spacing between "Jazuli" and "2019"
F: Corrected
Lines 469 to 470 read "for changing behavior. based on religious morals (Islam)." The is a problem with the capitalization.
FM: Corrected
Line 479: The transliteration of the Arabic does not follow standard scholarly conventions. See, for example: Sabilal Muhtadin Li Tafaqahu fi Amirid-din
FM: Corrected
Line 520. There is problem with capitalization in "Tracing Maqasid al-Shari‘Ah." That "A" should not be capitalized.
FM: Corrected
There are many other such problems.
