According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia’s population has doubled within 40 years from 119.2 million in 1971 to 237.6 million in 2010. In another 40 years from now, our population will exceed 450 million, resulting in the increased extraction of natural resources and increasing pollution.



All environmental scientists and activists must be alarmed about this high population growth.



But some Indonesian Muslims are not worried. For them, fears of a human population exceeding the earth’s carrying capacity means a lack of faith in God. They strongly believe that God will provide every creature with the necessary resources to live.



We can see those who have this view among the ranks of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). Tifatul Sembiring, a former PKS chairman who is now communications and information minister, has seven children. T...