Nana Firman: An Islamic spiritual journey

Hello! Welcome to "From Tsunamis and climate change, towards a Green Reconstruction for Forests and People -- Lessons from an Islamic spiritual journey" our conversation with Nana Firman from COP28 in Dubai.

Nana Firman is an Islamic climate activist and faith leader from Indonesia with an extensive background partnering with many of the world's most important climate initiatives. In this interview Nana shares with eco-theologian, and host, Rev. Dr. Neddy Astudillo, about her spiritual journey.

Here is a synopsis from, Rev. Dr. Astudillo:

While attending Climate Change negotiations in Dubai (COP28, the United Nations annual climate conference, 2023) Nana shares her very unique spiritual and ecological journey as a Muslim woman. After the destructive Tsunami of 2004, which affected her homeland, Indonesia, and many other island countries, Nana was summoned by World Wildlife Fund to support green reconstruction efforts in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country.

It wasn’t until she was encouraged to discover and engage in the reconstruction efforts, the ecological tenants of her Islamic faith, and work with local religious leaders, that she began to be heard. She was able to mobilize many -- to protect remaining forests and replant affected mangrove coastal areas, even in the midst of loss and human suffering.

In this podcast Nana shares about her journey, the lessons learned, and her faith, which together led her all the way to starting new movements and serving as co-director of the Islamic Society of North American’s Green Initiative. She also shares what is happening with the forests in Sumatra today.

For a further look into Islamic teachings to save Creation, we recommend Nana’s article: “Enjoying Good and Forbidding Wrong”; where she elaborates how Islam can be an enormous source of cultural, moral and political influence for Creation Care. 

Thank you, Nana!

• Nana Firman is founder of Eco-Fab Living and initiator of the Eco-Hijrah Movement. She is a senior ambassador of GreenFaith’s, an interfaith coalition for the environment and a student of Bayan Islamic Graduate School. Originally from Indonesia, Firman now lives in California. 

• Neddy Astudillo is a Presbyterian pastor with a PhD in Greening the Church, coordinator of the Climate Justice and Faith Spanish program at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and more. Rev. Astudillo teaches internationally and in the USA, is published widely, and is a co-author of the National Council of Churches declaration and book, God’s Earth is Sacred: Essays on Eco-Justice. 

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• Nana's article: "Enjoying Good and Forbidding Wrong"
• Artículo de Nana: "Disfrutar del bien y prohibir el mal"

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Learn More

• Where is: Indonesia
• World Wildlife Fund green reconstruction 
• Islamic Society of North America
• Islamic Society of North America’s Green Initiative