Reimagining higher education through ecological citizenship and eco-theology: sustainability, public ethics and moral leadership in an Indonesian Islamic university

Purpose This study examines how ecological citizenship, eco-theological public ethics and sustainability-oriented learning are negotiated within Indonesian Islamic higher education. The study specifically investigates how an Indonesian Islamic university positions sustainability not merely as an environmental or technocratic agenda, but as a civic, ethical-public and moral leadership responsibility within higher education transformation. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative interpretive design was employed using semi-structured interviews, document analysis and limited classroom observations conducted at an Indonesian Islamic university between February and May 2026. The study involved 18 participants, including lecturers, sustainability and education experts and undergraduate students involved in civic and sustainability-oriented learning initiatives. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings The findings reveal three major themes. First, sustainability was interpreted not merely as environmental management, but as an ethical-public responsibility connected to citizenship, social justice and collective accountability. Second, ecological citizenship and eco-theological perspectives became pedagogically meaningful through dialogic and participatory learning practices that functioned as sustainability-oriented pedagogical innovation. Third, sustainability transformation within the university remained uneven due to fragmented curriculum integration, institutional limitations and symbolic sustainability initiatives, despite emerging possibilities for reimagining the university as an ethical sustainability space shaped by civic engagement and moral leadership. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study examines one Indonesian Islamic university and 18 purposively selected participants. Its findings offer a contextual interpretation of teaching and institutional practice; they do not establish whether classroom discussion leads to sustained ecological action. The study contributes insight into how eco-theological commitments and ecological citizenship may connect through public reasoning and participation, and where that connection encounters constraints. Future research could examine this relationship across institutions and follow students’ participation beyond the classroom. Practical implications The findings suggest that the university could strengthen sustainability learning by linking ecological issues to course learning outcomes across relevant disciplines. Lecturers could use local cases, structured discussion and participatory assignments to connect eco-theological responsibility with civic judgement. Assessment could consider students’ ethical reasoning, attention to ecological justice and reflection on collective responses. Coordinating these practices across courses would reduce reliance on individual lecturers’ initiatives. Social implications The study shows how environmental care can be discussed as both a religious responsibility and a public concern. In the university examined, this connection offered students opportunities to consider ecological issues alongside social justice and collective responsibility. Such learning may help universities engage students in public discussion of environmental problems. Its effects on sustained civic participation or wider social attitudes, however, remain to be examined. Originality/value The study contributes to higher education transformation scholarship by challenging dominant technocratic and competency-oriented sustainability frameworks. It advances a moral-public perspective of sustainability grounded in ecological citizenship, eco-theology, public ethics and Pancasila-based civic responsibility within Indonesian Islamic higher education contexts.