Let’s name the problem.

We are not facing a “development gap.” We are facing a moral and structural crisis.

The same global system that speaks about sustainability is built on extraction. The same economy that promises growth depends on inequality. The same institutions that pledge climate action are financed by industries accelerating collapse.

And then we gather under the banner of the SDGs.

To be clear: the SDGs matter. They are the most comprehensive global framework we have. Leave No One Behind is a powerful ethical statement. The goals articulate real human needs—ending poverty, protecting the planet, advancing justice.

But here’s the harder question:

Can a system designed around endless accumulation truly deliver equitable sustainability?

We measure poverty without challenging wealth concentration. We track emissions without confronting overconsumption. We promote inclusion without redistributing power.

That is not transformation. That is management.

From an Islamic worldview, this crisis is deeper than policy failure. It is a betrayal of amanah.

Humanity was entrusted as khalifah—not owners of the earth, but trustees accountable before God and history. Yet modern civilization has normalized domination: of nature, of labor, of weaker nations, of future generations.

The Qur’an warns against فساد (systemic corruption and disorder). فساد is not just individual wrongdoing. It is structural injustice—when exploitation becomes policy, when greed becomes culture, when inequality becomes invisible.

If the SDGs are to mean anything, they cannot operate comfortably inside the very architecture that produces injustice.

Development without redistribution is illusion. Sustainability without restraint is hypocrisy. Growth without justice is violence—slow, bureaucratic, sanitized violence.

So, what does reclaiming the khalifah mandate look like today?

It means:

• Questioning economic models that prioritize shareholders over human dignity.
• Demanding climate accountability beyond symbolic pledges.
• Supporting policies that genuinely redistribute opportunity and protection.
• Redefining “success” away from consumption and toward stewardship.
• Refusing to spiritualize faith while privatizing its ethics.

In Indonesia—and across the Global South—the choice is stark. We can become implementers of global checklists. Or we can become moral agents shaping development through justice-centered governance.

Missing SDG targets is not the deepest danger.

The deeper danger is achieving partial targets while leaving intact the logic of exploitation.

Being khalifah is not about inspirational language. It is about structural courage.

It means asking uncomfortable questions. It means resisting convenient narratives. It means aligning policy, economy, and daily life with justice—even when it disrupts privilege.

The world does not lack goals.

It lacks morally serious stewards willing to confront the system itself.

So the question is no longer whether we support the SDGs.

The question is whether we are willing to transform the structures that make them necessary.

Note: A PDF version of this article can be accessed through this [link]