East Java Province, one of Indonesia’s largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has issued Fatwa that considers its use. Cryptocurrency is ‘haram’ or prohibited under Islamic law.
Fatwa is a non-binding Islamic legal opinion. It was a discussion called bahtsul masail, where representatives from the Nahdlatul Ulama branch management (PCNU) and several Islamic boarding schools across East Java attended the bahtsul masail.
Interest in cryptocurrencies has increased in Indonesia in the past year. At the beginning of the month, according toreportAccording to Coinformant, Indonesia saw a 1,772% increase in the number of crypto-related articles interest in Indonesia during 2021.
Indonesia is the home of the largest Muslims in the world. And there is a thriving crypto industry, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Trade. The country had about 6.5 million crypto investors by May of this year. Surpasses the 5.7 million retail investors registered on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX).
An announcement published on the website of East Java Nahdlatul Ulama on October 24 quoted President Kiai Azizi Chasbullah as saying:
“Bahtsul masail participants are of the opinion that although the government accepts digital currencies as a commodity, But it cannot be guaranteed under Islamic Sharia law.”
Therefore, it was concluded that Cryptocurrency is not considered haram because it involves too much speculation. Therefore, it cannot be used as a legitimate investment.
“From several considerations including widespread fraud Therefore, this is considered illegal.” A representative from Lirboyo Islamic boarding school in Kediri said.
Some Muslim scholars believe that cryptocurrencies are similar to gambling. which is prohibited under Islamic law However, there were mixed opinions. And other Islamic organizations around the world say that Islamic law allows cryptocurrencies.
Last year, the Malaysian authority overseeing compliance with Islamic law in finance also announced that it would also allow trading of digital assets.
while Australia Efforts have also been made to build the world’s first Shariah-led decentralized finance (DeFi) platform to navigate between the advantages of DeFi and the belief of Islamic finance.
in september Trade Minister Muhammad Luthfi told local media that Indonesia does not plan to follow in China’s footsteps. and prohibits cryptocurrency transactions, mining or trading.