LAKSAMANA.Net, December 17, 2003 09:39 AM
Bank Interest Fatwa Gets Cool Response
Laksamana.Net - Indonesia's central bank has responded cautiously to a plan by the
nation's top Islamic authority to issue a fatwa (religious edict) banning Muslims from
putting their money in banks and other financial institutions that charge interest.
Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Aslim Tadjudin on Tuesday (16/12/03) said the
central bank had written to the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) in response to its
decision to declare interest on money as riba (usury), which is haram – or forbidden
under Islamic law.
"MUI has the authority to issue the fatwa, but it is up to the people to accept or not to
accept it because the people can have differing opinions," Tadjudin was quoted as
saying by state news agency Antara.
Maruf Amin, chairman of MUI Fatwa Commission, on Tuesday announced the council
had decided to prohibit Muslims from using commercial banks and other financial
institutions that charge interest.
He said the move would come into effect once a sufficient number of Islamic sharia
banks had been established.
But MUI deputy chairman Din Syamsuddin hinted the fatwa would not be imposed if it
was opposed by mainstream Muslim organizations.
He said MUI leaders would first consult with the nation's two biggest Muslim groups
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah before deciding whether to implement the
edict.
NU and Muhammadiyah both own commercial banks that apply interest. NU owns
Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Nusumma, while Muhammadiyah runs Bank
Persyarikatan.
Not surprisingly, the two Muslim organizations have already declared that bank
interest is not necessarily riba as long as rates are reasonable and loans can benefit
both the borrower and lender.
Former NU leader Abdurrahman Wahid has long argued that bank loans differ from
riba, which the Prophet Muhammad banned in order to protect his followers from
rapacious economic practices that profited only the lender.
Wahid was not a supporter of Indonesia's first strictly Islamic banking institution,
Bank Muamalat Indonesia, which was opened in 1992 and now has about 200,000
customers.
'Not Binding'
Vice President Hamzah Haz on Tuesday said Muslims would not be forced to abide
the MUI's fatwa on commercial banks.
"We leave it all to the people. Muslims who consider the interest of conventional
banks unacceptable can go to sharia banks. It is no problem because it is not
binding," he was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post daily.
Several banking figures and economists oppose the MUI's fatwa, saying it could
hinder efforts to restore confidence in Indonesia's fragile banking sector.
Others say the debate over the edict has merely served to distract the public from
allegations that funds recently embezzled from state-owned banks were channeled to
presidential candidates of the former ruling Golkar Party.
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