If you’re a Muslim, you might need to give your crypto away.
According to Indonesia’s Ulema Council, a top body of Islamic scholars, Muslims are forbidden from using crypto in any form. The council’s reason is that crypto is expanding every day and has too many grey areas.
The ruling does not serve as an official decree, and the country legislators have introduced no ban on trading. Still, this decision will likely impact how religious Indonesians adapt to crypto.
Indonesia has the highest population of Muslims globally (about 232.3 million of their 270 million people), so this ruling will most likely affect its overall interaction with cryptocurrency.
Investment guides for Muslims: In the traditional financial markets, Muslim investors have universal guidelines that ensure that they make financial decisions in line with religious teachings.
But not all majorly Muslim countries are anti-crypto: In 2019, Bahrain, another majority Muslim country, became the first Arab country to issue rules on cryptocurrencies and had since legally approved the use of crypto. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates has no problems with crypto or its use.
Bottom line: With many cryptocurrencies popping up every day, it can be challenging to keep track of what is or isn’t in line with Islamic beliefs. However, a collective called the Islamic Finance Guru is working to make that easier. Their website lists over 50 (and growing) of the most popular cryptocurrencies and measures them based on what they call a ‘Sharia Analysis’.
