Cryptocurrency is now forbidden under Islamic law in Indonesia (and some fair points were made)
Indonesia’s national council of Islamic scholars have decided that trading cryptocurrencies is “haram – forbidden under Islamic law.”
Erwin Renaldi and Helena Souisa, reporting for ABC News:
According to Islamic law, a transaction should follow certain requirements, such as having a physical form and definite value.
“Cryptocurrency as currency is forbidden because it has elements of uncertainty, harm and doesn’t meet the Islamic requirement according to Shariah [law],” KH Asrorun Niam Sholeh, the council’s head of religious decrees, said in the forum.
However, Mr Sholeh added that although cryptocurrencies as a currency is forbidden, it could be traded as a commodity or digital assets if they meet requirements.
I mean, they’re not wrong about crypto as a currency.
One of the conclusions that came from the discussion, attended by both crypto and Islamic legal experts, was that crypto trading tends to involve “fraudulent practices and gambling”.
[Deputy Chairman of the East Java NU Ahmad Fahrur Rozi] said cryptocurrencies was also similar to gambling because people speculate about the value without knowing the cause.
Practices such as gambling are not allowed in Islam, since the value and price are indefinite and could financially and physiologically harm those involved.
I mean…
Rozi continued:
It can increase by 1,000 per cent or 5,000 per cent, but it can also be zero. It’s not an investment.
Look, I’m not out here saying crypto should be illegal. Regulated? Sure. Illegal is probably a step too far, depending on your appetite for risk in your economy.
But the things Rozi and Sholeh are saying here aren’t wrong.
Published on • Whisper any comments into a leaf and let it float away on a breeze
Future enemies
Subscribe to the ... enemies newsletter so you never miss a nemesis.
I mean, it’s not like you're going to remember to come back here on your own. URLs are hard.