Cryptography has been declared haram — or outlawed — by a major Indonesian Islamic organisation

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Cryptocurrency, according to the Indonesian Islamic organisation NU, is too volatile to be permissible under Islamic law.

 

The East Java branch of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of Indonesia's largest Islamic groups, has issued a fatwa declaring cryptocurrency use "haram," or illegal, under Islamic law.

A fatwa is a nonbinding legal opinion on Islamic law that is reached after a bahtsul masail discussion.
The bahtsul masail was attended by representatives from the Nahdlatul Ulama Branch Management and various Islamic boarding schools from across East Java.

 

Over the last year, Indonesians have become increasingly interested in bitcoin.
According to a Coinformant analysis released earlier this month, the number of persons engaging with crypto articles in Indonesia increased by 1,772 percent in 2021.

Indonesia boasts the world's largest Muslim population and a thriving cryptocurrency business.
By May of this year, the Indonesian Trade Ministry reported that the country had recruited roughly 6.5 million crypto investors, outnumbering the 5.7 million retail investors registered with the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

 

Chairman Kiai Azizi Chasbullah, according to an announcement posted on the East Java Nahdlatul Ulama branch's website on Sunday:

"While the government recognises bitcoin as a commodity, the bahtsul masail participants believe it cannot be legalised under Islamic sharia law."

 

The group determined that bitcoin is haram because it involves too much speculation and, as a result, cannot be used as a genuine investment.

"It is regarded prohibited based on various grounds, including the prevalence of fraud," stated a spokesman from the Lirboyo Islamic Boarding School Kediri.

Cryptocurrency, according to some Muslim academics, is equivalent to gambling, which is forbidden under Islamic religious law.
Other Islamic organisations around the world, on the other hand, argue that Bitcoin is legal under Islamic law.