JAKARTA: Indonesian Ulema Council has termed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies trading un-Islamic. Thus, in the Muslim countries it is the first-ever fatwa, which has declared crypto trading un-Islamic.
Indonesia’s top religious body, Ulema Council, has declared un-Islamic Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under Islamic law and suggested that this should not be traded in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation.
The country’s powerful Ulema Council issued a fatwa, or religious edict, as virtual currency trading soars in Indonesia and elsewhere.
Fatwas have no legal effect in the Southeast Asian nation of 270 million, but the declaration could potentially convince many Muslims to avoid involvement in cryptocurrencies.
Following a meeting on Thursday, the Council likened crypto to gambling, which is haram or forbidden under Islamic law.
“Cryptocurrencies as commodities or digital assets are unlawful for trading because they have elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm,” the Council’s head of religious decrees Asrorun Niam Sholeh said.
In Pakistan, religious scholars are yet to give their fatwa or opinion about trading of the fast-expanding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The State Bank of Pakistan, however, is working out a mechanism to allow trading of cryptocurrencies in the country.
