Indonesia's Islamic economy project and the Islamic scholars

This paper is devoted to understand the dynamism surrounding the development of stances and roles played by Islamic scholars, in the MUI and Islamic organizations such as Nahdhatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, in the growth of Islamic economy project in Indonesia. Following the public controversy after campaign by Islamic economy movement in 1980s to establish Islamic economy project (including “Islamic Banking” and the prohibition of interest), Islamic Scholars in different organizations had diverse views. In the 1990s, the supporters of Islamic economy movement successfully convinced Islamic scholars in the MUI (and ICMI) to support establishment of Indonesia’s first Islamic Bank. MUI’s role in this development had given MUI and Islamic scholars within it special privileges in the governance of Islamic economy industry. Together with the growth of the Islamic economy industry after 1998, the attachment of Islamic scholars, especially within MUI, to the Islamic economy project was also growing stronger. This development highlights the fact that the interactions between Islamic economy movement, Islamic scholars, the State and business actors have been in influential in shaping the ‘coalition building’ process between Islamic economy movement and Islamic scholars.