Indonesian Muslim Intelectualto Hold Sharia Economic Conference

Delft, the Netherlands - The Association of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (PRIMA) will hold a Sharia Economics Conference in Hannover, Germany, on February 9, 2013, themed the Relevance of Sharia Economy in the turbulence of global economy. "Currently the world economy is facing a turbulence, in which the United States and European countries are experiencing financial and debt crises," the steering committee of the Sharia Economic Conference, Eko Ruddy Cahyadi said here on Friday. According to the lecturer of the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), the financial crisis in the United States started from the mortgage crisis, while in Europe the ratio of debt to the gross domestic product (GDP) is very high. He noted that the Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio amounted to 142.8 percent, Italy 119 percent, while Irish was 96.2 percent. "These are the impacts of capitalism, which is based on the capital accumulation and usury," Eko who is currently undergoing his doctoral degree at the Leibniz University Hannover, Germany said. The world is now looking at Sharia as a way out of the economic crisis relating to capitalism, as when the conventional banks are shaken by the crisis, the Islamic banking system can survive. This is because the Islamic economy concerns on the economic cycle and the real transaction, not on the financial markets and speculation. The echoes of Sharia economy does not only have impact to the Muslim-majority countries, but also those in Europe such as the UK and Germany, Eko said. He also explained the UK was ranked eighth, and was the leading western-country in the world, as the largest Islamic assets owner, amounted to US$19 billion. Meanwhile in Germany, the Islamic financial products were introduced in 2004 with the issuance of sukuk (state sharia bonds) in Sachen-Anhalt state. Although the development of Sharia economy was encouraging, Eko said, it is still limited to financial products. (*)