JAKARTA – With rapid strides and bright prospects, Indonesia is hoping to take the lead in the globally-booming Islamic banking industry, though the world’s most populous Muslim country still needs to clear away some hurdles.
“I believe that Indonesia would be a center of the global Shari`ah industry,” Adiwarman Karim, a member of the National Shari`ah Body at the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), told OnIslam.net.
Indonesia currently has five Islamic banks, as well as 26 conventional banks which offer Shari`ah-compliant services.
The Central Bank’s data says assets of the Islamic banking industry have increased almost forty times over the past eight years, from $198 million in 2000 to $7.3 billion at the end of 2009.
“I believe that Indonesia would be a center of the global Shari`ah industry,” Adiwarman Karim, a member of the National Shari`ah Body at the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), told OnIslam.net.Indonesia currently has five Islamic banks, as well as 26 conventional banks which offer Shari`ah-compliant services.
The Central Bank’s data says assets of the Islamic banking industry have increased almost forty times over the past eight years, from $198 million in 2000 to $7.3 billion at the end of 2009.
