 Monopolising Islam: The Indonesian Ulama Council and state regulation of the ‘Islamic economy’Tim Lindsey Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 2012, vol. 48, issue 2, 253-274 Abstract: The Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI) is an advisory body with a nationwide network of branches that produces fatwa ‘to guide the Islamic community and the government’. Nominally an independent NGO, MUI has always had a complex and mutually dependent relationship with the state, which established it and funds it. This paper describes regulatory changes since Soeharto's fall in 1998 that have expanded MUI's formal role in the state system for the administration of Islamic legal traditions and, in particular, the ‘ syariah economy’. These changes have heightened MUI's influence and the legal authority of its fatwa , granting it new institutional roles (and, in some cases, monopolies) in relation to halal certification, Islamic finance and the haj pilgrimage. MUI has now begun to accrue quasi-legislative powers resembling those enjoyed by state ulama councils and state Muftis elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but not previously available to any modern Indonesian fatwa -producing body. Date: 2012 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:bindes:v:48:y:2012:i:2:p:253-274 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/00074918.2012.694157 Access Statistics for this article Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies is currently edited by Firman Witoelar Kartaadipoetra, Arianto Patunru, Robert Sparrow, Sarah Xue Dong and Sean Muir More articles in Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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