Strategies and Steps for Developing the Sharia Economy

There are three scenarios for implementing the Sharia Economy in Indonesia. The most challenging scenario is making it a national economic system. This is low-probability, as it requires national political consensus, a redefinition of the economic system, changes in ownership and market structures, and the courage to face global pressures. A less challenging scenario is if it merely becomes a pillar of the national economic system, where Sharia Economy must be content with being the main operational pillar within the Pancasila Economic framework, applying it to the people's economy (agriculture, MSMEs, and inclusive finance).

The least challenging scenario is sectoral and symbolic implementation, namely in Sharia finance, halal lifestyle, and Sharia economic events. Here, it only serves as a market niche, cultural identity, and moral legitimacy for the state. This is the safest political option, but the weakest in terms of transformational power. Therefore, the real option for Indonesia is to make Sharia Economy sufficient as the most concrete operational tool for translating the values ​​of the Pancasila Economy and its support for the People's Economy into policy practice.

We have made this choice. Various strategic planning documents for the development of the national Islamic economy do not promote it as a totalizing economic system, but rather integrate sharia principles into the national economic ecosystem. These documents include the 2019-2024 Indonesian Islamic Economic Masterplan (MEKSI), which outlines the vision, mission, and four main pillars (halal industry, Islamic finance, Islamic MSMEs, and the Islamic digital economy); the 2020-2024 KNEKS Work Plan, which contains strategic programs such as strengthening the halal value chain, optimizing ZISWAF (Ziswaf), and sharia literacy; and the 2025-2029 MEKSI, which has been aligned with the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and the 2025-2045 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJPN).

We face a fundamental problem in the form of uncertainty regarding the economic system we are currently implementing and will implement. Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution affirms the principles of kinship, social justice, and state control over important sectors of production. However, economic policy practices tend to be pragmatic and eclectic (a mix of liberal, statist, and populist). There is no consistent and operational grand design for the economic system. Sharia economics develops in a normative space that has not yet been ideologically integrated with the national economic system.

Sharia economics is growing rapidly across sectors, but has not yet become part of the national economic system due to the lack of a clear Indonesian economic paradigm. Sharia economics could potentially function as an operationalization of Pancasila Economics and People's Economy, but it is currently positioned as an "alternative sub-sector," not a system architecture.

The implementation of sharia economics in Indonesia began in the financial sector, with the establishment of Bank Muamalah Indonesia (BMI) in 1991, initiated by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI). This was then followed by the establishment of Sharia Rural Credit Banks (BPRS), Baitul Maal wat Tamwil (BMT), and the Islamic Boarding School Cooperative (Kopontren). Healthy economic development requires a close link between the financial sector (banking, capital markets, insurance) and the real sector (activities producing goods and services that generate real added value).

The main weakness is not the lack of regulation, but rather the lack of a consistent economic system orientation. Regulation is a social agreement. Without a clear national economic system, the acceleration of the sharia economy will continue to be fragmented. Conversely, by repositioning the sharia economy within the framework of the Pancasila Economy and the People's Economy, Indonesia has the opportunity to build a just, inclusive, and sustainable economic system.

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Sharia Economics is Needed as an Economic System

Implementing a sharia economy in Indonesia requires an appropriate institutional environment, namely a "sharia economic system." The problem is, we are currently reluctant to discuss this economic system. The enthusiasm of several decades, starting in the 1960s among academics, has not been rekindled, when many proposed the Pancasila Economic System or People's Economy as our economic system.

"People's Economy," "Pancasila Economy," and "Sharia Economy" actually have strong parallels (Syahyuti, 2024). Although Sharia Economics or Islamic Economics is certainly an older practice, and its science should also be older (dating back to the 7th century in Medina), However, its scientific discourse in Indonesia was later (it became popular in the 1980s), while People's Economy began in 1930, and Pancasila Economy around 1965.

Furthermore, upon closer examination, People's Economy and Pancasila Economy share a strong parallel, supporting each other as two complementary entities. This can be traced back to 1945, when Sukarno presented the initial idea of ​​People's Economy at the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence. In that speech, Sukarno based People's Economy on the principles of Pancasila. Then, in 1980, People's Economy was conceptualized as Pancasila Economy. The foundational values, objectives, economic principles, and the role of the state are the elements that connect the two. "In the Pancasila economic system, the economy is of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Sharia economics has an inclusive character. A representative scientific review of business ethics from various interfaith perspectives found that the Islamic business ethics perspective, derived from two primary sources: the Qur'an and the Hadith, states that business as a human activity is both material and immaterial. Similarly, business ethics from a Christian perspective does not accept the separation of work and life (Wong and Senjaya, 2024), which aligns with Hindu business ethics, where economic activity is essentially about fulfilling the dignity of humankind as a divine creation.

In addition to an Islamic economic system, a new measurement tool, namely the Islamic Gross National Product, is also needed. This measurement is not solely based on GDP figures but also considers social justice, community welfare, and environmental sustainability. Islam emphasizes the equitable distribution of wealth, social inclusion, and business ethics in accordance with Sharia principles. Sharia economics is suitable as an alternative model for a new GDP, as it offers a values-based approach with four main pillars: a rabbaniyah economy (based on divinity), an akhlaki economy (based on morals), a humanitarian economy (oriented towards human welfare), and a middle-ground economy (tawazzun) that balances individual and societal interests.

This idea has been initiated in recent years by the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS). In the latest RPJMN (2024-2029), KNEKS successfully incorporated Sharia economic and financial indicators. At various events, KNEKS claimed this proposed "Sharia GRDP" was the first of its kind in the world.

Regarding regulations and programs, Appendix 1 of Presidential Regulation No. 12 of 2025 concerning the 2025-2029 RPJMN found 18 entries for "Sharia economy." "Sharia economy" is one of four economic phrases: "Sharia Economy," "Digital Economy," "Green Economy," and "Blue Economy." The vision is to make Indonesia the global center of the Islamic economy. However, the impression that arises is that we are developing the Islamic economy primarily because of the market (demand-driven) or that it is still merely a form of "market-driven Islamic economics" or "value-driven Islamic economy," not yet a genuine path of Islamic propagation.

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