Islamic economics has experienced an exciting forty-year development in Indonesia. This journey began with in-depth studies by economists based on Islamic teachings, then culminated in the establishment of Bank Muamalah Indonesia in 1991. This was the result of collaboration between ICMI, MUI, the New Order Government, ulemas, leaders, and other Muslims.
This struggle has produced formulations derived from sharia texts that previously received less attention in Islamic economics. In fact, the treasures of muamalah/iqtishad science have been articulated by Muslim scholars and scholars, but are often considered as the teachings of heaven alone, when it should be applied in the real world.
This is where the role of Islamic economists becomes important. They must be able to translate the nash-nash sharia (Al-Qur'an and As-Sunnah) into knowledge that can be applied in everyday life. Meanwhile, the progress of modern science and technology continues to grow rapidly, driven by a paradigm of rationality that sometimes ignores revelation. The material of iqtishad has actually been sufficient since the time of the Prophet and the scholars, as contained in the books of fiqh that discuss asset management, business, business contracts, and other contracts. This treasure of knowledge must continue to be actualized in order to remain relevant to the times.
The challenge for Islamic economists today is to present the profile of Islamic economics as a whole and independent, both in terms of epistemology, ontology, and axiology. The Islamic Economic System must be able to stand in line with other major world economic systems, such as capitalism, socialism, and mixed systems. To achieve this goal, Islamic economists are needed who have the capacity of Islamic science and fiqh iqtishad, as well as a strong understanding of empirical economics. Currently, Muslims have many fuqoha (Islamic jurists), but Muslim economists who master empirical economics are still limited.
The development of Islamic economics in Indonesia has shown remarkable progress, marked by the establishment of Bank Muamalah Indonesia (BMI) as the first Islamic bank. However, this development needs to be supported by the existence of Islamic economists who are able to provide a comprehensive conceptual-theoretical view. One example of the urgency of the expert's role is in the program projection strategy. If at the time of BMI's establishment there were qualified iqtishad experts, perhaps what was fought for first was the Basic Law on Islamic Economic Systems, not just the Islamic Bank Law. With the Basic Law, all Islamic-based economic activities will have a strong legal umbrella.
In the future, the philosophical thinking paradigm that must be built is the quranic and Islamic paradigm, not just the philosophy of science that separates economics and law (Sharia) in different branches. Ontologically, in the Islamic scientific paradigm, law / Sharia has a higher position than the field of economics / business. Islamic economic development must prioritize its specific characteristics. The approach of economic Islamization needs to be balanced with an integrative approach of sharia that displays iqtishad science derived from Allah's revelation (Al-Qur'an and As-Sunnah).
In the Indonesian context, the development of Islamic economics has shown significant progress, especially with the existence of the 2019-2024 Master Plan for Islamic Economics and Finance (MEKSI). IAEI (Association of Islamic Economists) has an important role in strengthening the characteristics of Islamic economics that can be applied to all sharia-based business fields. By strengthening the characteristics of Islamic economics and the active role of IAEI, it is hoped that Islamic economics can become the foundation for the people of Indonesia and the world.
