Islamic Economy as an Architecture for Economic Resilience

There is one important question that needs to be asked amid global economic uncertainty: is economic growth alone enough to make a country resilient to shocks? This question has become increasingly relevant as the world economy faces trade fragmentation, geopolitical tensions, changes in global supply chains, commodity price volatility, fiscal pressures, and the accelerating transformation of digital technology and artificial intelligence.

In such a situation, economic resilience cannot be built merely by pursuing gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures. Resilience requires a more solid economic structure, such as a diversified production sector, a healthy financial system, strong domestic supply chains, productive MSMEs, resilient public consumption, and redistribution instruments capable of protecting vulnerable groups.

This is where the Islamic economy should be positioned. The Islamic economy should no longer be viewed merely as an industry serving the needs of the Muslim community. More than that, the Islamic economy can become an architecture for national economic resilience because it is built on the interconnections between the real sector, finance, trade, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and social development.

Indonesia actually has very strong momentum. The national economy grew by 5.11% throughout 2025, up from 5.03% in 2024. Entering 2026, the Indonesian economy grew by 5.61% in the first quarter and 5.29% in the second quarter on an annual basis. These figures show that the economy still has resilience amid various global pressures.

However, the next challenge is no longer simply maintaining growth in the 5% range. The next question is how resilient that growth structure will be when the world experiences another shock.

So far, Indonesia’s economic discourse has too often stopped at questions about growth. When GDP grows by 5%, we feel optimistic. When it grows below target, we begin to worry. Yet growth is only one indicator. An economy that grows but is overly dependent on consumption, commodities, imported raw materials, certain types of financing, or a handful of economic sectors will remain vulnerable when a shock occurs.

For this reason, we need the concept of economic resilience. Economic resilience is essentially the ability of an economy to absorb shocks, adapt to change, and return to growth without losing its productivity foundation.

From this perspective, the Islamic economy has enormous relevance. The Islamic economy does not draw a sharp separation between the financial sector and the real sector. Financing should ideally be linked to economic activities that produce goods and services. The principles of risk sharing, the prohibition of riba, gharar and maysir, and attention to transactional justice encourage a closer relationship between financial activity and productive activity.

In other words, the Islamic economy has the DNA to build an economy that not only grows but also has a productive foundation. Of course, this does not mean the Islamic economic system is automatically immune to crisis. No economic system is completely immune to shocks. However, its institutional design offers a number of instruments that can strengthen the economic buffer.

This potential is not merely theoretical. Bank Indonesia recorded that Indonesia’s Halal Value Chain (HVC) grew by 6.21% in 2025, higher than national economic growth. This sector encompasses various activities ranging from halal food and beverages, modest fashion, Muslim-friendly tourism, to other related sectors.

Even more interestingly, in the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2025/2026, Indonesia is ranked fourth in the world in the Islamic economy ecosystem. Indonesia even ranks first for modest fashion, second for Muslim-friendly tourism, and third for halal food.

This data shows that Indonesia is actually not a small player. The problem is how to turn that position into domestic economic strength.

There is a paradox that needs to be answered. Indonesia has a very large Muslim market, but it must not stop at being a consumer of halal products. Indonesia must become a producer, innovator, exporter, and owner of global halal brands.

This is where the concept of the halal value chain becomes important. The halal economy is not only about halal certification of final products. The halal economy encompasses the entire value chain from raw materials, production, distribution, logistics, financing, marketing, to consumption. If this chain is built in an integrated manner, the Islamic economy can become an engine for creating domestic added value.

For example, agricultural commodities do not stop at being sold as raw materials. Agricultural commodities can enter the halal food industry, be processed by MSMEs, financed by Islamic financial institutions, marketed through digital platforms, and then exported to global markets. At this point, the Islamic economy meets the industrialisation agenda.

The second pillar is Islamic finance. The latest data shows that Islamic financing continues to grow. As of May 2026, Islamic banking financing reached around Rp709 trillion, growing 10.42% year on year. Third-party funds also reached around Rp792 trillion, growing 11.75%.

These figures are important, but they should not make us complacent. The challenges facing Islamic banking in Indonesia remain very large. In March 2025, total Islamic banking assets reached Rp960.82 trillion with a market share of around 7.42%. This data shows that after more than three decades of Islamic banking industry development, its share of the national banking industry is still relatively small.

This condition is both a paradox and an opportunity. The paradox is that Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest Muslim population in the world, yet its Islamic banking penetration is not yet fully dominant. The opportunity lies in the fact that the room for growth is still very wide.

However, that expansion must not only mean increasing the number of accounts or enlarging assets. A far more important condition is where that financing flows. If Islamic financing only funds consumption, its contribution to economic resilience will be limited.

Conversely, if financing is directed towards agriculture, food, the halal industry, renewable energy, MSMEs, health, education, housing, and other productive sectors, that financing can become an instrument of structural transformation. Thus, the measure of Islamic economic success cannot be adequately measured by market share indicators alone.

Economic resilience is not built only in Jakarta. Economic resilience is built from villages, markets, pesantren, cooperatives, MSMEs, farmers, fishermen, traders, and households. In this context, the Islamic economy has an advantage because its ecosystem is very close to the economic activities of lower-income communities.

MSMEs, for example, can become part of the halal value chain. The problem is that many MSMEs still face classic issues such as limited capital, low productivity, narrow market access, weak standardisation, limited digitalisation, and difficulty meeting export standards.

Halal certification should not only be an administrative obligation, but also a passport to a wider market. If halal certification is accompanied by quality improvement, standardisation, branding, digital marketing, financing, and export access, then certification can become an instrument for improving MSME performance.

This is what we must push for. MSMEs should not be busy merely obtaining halal certificates without having the capacity to increase production. Therefore, halal policy must shift from a compliance-oriented approach to a competition-oriented approach. Halal is not merely a sign that a product may be consumed, but must also become part of a competitiveness strategy.

There is one strength of the Islamic economy that is often overlooked in discussions: pesantren. Pesantren are not only educational and religious institutions. In many regions, pesantren already have business units, cooperatives, agriculture, livestock, trade, and various other productive economic activities.

For this reason, pesantren can become local economic nodes. The model can be developed through the integration of education, entrepreneurship, halal production, financing, and community empowerment.

Pesantren can develop halal agriculture, livestock, processed food, fashion, educational services, tourism, and even the digital economy. If connected to Islamic financing, digital platforms, marketplaces, and export networks, pesantren can become one of the new sources of economic growth in the regions.

Bank Indonesia itself has promoted programmes such as strengthening pesantren business independence, halal certification, halal commodity chains, and the mobilisation of waqf assets through various Islamic economic programmes. Economic resilience ultimately requires economic institutions that are dispersed and rooted in society.

The next pillar is Islamic social finance. Zakat and waqf have often been positioned as social instruments. That perspective is correct, but incomplete. Both also have an economic dimension.

Zakat can function as a redistribution mechanism that strengthens the purchasing power of the poor and vulnerable. Waqf, if managed productively, can become a source of long-term financing for education, health, housing, agriculture, and even social infrastructure. This is where we need a paradigm shift.

Zakat must not be viewed only as consumptive assistance. Waqf must not be understood only as idle assets. Both must be positioned as part of the socio-economic infrastructure. When the economy slows and vulnerable groups lose income, social redistribution instruments can serve as a buffer.

In other words, the Islamic economy has two legs. One leg is the commercial economy, such as banking, investment, the halal industry, trade, and MSMEs. The other leg is the social economy, such as zakat, waqf, infak, and sadaqah. If these two legs move together, the economy will be more stable.

In the current Indonesian context, the relationship between the Islamic economy and food security also needs greater attention. Food is a strategic sector. When geopolitical disruptions or global supply chain disturbances occur, countries that are overly dependent on food imports will face inflation risks and pressure on the trade balance.

The Islamic economy can contribute through agricultural financing, productive waqf, halal supply chain development, and strengthening the ecosystem of farmers and food MSMEs. The halal value chain concept should not stop at the processed food industry, but must start from the upstream.

Seeds, fertilisers, cultivation processes, livestock, slaughtering, processing, storage, logistics, and distribution must be built as an efficient and transparent value chain. With this approach, the Islamic economy can contribute to two agendas at once: food security and economic resilience.

However, it is too easy if we only talk about potential. Indonesia’s Islamic economy still faces a number of structural problems.

First, ecosystem fragmentation. The halal industry, Islamic banking, zakat, waqf, MSMEs, pesantren, education, and the real sector still often operate separately. Yet the strength of the Islamic economy lies precisely in its integration.

Second, the scale of business is still small. Many halal business actors are still at the MSME scale, making it difficult to meet production, standardisation, branding, and export requirements.

Third, the literacy gap. The Islamic economic literacy index has indeed increased. The results of the 2026 National Survey on Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK) show that the Islamic financial literacy and inclusion indices stand at 43.07% and 13.24%. These figures also show that there is still enormous room to improve public understanding.

Fourth, financial product innovation. Islamic banking must not only offer products that are structurally similar to conventional products but use different contracts. The industry must be able to offer new solutions to meet the needs of society and the business world.

Fifth, digitalisation. The Islamic economy must not be slower in utilising artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, digital payments, and trading platforms. Technology can actually be an accelerator for the Islamic economy.

Therefore, the policy paradigm must be changed. It is no longer enough to talk only about the Islamic financial industry. We must talk about the Islamic economic ecosystem. Islamic banking must be connected to MSMEs. MSMEs must be connected to the halal value chain.

The halal value chain must be connected to export markets. Waqf must be connected to productive investment. Zakat must be connected to economic empowerment. Pesantren must be connected to entrepreneurship. And the entire ecosystem must be connected to technology. This is what can be called the architecture of Islamic economic resilience.

Bank Indonesia itself has positioned the Islamic economy and finance as one of the strategic pillars of national economic transformation through the 2030 Islamic Economy and Finance Blueprint, with a focus on integrating the halal value chain with Islamic financing and strengthening literacy and inclusion. This policy direction must continue to be reinforced.

There is one important criticism that must be conveyed. The Islamic economy must not be trapped in symbolism. We too often discuss the Islamic economy through terms such as halal, sharia, akad, or labels. Yet the essence of the Islamic economy is far more substantive, because it speaks of justice, distribution, productivity, the prohibition of exploitation, the linkage between the financial sector and the real sector, sustainability, and most importantly, the welfare of society.

For this reason, an industry that uses the sharia label but is inefficient, uninnovative, non-inclusive, and does not provide added value to society will ultimately lose its relevance. The Islamic economy must prove itself through performance, not merely identity.

Indonesia is in an important phase. Economic growth is still maintained. However, the world is increasingly uncertain. We do not know when the next geopolitical crisis, supply chain disruption, food and energy price volatility, or major technological change will occur.

Therefore, building economic resilience is not a task that can be done after a crisis occurs. Resilience must be built before the crisis arrives. The Islamic economy can become one of those strategic buffers.

Not because it is an economy intended only for Muslims, but because its principles are universally relevant, such as justice, risk sharing, linkage to the real sector, sustainability, inclusion, and redistribution. In the Indonesian context, the Islamic economy can even become a bridge between growth and equity.

Ultimately, the measure of the Islamic economy’s success is not how large the sharia industry grows statistically. The more important measure is how much it can make the Indonesian economy more productive, inclusive, just, and resilient to shocks.

An Islamic economy integrated with the real sector, MSMEs, food, industry, trade, technology, and social finance can become an architecture. That architecture is what we need to face a world economy that is increasingly full of uncertainty. Not merely an economy that grows when conditions are good, but an economy that remains steadfast when the storm comes.