Ma'ruf Amin: Indonesia Has All Requirements to Become Global Islamic Economics Centre
Indonesia’s 13th Vice President, Ma’ruf Amin, explained the importance of Islamic economics in addressing social inequality. He believes Indonesia could become a global centre for Islamic economics.
He made these remarks during his presentation at the 99 Indonesian Islamic Economists’ Forum, held at the Bank Mega Tower in South Jakarta on Tuesday, 24 February 2026. Ma’ruf began by drawing an analogy between Islamic economics and a pesantren (Islamic boarding school).
“Islamic economics is like a pesantren. Let’s take the pesantren model as an example. A pesantren has three main elements: students as human resources, books as a system of values, and a kiai (religious leader) as the guide,” said Ma’ruf.
In this pesantren analogy, Ma’ruf stated that those involved in Islamic economics are like students, the Islamic system is like the books, and Islamic economists are like the kiai. He mentioned that a simple pesantren can produce great scholars because of the pesantren’s spirit and teachings.
He believes that Indonesia’s national economy can improve if influenced by the spirit of Islamic economics.
“Similarly, the strength of Islamic economics lies in its spirit. It’s not just about having Islamic institutions, but also about having Islamic behaviour. Because if that’s all that happens, what emerges won’t be Islamic economics, but rather an economy that simply wears the Islamic label – it’s just the clothing. Therefore, we need to restore the spirit of Islamic economics within the national Islamic economic landscape,” Ma’ruf explained.
“This can begin with the integration of the Islamic financial ecosystem; it cannot stand alone. The halal industry cannot operate independently. Zakat and waqf cannot operate independently. Everything must become one integrated economic force,” he continued.
Ma’ruf said that Indonesia has the potential to develop Islamic economics. He believes that Indonesia could become a global centre for Islamic economics.
“Indonesia has all the requirements to become a centre for Islamic economics in the world. We have the largest Muslim population in the world. We have a strong real sector, especially SMEs. We have the largest Islamic philanthropic force through zakat, infaq, sadaqah, and waqf. We have relatively good economic and political stability,” he said.
However, Ma’ruf said that Islamic economics in Indonesia is still developing as a system. He hopes that this can develop into a culture.
“We must also honestly acknowledge one reality: Islamic economics has grown as a system, but it has not yet fully taken root as a culture. It exists in regulations, but not yet fully in awareness. It exists in institutions, but not yet fully in behaviour. Therefore, the contribution of Islamic economics in this country is still not significantly felt. This is our historical challenge,” Ma’ruf concluded.
Also see: Video: Officially opened by the Governor of Bank Indonesia and the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs! ISEF 2025 is ready to be a driver of Islamic economic growth.