Stigma That Islamic Banks Are No Different Persists Among the Public

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The stigma that Islamic financial services are no different from conventional ones is considered to still be strong among the public and is a major challenge in increasing Islamic financial inclusion in Indonesia. This perception has emerged even though public literacy regarding Sharia products has continued to increase in recent years.

Halal content creator Dian Widayanti said that the most common comments on social media question the differences between Islamic and conventional financial services. “The most frequent opinion is that there is no difference between Sharia and Islamic finance,” said Dian in a Focus Group Discussion titled “Beyond Awareness: From Lifestyle to Inclusion” which was held by Republika together with FoSSEI, in mid-week.

Dian believes that some people have even started questioning the rules in the Islamic financial system, including the ratio of non-halal income in Sharia shares. This condition shows that public understanding of the basic concepts of Islamic finance is still limited.

According to Dian, the approach to education needs to be changed by using simpler and more relevant language for everyday life, not just conveying religious terms or fatwas. “So, it’s about humanizing the language of fatwas into human language,” said Dian.

Data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) shows that the Islamic financial literacy index in 2025 reached 43.42 percent, while the inclusion rate was only 13.41 percent. This data indicates that people are starting to become familiar with Islamic financial products, but not many use them in their daily financial activities.

Bagas Umun, a student at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, said that the perception that Sharia services are the same as conventional ones is also still found among micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) actors. “Their expectation is that Islamic financing is no different from conventional financing in general,” said Bagas.

Director of Sharia Ecosystem Infrastructure at the National Committee for Economics and Islamic Finance, Sutan Emir Hidayat, said that people need clear references so that there is no confusion in understanding the Islamic financial system.

According to Sutan Emir, Indonesia has an official fatwa authority through the Indonesian Ulema Council’s (MUI) Sharia Supervisory Board. “If there are too many opinions, people will be confused,” said Sutan Emir.