Islamic Organization and the Perception of riba (Usury) and Conventional Banks Among Muslims: Evidence From Indonesia

Abstract

At least seven verses in the Qur’an and many hadiths highlight that riba (usury) is forbidden in Islam and should be avoided by Muslims. However, when we bring this issue into the modern context, especially its application in economics and banking, Muslims might say differently. Some Muslims with contemporary arguments could say that banks’ interest is not similar to riba because riba is only in the context of excessive lending and taking advantage of others’ needy. We survey 626 people in Indonesia and finds that 93% of Muslims said that riba is indeed prohibited in Islam, but some of them disagree if riba is similar to the conventional bank’s lending-borrowing mechanisms. In this article, we also empirically find that their involvement in the Islamic organization could strengthen their perception that riba is not similar to the bank’s interest rate.