Showcasing Indonesia’s Rich Culture in World’s Shariah Forum

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/11/citizen-journalism-showcasing-indonesia-s-rich-culture.html

As the lights in the Grand Ballroom of Kempinski Hotel Indonesia dimmed, a number of dancers entered the front stage, sitting in tight row.  Starting with slow movements, almost like child’s play, they accelerated into fast elaborative and cohesive movements. The dancers clapped their hands, slapped their chests, thighs and the ground, clicked their fingers, and swayed and twisted their bodies and heads in time with the shifting rhythm in unison or alternating with the moves of opposing dancers, resulting in percussive sounds that added into the performance. The cultural performance that showcased the transcultural blending of Islamic and Indonesian culture was well-received and applauded.

Following the pre-dinner drinks and greetings, all delegates were seated at their tables and were soon watching this beautiful Aceh Saman dance or the dance of thousand hands. The delegates had the unique opportunity to experience this colorful Indonesian culture which UNESCO has officially recognized as an intangible element of world cultural heritage.The welcoming dinner was sealed by another cultural performance of Rantak Dance which was dominated by Pencak Silat, the traditional martial art of West Sumatra, with movements such as taping, hand movements, waving and jumping. As with the former, this cultural expression has been applauded with enthusiasm. 

Hosted this prestigious event is Bank Indonesia which also became the host of  the 2014 Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries last November in Surabaya. As chairman of the IFSB, Bank Indonesia has been sucessful in bringing the culturally rich Indonesia to the fore which is intertwined with religion and age-old traditions.

Whereas the audience attending The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Annual Meetings and Side Events which was held on 31 March to 2 April, 2015 represented 17 countries worldwide comprising of seven central bank governors, heads of regulatory and supervisory authorities, as well as 13 senior representatives from the Council and Full  members of the IFSB.

The three-day forum event was filled with a series of meetings and seminars to enhance financial inclusion through Islamic finance with speakers from central bankers, researchers and practitioners alike. Islamic banking may be one of the fastest-growing segments in international finance today, yet the challenge remains on how Islamic finance might help to alleviate poverty in most muslim countries and contribute towards sustainable economic growth since the Muslim-majority countries overall are among the world’s poorest

On this seminar, IFSB member countries tried to formulate policies and strategies in exploring the role of the Islamic finance in supporting financial inclusion, the building blocks necessary for the development and promotion of financial inclusion.

As for Indonesia, Islamic banking industry can be one of the tools to deepen the country’s financial markets as it has a large untapped potential in Indonesia, a country where about 13 percent of the total global Muslim population live. Having the world’s largest Muslim population with sustained moderate economic growth implies that Indonesia harbours great potential for Islamic finance. Developing this potential will help to make the country more resilient to global economic turmoil. However, with nearly 90 percent of the 250 million people in Indonesia adhering to Islam, the market share of sharia finance is remarkably low.

According to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the market share of sharia bank in Indonesia only reached 4.85 percent of the country’s total banking assets in 2013, just miss by the margin from the five percent target set by the regulator. This is small compared to Malaysia where Islamic banking holds a 20 percent market share.

In this manner, hosting two major international events adressing the greater role of Islamic banking industries on financial inclusion should gain Indonesia full momentum to develop its Islamic banking industry. Indonesia should strenghten the ministerial-level coordination in this sector, improve highly qualified human capital with innovation and creativity as well as create legal business certainty environment.

As is Aceh Saman Dance, Indonesia has a great challenge ahead to bring this industry to the fore, transforming the region into the ‘Mecca’ of global Islamic banking.