Otoritas Fatwa DSN-MUI dalam Penguatan Sistem Hukum Keuangan Nasional di Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines the authority of the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulama Council (DSN-MUI) fatwas in strengthening the national financial law system in Indonesia. Departing from the prevailing misconception that fatwas are exclusively binding upon Muslims, this study argues that DSN-MUI fatwas possess a multilayered authority — rooted in Islamic jurisprudence, institutionally recognised by the state, and socially accepted by the muslim community — that enables them to function as binding instruments within the national financial legal order. Using a normative-juridical approach with qualitative-descriptive analysis, the article demonstrates that DSN-MUI authority has been formally recognised through Law No. 21 of 2008 on Islamic Banking (Article 26), Law No. 19 of 2008 on Government Islamic Securities, and Law No. 4 of 2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (Article 337h), which exclusively designates MUI as the sole authoritative body for issuing sharia fatwas in the national financial sector. The article further shows that this authority manifests through three channels: legislative adoption, administrative regulation by OJK and Bank Indonesia, and judicial reference in Supreme Court decisions. By mid-2025, DSN-MUI had issued approximately 160 fatwas covering banking, insurance, capital markets, and Islamic fintech. The article concludes by identifying key challenges including centralisation in the fatwa-issuance process, limited public participation, and insufficient responsiveness to digital financial disruption, and recommends structural reform toward a more transparent, accountable, and inclusive model of fatwa governance.