Islamic finance specialist at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Indonesia
In 2015, 193 countries, including Indonesia, adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which comprise 17 optimistic goals that aim to end poverty, hunger and inequality across the world by 2030. Islamic finance, with its objectives to achieve socio-economic justice and reduce inequality, is in line with the global goals. There are several tools in Islamic finance, namely waqf, sukuk and Islamic microfinance, which can be integrated into the agenda and result in achieving all 17 SDGs. Waqf is an endowment made by a Muslim or an organization for charitable causes. There are two types of waqf: land and cash. About 45 percent of waqf land is used for mosques and schools. Even though it creates an impact through the improvement of religious places and educational reach, waqf land has an enormous opportunity to contribute to the socio-economic development...
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