Abstrack:
Although a religion is considered by some researchers as a one of the cultural barriers that can obstruct an economic development in some countries, in this paper I show that religion, particularly Islam, plays an important role in the economic empowerment among Muslim society in Indonesia. The appearance of Bayt al-M?l wa al-Tamw?l (BMT/Islamic Microfinance Institution known as Islamic savings and loan cooperative) in, and its development since 1992, becomes a great evidence on how a religion gave a positive impact in economic development in Indonesia. Designed as an Islamic finance institution, BMT focuses on the small entrepreneurs or poor people and assists the development of micro or small businesses, especially capital aid. In this research, I use the collective action theory proposed by Alberto Melucci to explore the main factors that influenced Muslims to establish BMT, and how BMT movement develops among Indonesian Muslim society. Furthermore, I discuss BMT’s prospect relating with a poverty alleviation program. Overall, in this paper I argue that the BMT movement can be considered as a social movement where the civil society takes more important role than the state. The lack of regulation did not turn out to be an obstacle for Muslim society to establish and develop BMT in some regions in Indonesia. Finally, these findings suggest that religion is not the obstacle of economic development, yet it is one of the key factors to empower economic Muslim society.
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