Doctor of Sharia Economics Graduate School, Ibn Khaldun University, Bogor
Sharia Economics is a field that has been very developed both in terms of the urgency of meeting the needs of the community and the scientific side. In terms of the urgency of meeting the needs of the community, Sharia Economics has distinctiveness and specificity when compared to conventional economics, so the principles and values of the distinctiveness possessed by Sharia Economics are required for implementation in people’s lives. For example, the conventional economic system implemented today produces material welfare for a group of people but is followed by an extreme GAP between groups of people.
The Ribawi economic system, which is an economic system with interest as one of the main instruments in the economy, has been proven to cause extreme inequality both in theory and practice. This is not only the case in Indonesia but also worldwide.
Data from the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) in 2019 states that Indonesia ranks fourth as the country with the highest inequality. From the same data source, it is stated that the richest 1 percent of the population in Indonesia controls 50 percent of national assets. Even if a larger percentage is made, the richest 10 percent of the community controls 70 percent of the assets in Indonesia. This means that 90 percent of the people are fighting over only 30 percent of national assets. This situation is further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, Sharia Economics uses the principles of justice and prohibits practices that cause injustice. In other words, the spirit of Sharia Economics is fair distribution, as found in QS. Al-Hasyr verse 7, and every transaction carried out must avoid injustice, as found in QS. An-Nisa verse 29.
The public’s need for Sharia economic practices is marked by the development of financial institutions both banks and non-banks as well as Islamic social financial institutions, namely Zakat, Infaq, Sadaqah, and Waqf (ZISWAF), which use sharia principles. For example, data from the Financial Services Authority (2020) shows that Islamic financial assets increased by 20.61 percent from the previous year and the share of Islamic finance reached 9.68 percent.
From a scientific perspective, the development of Islamic economics can be seen from the increasing number of universities, especially in Indonesia, that offer this study program. However, not many universities in Indonesia offer doctoral-level study programs. Whereas with the rapid development of Islamic Economics, Human Resources (HR) are needed who have the expertise to conceptualize and implement Islamic Economics, especially doctors who have comprehensive expertise in this discipline.
Based on the urgency of community needs and the scientific side that has been explained, the Postgraduate School has opened a Doctoral Study Program in Sharia Economics in 2022. Alhamdulillah, the Sharia Economics Doctoral Program of SPs UIKA Bogor has met the minimum requirements for accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN PT) on January 12, 2022. In addition, this study program has received the Decree of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Number 205 of 2022 concerning Permission to Implement the Sharia Economics Study Program in the Doctoral Program at Ibn Khaldun University of Bogor on April 15, 2022.
The submission of the Ministry’s Decree was delivered by Mr. H. Rohmat Mulyana, M.P.D. (Secretary of the Director General of Islamic Education of the Ministry of Religion), accompanied by Mr. H.M. Adib Abdussomad, M.Ed., Ph.D. (Head of Sub-Directorate of Academic Development, PTKI Director General of Islamic Education of the Ministry of Religion), to the Rector of UIKA Bogor, Prof. Dr. H. E. Mujahidin, M.Si, and Director of the UIKA Bogor Postgraduate School, Prof. Dr. KH. Didin Hafidhuddin.
