The protocol’s assets, application, and capabilities were examined by the Shariyah Review Bureau, the leading international Sharia advisory agency of the Central Bank of Bahrain. Users and businesses in the region will be able to benefit from the fast and secure multi-currency international payments through the use of Stellar’s coin-lumens (XLM). This is a significant benefit for Stellar, as the region is a central place for international business operations and gathers some of the world’s finest business minds.
The certification and compliance with the Islamic financing principles open opportunities for integration growth, as Stellar will be exclusive on the Islamic financial market, including parts of South Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The World Sharia Advisory Committee has already given the green light to NOORCOIN’s operation in the region, as well as Bitcoin, which was classified as “generally permissible”.
Despite the certification and approval, the author of the report, Muhammad Abu Bakar, expresses concerns over the use of cryptocurrencies for investment purposes.
Cryptocurrencies and their operations are an uneasy topic in the region, being digital financial assets and objects of speculation. This conflicts with the Islamic law principles, which state that real economic activities are based on physical assets and are frowned on pure monetary speculation. The blockchain networks interested in operation in the region, like Stellar, are focusing on the development of solutions that are based on physical assets, in order to attempt a Sharia certification.