Islamic experts discuss ban on cryptocurrencies imposed by Ingush Council of Alims

The Ingush Council of Alims (Islam experts) has banned the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies by Muslims due to the lack of legislative guarantees for owners, explains Magomed Khashtyrov, the Deputy Mufti of Ingushetia. Block chain technologies are allowed from the Sharia point of view, and there are different opinions of Islamic leaders regarding cryptocurrencies, each of which must be approached individually, notes scientist Rashit Tugushev. There is no direct ban on cryptocurrencies in Sharia, but many scientists are wary of them, says economist Gapur Oziev.

On April 13, the Ingush Council of Alims decided to prohibit the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies to Muslims, the RBC reports.

According to Magomed Khashtyrov, the Deputy Mufti of Ingushetia, before making such a decision, religious leaders studied the materials on the topic and came to the conclusion that the purchase and sale of the electronic money is prohibited by Islam.

“We believe that pyramids are being formed with the use of cryptocurrencies. People are losing their money, and until the state is responsible for security, we do not recommend our residents to participate in the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies,” the Deputy Mufti of Ingushetia stated.

According to him, there are a lot of unsolvable points in the cryptocurrency system, when a person loses all money due to a seemingly insignificant mistake, for example, if he or she forgot a password from the wallet or made a mistake when sending a payment.

Rashit Tugushev, a member of the Council of Ulemas (scholars) under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Russia, suggested that the decision of the Ingush religious leaders might be related to the theft of electricity during mining.