Egypt's Religious Leader: Crypto Trading Forbidden Under Islamic Law

Egypt's Islamic religious leader says the cryptocurrency trading is not legal based on the Islamic religious law.

AccessTimeIconJan 2, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 7:19 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Egypt's highest Islamic religious leader is now weighing in on the legitimacy of cryptocurrency trading.

Shawki Allam, the current Grand Mufti of Egypt, said on Jan. 1 that cryptocurrency trading is forbidden under Islamic religious law due to the risk associated with the activity, according to Egypt Today.

Allam issued his comments in the form of a fatwa, an interpretation of Islamic religious law. While the fatwa is not legally binding, it does count as a high-level legal opinion, and perhaps marks him as one of the first highest-ranking religious leaders in the Muslim world to forbid cryptocurrency trading under religious law.

According to the report, apart from its trading volatility, Shawki Allam also cited bitcoin's anonymity as a cause for concern, saying it can undermine the legal system by enabling tax evasion, money laundering, fraudulent activities and terrorist financing.

Just last month, a New York woman was indicted for allegedly giving financial support to ISIS terrorists using cryptocurrencies.

Although Egypt is still at a nascent stage of the cryptocurrency market, comments from Allam are similar to comments made by secular government bodies.

As previously reported, the Central Bank of Egypt refuted rumors that it would allow banks to process bitcoin transactions, saying at the time:

"For stability of the Egyptian banking system, the banks deal with the official currencies only, and never deal with any virtual currencies."

Egypt national flag via CoinDesk's archive.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.