The world is currently facing multiple crises arriving simultaneously. A global economic slowdown, prolonged geopolitical conflicts, an energy crisis, artificial intelligence-driven technological disruption, climate change, and social and economic inequality are all converging at once, each reinforcing the other. A number of international institutions have described this condition as an age of polycrisis.

Amid this situation, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta Rector, Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan, offered the Islamic economy as a path to restoring the ethical dimension in economic development. In his view, today's global challenges cannot be adequately answered by growth alone; they require a paradigm capable of bringing together progress, justice, balance, sustainability, and the common good.

These ideas were shared by Prof. Noorhaidi in his address at the 2026 Java Regional Economic Forum, held at the Convention Hall of UIN Sunan Kalijaga on Thursday (4/6/2026).

“The question that then arises is: what is the contribution of the Islamic economy in responding to these challenges? More specifically, how can the strengthening of the halal ecosystem serve as a strategic instrument to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth?” he said.

For Prof. Noorhaidi, the Islamic economy was never born merely as a transaction system or an alternative financial instrument. More than that, it represents part of a civilizational vision that places justice, balance, sustainability, and the common good as the foundations of economic development.

At a time when the world faces multiple crises resulting from the dominance of speculation, excessive accumulation, and the weakening of the ethical dimension in economic activity, the Islamic economy offers an approach that brings together growth with social responsibility, profit with justice, and innovation with moral values.

For this reason, he argued, the development of the Islamic economy must not stop at increasing Islamic banking assets or expanding the halal industry alone. The Islamic economy must be capable of serving as an instrument of social transformation: strengthening public welfare, empowering vulnerable groups, and building the nation's economic resilience.

This perspective then points to the importance of building an integrated halal ecosystem. Regulation, certification, financing, research and innovation, supply chain strengthening, and human resource development must all be viewed as an interconnected whole.

According to Prof. Noorhaidi, a strong ecosystem will open greater opportunities for business actors, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to access both national and global markets more competitively.

Indonesia, he continued, possesses enormous capital to realize this vision. In addition to being home to the world's largest Muslim population, Indonesia is also supported by a vast domestic market, a growing Islamic education ecosystem, and a strong tradition of philanthropy through zakat, infaq, sadaqah, and waqf.

“The challenge is how all of this potential can be integrated into a productive and sustainable development strategy,” he said.

It is within this context that higher education institutions hold a strategic role. As a university that develops the integration-interconnection paradigm, UIN Sunan Kalijaga views the Islamic economy as a meeting ground between economics, ethics, technology, public policy, and Islamic values.

This perspective simultaneously affirms that future economic development cannot rely solely on growth and technological innovation, it also requires a moral foundation capable of ensuring that progress is felt more equitably across all segments of society.

Prof. Noorhaidi therefore concluded that the development of the Islamic economy cannot be pursued in a fragmented manner. Collaboration between government, academics, industry, religious scholars, and the community is needed to build a strong and competitive ecosystem.

The 2026 Java Regional Economic Forum serves as an important space for bringing together these various elements in productive dialogue. From this forum emerges the hope that the Islamic economy will not only grow as an economic sector but will also become part of the effort to build a more just, prosperous, and dignified civilization amid increasingly complex global challenges. (humassk)