The modern Islamic gold dinar (sometimes referred as Islamic dinar or Gold dinar) is a projected

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22fineness#Karat, karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia (coin), Britannia, Canad ...

, so far not issued as official

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

by any national state. It aims to revive the historical gold dinar, which was a leading coin of early Islam. The currency might consist of minted

s (

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

s) or of

silver coin Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 B ...

s (

dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...

s).

Dinar history

According to Islamic law, the Islamic dinar is a coin of pure

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

weighing 72 grains of average

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

. Modern determinations of weight for the "full solidus" weigh 4.44 grams at the time of Heraclius and a "light solidus" equivalent to the weight of the mithqal weighing 4.25 grams, with the silver Dirham being created to the weight ratio of 7:10, yielded coins of 2.975 grams of pure silver. Umar Ibn al-Khattab established the known standard relationship between them based on their weights: 7 dinars must be equivalent (in weight) to 10 dirhams.

Value and denomination

Per the historical law stated above, one dinar is 4.25 grams of pure gold, and a smaller denomination, the daniq, one sixth of that. Again from the law above, the dirham is 2.975 grams of pure silver. The value of each coin is according to their weight and the market value of the two metals. Coins may be minted at fractions or multiples of these weights and valued accordingly. In practice coins were historically minted in either 24 karat "pure gold" although some contemporary coins have been minted in 22k for greater durability. In either case the weight of the gold ''content'' will be as per law.

Adoption

Indonesia

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, while there is no official national coin, a number of mints are producing their own gold dinars, including that launched in 2000 by the (IMN). and Logam Mulia.

Malaysia

In 2002, the prime minister of Malaysia proposed a gold dinar standard for use in the Islamic world.

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

was the first state in the country to introduce the dinar in 2006, which was locally minted. In 2010, it issued new coins, including the dirham, minted in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

by the World Islamic Mint. The state of

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

followed suit, minting its own dinar and dirham, which was launched in 2011.

Islamic State

The leader of the UN-designated terrorist group

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

, announced in November 2014 that the Caliphate intended to mint its own gold, silver and copper coins in order to free the Muslims from the financial order that has "enslaved and impoverished" them."Isis to mint own Islamic dinar coins in gold, silver and copper"
''The Guardian'', 14 November 2014 The currency would be based on the dinar coins minted by the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Uthman ibn Affan Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until Assassination of Uthman, his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable Companions of the Prophet, companion of ...

and include seven coins: two gold, three silver and two copper, ranging in value from 7¢ to $694, their values based on the intrinsic value of the metals. The gold dinar is weighted at 4.25 grams and is made of 21 karat gold. Despite a propaganda push for the currency, adoption appeared to have been minimal and its internal economy is effectively dollarized, even with regards to its own fines.

Other groups

Abdalqadir as-Sufi, founder of the Murabitun World Movement, was once a strong proponent of the idea for the gold dinar revival movement, but in February 2014 he completely distanced himself from it, saying, "So, I now dis-associate myself from all activity involving the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham"."THE ISLAMIC DINAR – A WAY-STAGE PASSED" Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi
/ref> Trinidadian scholar Imran Nazar Hosein has also been promoting the revival of Dinar usage, but has linked its use to

Islamic eschatology Islamic eschatology includes the afterlife, apocalyptic signs of the End Times, and final Judgement. It is fundamental to Islam as life after death is one of the six Doctrines of Islam. Resurrection is divided into Lesser Resurrection (''al-q ...

Use

Most of the coins are issued privately and are not

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

. In Malaysia, the state government of Kelantan allows their use in transactions while it is illegal according to federal law. Common uses of the gold dinar include: # Buying merchandise from outlets. # Holding accounts, and making and receiving payments as with any other medium of exchange. # Saving, as is done with any form of gold. # Paying

zakat Zakat (or Zakāh زكاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "Giving to Charity" or "Giving to the Needy". Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam a relig ...

and

mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ; ; Bengali: দেনমোহর; ; ; ; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''denmohor, mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Qur ...

as established within

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

Notes

References

* Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera, ''The Islamic gold dinar'', Pelanduk Publications, 2002,

External links

The Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham
- authored by Imran Nazar Hosein
The Economist, October 16th 2003, ''Times are changing''
{{Authority control Islamic culture Gold coins Islamic banking Gold standard Dinar