Jakarta, Sept. 29 -- The Ministry of Religious Affairs, together with the National Alms Agency (Baznas), has launched the Baznas Microfinance Mosque (BMM) - Masjid Berdaya Berdampak (MADADA) program.

The initiative is designed to position mosques as centers of community economic empowerment while serving as a safeguard against the spread of online gambling and illegal online lending.

Director of Islamic Affairs and Sharia Development Arsad Hidayat highlighted that online loans and gambling are increasingly undermining household economic resilience.

He noted that even some recipients of government aid have fallen into such practices. Through BMM-MADADA, mosques are expected to offer a solution by providing soft loans.

In the initial ph...