KUALA LUMPUR, 16 FEBRUARY, 2012: National Fatwa Council chairman Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin today clarified that the council's declaration yesterday that foreign exchange (forex) trading was "haram" (prohibited in Islam) only applied to real-time individual spot forex transactions through the electronic medium.

In a statement here today, he said the decision to probit this form of forex trading was made because there were doubts as to whether it conformed to Islamic teachings and the laws of Malaysia.

"I found my statement had been misreported by certain sections of the media, which made it appear as though all forms of forex trading were "haram"," he said.

According to him, the prohibition did not affect forex trading by money changers or between licensed banks.

The council had cited that real-time individual spot forex transactions through the electronic medium involved currency speculation, which contradiced Islamic law.

- Bernama