Malaysia clerics issue yoga fatwa

[Rabzon]

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Talk about ignorance….yet another stupid so-called Fatwa.


Malaysia clerics issue yoga fatwa

By Robin Brant
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur
22 November 2008

Millions of people in Malaysia have been banned from doing yoga because of fears it could corrupt Muslims.

The Islamic authorities have issued a ruling, known as a fatwa, instructing the country's Muslims to avoid yoga because of its Hindu roots.

To most people yoga is simply a sport - a stress-busting start to the day.

Malaysia's National Fatwa Council said it goes further than that and that elements of the Indian religion are inherent in yoga.

Announcing the decision, the council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said practices like chanting and what he called worshipping were inappropriate and they could "destroy the faith of a Muslim".

The ruling is not legally binding but many of Malaysia's Muslims abide by fatwas.

Yoga classes here are filled with mostly non-Muslim Malaysians of Chinese or Indian descent, but in the major cities it is not uncommon to see several Muslim women at classes.

Prayers and gym

For Muslims across Malaysia the day starts at 5.30 in the morning, as the call to prayer goes out.

A handful of the most devout arrive at a mosque in the western outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

Over the other side of the road, in the shadow of the Mosque's golden dome, a few others start arriving to start their day - at the gym.

Each is carrying a yoga mat, slung over their shoulder.

Adam Junid is a Muslim Malaysian who does both - prayers and gym, specifically yoga.

An engineer in his 30s, he goes to a weekly class for about 30 people.

"I don't think it interferes with the religion at all," he says.

"In fact it helps you, makes you healthy and more aligned and it helps you become self aware," he adds.

Adam is a rarity because it is mostly women and not many Muslims who do this.

The yoga masters repeat that it actually can be quite compatible with religion," he said. "It makes you a better person."

Yoga comes in many forms. For some it is a stress-busting sport. For others a serious bit of soul searching.

What Adam does once a week is the serious stuff. The class I sat in on was two hours long.

Spiritual experience

It included breathing exercises, with the help of the tick-tock of a metronome.

There was meditation, then half an hour of darkness for intense relaxation.

Before that some of the class managed a very stable headstand. Others could touch the back of their head with their foot.

"It can go with any religion," instructor Mani Sekaran told me.

"Or it can go with those who don't believe in any religion, because it's purely sports," he added.

He is also founder of the Malaysian Yoga Society. A bald and very fit man, he once did martial arts.

"If I want to train for an Olympic gold medal... whether I believe in a religion or not doesn't matter. I just keep on training."

Based on that we can use yoga to enhance whatever we are doing, whether it is religion or whether it's spirituality... but it [yoga] is stand alone."

During the class I sat in on, yoga's Hindu roots were mentioned, albeit briefly. A spiritual experience was on offer for those who wanted it.

This is the point where some Muslims in Malaysia worry about yoga. They think it is encroaching on their way of life.

One Muslim student told me that she combined yoga techniques with prayers. That concerns some Islamic experts.

"If people want to practice yoga, the physical exercise, I think that is no problem," Professor Osman Bakar, from Malaysia's Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, told me.

"Many Muslims would say fine. But they would object to the mixing of the two things."

"Islam is a complete way of life. Islam is able to cater to the needs of Muslims; spiritual needs, intellectual needs and other needs, material needs. So there is no need to bring in elements from outside," he added.

Adam's yoga class ended with a quick discussion about self-awareness, concentration and why people do yoga. I was not sure if this was a weekly occurrence or for my benefit.

He told me that yoga has made him a better person. He has no plans to stop.

[Rabzon]

Is yoga bad for you?


By Irfan Husain
November 29, 2008

SEVERAL years ago, I developed something called arthrosis in my knees. This is a first cousin to arthritis, and is extremely painful. After a few months on painkillers, I enrolled in a yoga class out of desperation.

Initially, contorting my out-of-shape body into the positions required by our teacher was very difficult, but soon I managed to bully my joints into approximating the postures our elegant instructor assumed so effortlessly.

A few months into this routine, I began to look forward to the thrice-weekly yoga classes. In our darkened room, soft music would play, while we were encouraged to empty our minds and hold the positions for just a little longer each time. My body became suppler, and crucially the pain in my knees disappeared. Unfortunately, the timings of our class were changed, and I could no longer pursue my new interest. Nevertheless, I have nothing but pleasant memories of the year-long experience.

Now, as my creaking body protests each time I lower myself to pick up something from the floor, I wish I could have continued my yoga lessons. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Malaysia’s top Islamic body recently issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from practising yoga due to elements of Hinduism the ancient system is supposed to contain.

According to The Island, a Sri Lankan daily, the Malaysian National Fatwa Council’s chairman, Shukor Husin, has said that “many Muslims fail to understand that yoga’s ultimate aim is to be one with a god of a different religion”. I had no idea that when our yoga teacher told us to empty our minds, she was doing so with the aim of making space in that limited cavity for a foreign god.

Fortunately, this edict is not legally binding, unless of course the government makes it a law. And in case you think this is far-fetched, just remember that the Malay government has recently made it illegal for non-Muslims to use the word ‘Allah’, for fear that “it would confuse Muslims”.

It seems many other things confuse Muslims in Malaysia: the fatwa council recently declared tomboy-ish behaviour by girls un-Islamic on the grounds that girls who act like boys “violate Islam’s edicts”. Now having grown up with my cousin Meher who played cricket and rode bikes with us as kids, and is now long happily married, I cannot imagine how her early years as a tomboy make her un-Islamic. But according to Maulana Shukor Husin, this kind of innocent childhood behaviour is unacceptable.

However, not all Malay Muslims are taking this latest fatwa lying down. The Island quotes Putri Rahim as maintaining: “I am mad! Maybe they have it in mind that Islam is under threat. To come out with a fatwa is an insult to intelligent Muslims. It’s an insult to my belief.”

But the members of the fatwa council are in good company, for Christian fundamentalists in the United States have long opposed yoga classes in schools, arguing that it violates the secular principle of separating church from state. According to them, yoga’s Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings. And apparently, Egypt’s highest theological body banned yoga for Muslims in 2004.

I must confess that my meagre knowledge of Islam does not qualify me to give a definitive opinion. However, based on personal experience, I can say with greater authority than Maulana Shukor Husin that yoga is a wonderful system for the body and the mind, relaxing both, while enhancing the powers of concentration. Millions around the world practise it every day, and are well rewarded for their efforts. To deny its benefits to Muslims is to declare that we march to the beat of a different drummer.

So what planet are these fundamentalists on? And what century do they live in? Surely everything that’s good for us, or is fun, cannot be declared un-Islamic on a whim? Even I know that there is no mention of yoga in the holy book, so how can these killjoys come out with their absurd fatwa?

Sadly, the Islam of Shukor Husin and his ilk has been reduced to a list of dos and don’ts, with the latter having swollen to many times the former. Almost every month, there is an addition to what is forbidden to Muslims. But as many Muslims continue to flout this litany of edicts, they are pushed into the illicit enjoyment of what is natural and pleasurable. Their sense of guilt grows, as does the level of hypocrisy in Muslim societies.

And if this kind of retrogressive mindset can hold sway in a relatively modern Muslim country like Malaysia, just think what is going on in nations like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. One explanation for these reactionary fatwas is that the ruling Muslim party, in power since 1957, has seen its majority greatly eroded in recent elections due to the gains made by multiracial opposition parties. This fear of losing their grip on power due to growing secularism might be causing conservatives to draw a line in the sand.

Whatever the reason, such desperate and ultimately futile measures only serve to further marginalise Muslims. Already viewed as a backward community by much of the world, Muslims risk withdrawing from the rest of mankind at a time when globalisation is breaking down barriers at a frenzied pace.

In India, Muslim ulema have won the right to dominate women as a religious right. This exemption was granted to them by a secular Congress Party. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban and their supporters want to ban music, movies and even kite-flying. When the Taliban were in power, they had banned education for girls, and had denied women medical care from male doctors. Where will this madness end?

It will end if and when Muslims decide that enough is enough, and that they do not want to live in the sixth century. Unfortunately, there is much confusion in the Islamic world, with the result that uneducated mullahs issue half-baked edicts on everything under the sun, and ordinary people, unsure of themselves, pay lip service to these teachings.

Millions in the Islamic world have convinced themselves that their current weakness has been caused by the West. If they examine the causes for their backwardness more closely, they will discover that they lie much closer to home than they would like to admit.

[Nihat]

What lunatic People - how can anything which cures human dieses be Un-Islamic or Anti Muslim .

Yeh , kahan likha hai.

[U-571]

yoga is a good exercise but i do agree hindu beliefs r associated with them, just do exercise, and leave all the things, i dont understand the seriousness of the situation, these clerics know better, not i, and fatwa shuld be use just not to restrict islam, if they pass un necessary fatwas i dont support them,

here is

" So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Malaysia’s top Islamic body recently issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from practising yoga due to elements of Hinduism the ancient system is supposed to contain."

i dont know, wht kinda impression the yoga gives to yoga performing ppl??, may be these clerics manipulating things for their own benefits, but again islam will be bad mouthed!!, either way

"In India, Muslim ulema have won the right to dominate women as a religious right."

wht the fuk it tht, women controlled by ulema, i am smelling Catholicism from tht, clerics r usuful and essential, but only for guidance and to teach ppl the teachings and essence of islam and quran!!, cheers, good and learned muslims r needed too!!

[Chanakya.10]

Then people ask, Y do westners hate islamic hardcores????

Have ever a Pope said that yoga is uncatholic and people should not do it.......

These type of things will do no good to islamic people around the world......

[PeaceForAll]

laughable to say the least!! there will be a time when the clerics will stop the wind from blowing because its coming from Indian ocean - Hindu Ocean.. what crap!

[garibnawaz]

This was not expected from a country like Malaysia.

[araz]

What lunatic People - how can anything which cures human dieses be Un-Islamic or Anti Muslim .

Yeh , kahan likha hai.

My dear friend . Before you brag about lunacy, what is your religious knowledge and on what religious edict do you base your accusation of lunacy. I think the Malaysian religious seminaries are one of the most educated amongthe ummah, not your common run of the mill Mullahs. Secondly, what about the chants. I think there is an amount of truth in it.
Criticism of religious edicts should be based on religious knowledge and should be countered with such. Otherwise best to keep quiet.
Please dont think that I am being rude or anything. But I think it is a sin to condemn an Islamic edict without adequate knowledge of your own. Secondly we must examine the whole edict.
Araz

[garibnawaz]

My dear friend . Before you brag about lunacy, what is your religious knowledge and on what religious edict do you base your accusation of lunacy. I think the Malaysian religious seminaries are one of the most educated amongthe ummah, not your common run of the mill Mullahs. Secondly, what about the chants. I think there is an amount of truth in it.
Criticism of religious edicts should be based on religious knowledge and should be countered with such. Otherwise best to keep quiet.
Please dont think that I am being rude or anything. But I think it is a sin to condemn an Islamic edict without adequate knowledge of your own. Secondly we must examine the whole edict.
Araz

What about casino and liqor consumption?? which is ok in Malaysia

What the educated seminaries have to say on that?

[Vinod2070]

Every religion has its quota of quirks.

It is up to the people to go deeper into the meaning of the religion and not just the shallow interpretations by the "thekedars of religion".

The insecurity that these guys associate with the religions defeats the very purpose of religion imho.

[third eye]

What about casino and liqor consumption?? which is ok in Malaysia

What the educated seminaries have to say on that?

Was wondering when someone will come up with this..

Religion has been hijacked by clerics with the tacit acceptance of the educated. How can a method of treatment be wrong ? I know of so many ppl who go to Unanai Dawakhanas including those run by Hamdard, not even 25 % are muslims.

All my muslim friends & colleagues find it to be foolish .

[TruthSeeker]

It seems obvious that one should have to have a "license" earned after many years of study and apprenticeship before being allowed to issue bona fide "fatwas". But I guess that is not feasible given that Islam has no central authority. As a Christian, I have often wondered about how the concept of a "fatwa" came into being. We don't have an equivalent proclamation of "Christian" law. What I don't understand is why, in Islam, a "cleric" is allowed to substitute his "opinion" for that of an individual believer. Why isn't the action of the believer (say, practicing yoga) just a matter between the believer and Allah? I thought that Islam was supposed to be a personal faith and that lack of a rigid hierarchal authority structure was an advantage over, say, Roman Catholicism with its pope. It seems to me that, by giving credence to these "manmade" fatwas, the believer is letting a human interpose between himself and Allah? No?

[U-571]

It seems obvious that one should have to have a "license" earned after many years of study and apprenticeship before being allowed to issue bona fide "fatwas". But I guess that is not feasible given that Islam has no central authority. As a Christian, I have often wondered about how the concept of a "fatwa" came into being. We don't have an equivalent proclamation of "Christian" law. What I don't understand is why, in Islam, a "cleric" is allowed to substitute his "opinion" for that of an individual believer. Why isn't the action of the believer (say, practicing yoga) just a matter between the believer and Allah? I thought that Islam was supposed to be a personal faith and that lack of a rigid hierarchal authority structure was an advantage over, say, Roman Catholicism with its pope. It seems to me that, by giving credence to these "manmade" fatwas, the believer is letting a human interpose between himself and Allah? No?

sir with all due respect, sir mind ur own business regarding the islamic matters, wht is good and whts wrong, maybe instead of wasting ur tym here, u must ask the revered muslim americans, maybe they can guide u knowledge!!!, v and esp i know ur religion and ur faith and ur bible very well!!!, which bible u read, the king james version, hahahaha, once i asked a christian, wht good is ur man made plagiarized bible, and he replyed, i dont follow bible, no one shuld follow bible, this is ur faith, i have much respect for aetheists than christians, they dont look at their religion, their teachings, and point at other religions.

post her this and she may give u a very well response, i think u may burn her to death

youtube.com/user/americanmuslimgirl

[TruthSeeker]

sir with all due respect, sir mind ur own business regarding the islamic matters, wht is good and whts wrong, maybe instead of wasting ur tym here, u must ask the revered muslim americans, maybe they can guide u!!!,

Well, with an attitude like that expressed above ^, by you, it is also obvious that you are not a Christian. Are you a good representative of Islam? Are your views those of most of your friends and acquaintances? Cannot you listen to any views with which you disagree without being disagreeable?

[dk33]

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sir with all due respect, sir mind ur own business regarding the islamic matters, wht is good and whts wrong, maybe instead of wasting ur tym here, u must ask the revered muslim americans, maybe they can guide u knowledge!!!, v and esp i know ur religion and ur faith and ur bible very well!!!, which bible u read, the king james version, hahahaha, once i asked a christian, wht good is ur man made plagiarized bible, and he replyed, i dont follow bible, no one shuld follow bible, this is ur faith, i have much respect for aetheists than christians, they dont look at their religion, their teachings, and point at other religions.

post her this and she may give u a very well response, i think u may burn her to death

youtube.com/user/americanmuslimgirl

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