MUI investigates yoga, tells Muslims to suspend practicing

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 11/25/2008 8:20 PM  |  National

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is telling Indonesian Muslims to stop practicing yoga while the council investigates the practice after public concern rose when a Malaysian top Muslim body banned the practice.

MUI head of edict affairs said Tuesday the council would invite yoga experts to explain the practice within the next two weeks.

"We will let them explain it to us before we issue an edict on the practice," he said as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com

The council plans to study whether yoga includes rituals, actions or teachings that run counter to Islamic teachings.

Last week Malaysia's National Fatwa Council, which has the authority to rule over how Muslims practice their faith, issued an edict banning Muslims from practicing yoga, saying the Indian physical exercise contains spiritual elements including chanting and Hindu worship practices that could corrupt Muslims.

Many analysts have said the edict reflects the growing strain of conservatism in Malaysia. The majority of Malaysians are Muslim. (dre)
 

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Enggi Holt — Sun, 11/30/2008 - 9:09pm

C'mon, relaxed a bit!
Yoga is a way of getting rid of addiction - smoking for instance. And by the way, there are more dire matters to concentrate on: corruptions, marrying under age girls. No fatwa on this?

Silent Brain (not verified) — Sun, 11/30/2008 - 7:05am

Stupid and reactionary. If a Malaysian jumped off a bridge would an Indonesian blindly do the same?

Hans David (not verified) — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 5:18pm

How about :
1. Banning Windows XP, PCs, Mac, the Internet etc because there is an element of the great infidels (USA) in it...
2. Banning the use of Intel Pentium because it was designed by a bunch of Jew scientists...
3. Banning the practice of all non-Syariah banking...
4. Banning Muslim from watching soccer as well, especially Chelsea and Man United since the Jews own them... (boy do some people gonna get pissed for this...)
The list goes on and on and on...

For God's sake utilize some of yer gray brain cells before making stupid fatwas like these...

Dz (not verified) — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 11:01am

Gosh - emotion out of nothing - the most sensible comment come from Isach - Get your facts straight - therefore read and be sure before making a fool out of us. Malaysia is not the first country to start this fatwa on YOGA - Yoga is also banned in Egypt and Singapore for that matter - I wonder why no comments from others ... I wonder....

Harris Al Rasyid (not verified) — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 10:21am

Haha...
What a joke.

MUI ban Yoga? What next, ban derivative trading and IDX?

Hussein (not verified) — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 6:08am

Oh no! This is an absurd and it would be so stupid to make the move by MUI..., should MUI decide to issue banning Yoga among the Muslims, then it shows that MUI is not confident of their own beliefs, and afraid of invasion. Another words, MUI is paranoid.

Iyuen (not verified) — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 4:05am

@isach and other MUI apologists:
Islam has been getting bad press lately. This is making it increasingly difficult to defend the faith. However, you should always make room for introspection.
There is some element of truth in what you say. You can't read a single article and become a know-it-all. So in light of that, here is an article from Malaysia's News Straits Times:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2409541/Article/...

The above article is a product of an interview with the chairman of Malaysia's National Fatwa Council, Mr. Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin.

Quote:
Asked if practicing yoga with the intention of promoting physical health was also against the fatwa, he said although it did not include the chanting and beliefs, it was discouraged.

This, he said, was because the physical movements of yoga were a component of the practice which was haram.

"In Islam, one must not do things which can erode one's aqidah (belief). Yoga, even the physical movements, is a step towards the erosion of a Muslim's belief, hence they must avoid it."

..."We respect the harmony and freedom of practice of other races. This is not something for non-Muslims to interfere in or question as this matter involves Muslims and their faith.]

I'm sure I dont know as much as the members of MUI or the fatwa council but I do know that repression of freedom under the assumption that Muslims are reckless, is a mockery to Malaysians and the Muslim faith.

Mike (not verified) — Fri, 11/28/2008 - 7:09pm

I think that most comments here pretty much sum up how this rather silly instruction by the Indonesian Ulema Council is seen. What did happen to the basics of democracy in Indonesia? It is hard to get away from a founding principal in a working democracy that citizens should enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. Or do those freedoms not apply if one is a Muslim? I really do believe that there are hugely more important issues to be taken care of by this organisation. There is far more likelihood of people loosing their faith due to participating in corruption and nepotism, which are at epidemic proportions throughout Indonesia, than by practising yoga. Maybe the council should focus on those issues that truly are fundamentally immoral and against all religious preaching’s, and most definitely harm a persons faith?

Tom Bali (not verified) — Fri, 11/28/2008 - 3:41pm

To avoid yoga is an advise for people who cannot handle their own life, a command for people who are used to take orders from their leaders. Are the followers of MUI really so uneducated and helpless? How disappointing.

Rabianto (not verified) — Fri, 11/28/2008 - 2:32pm

How many Muslim convert to Hindu after practising Yoga?

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