Islamic scholars challenge MUI edicts on smoking and yoga

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 01/26/2009 7:15 PM  |  Headlines

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the country’s largest Islamic organization, challenged an edict by the country’s highest Islamic authority, The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which bans smoking by children and pregnant women.

Hasyim, himself a smoker, said Monday that the Nahdlatul Ulama, which he chairs, has long declared smoking as “mukruh” (allowed but discouraged), and therefore, had never banned smoking.

"The danger of smoking is relative, not as significant as the danger of drinking (alcohol). Also, those who smoke have also relative benefit, for example, their thinking is clear when smoking,” he was quoted by Tempointeraktif.com as saying.

A special meeting of the Indonesian Ulema Council in Padangpanjang, West Sumatra, on Sunday concluded that smoking was haram and banned pregnant women and children, as well as men in public places, from the practice.

The MUI also banned Muslims from practicing yoga if it contains Hindu rituals such as chanting, the chairman of the group said Monday, citing concerns that it would corrupt their faith.

Meanwhile, Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said that the MUI edict on smoking was nothing new because local governments including the Jakarta administration have also banned smoking in public places.

“The MUI edict only gives theological supports to the existing regulations,” he said.

However, Azyumardi, who is an assistant to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, said the MUI edict on yoga was unnecessary and could be counter-productive.

“I know many Muslims are practicing yoga but they still observe Islamic teachings. They do not take the Hindu teachings, but practice it as an exercise for their physical and mental wellbeing,” he said.

Although the edict is not legally binding, most devout Muslims will likely adhere to the MUI edict because they consider ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, sinful.
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John wilfred (not verified) — Mon, 02/02/2009 - 5:27pm

http://www.emro.who.int/TFI/Facts.htm#fact4
http://www.emro.who.int/TFI/emroleads.htm
Fact 2 Tobacco: a killer epidemic

A long-term tobacco user has a 50% chance of dying prematurely from tobacco-related diseases. Each year, tobacco causes some five million premature deaths, with one million of these occurring in countries that can least afford the health-care burden. This epidemic was predicted to kill 250 million children and adolescents who are alive today, a third of whom live in developing countries.

Current trends show that by the year 2020/2030, tobacco is likely to be the world’s leading cause of death and disability, killing more than 10 million people annually (70% of these deaths occurring in developing countries) and claiming more lives than HIV, tuberculosis, maternal mortality, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, and homicide combined. According to WHO estimates, there are approximately 1.1 billion smokers in the world - about one-third of the global population aged I5 years and over.

Tobacco is a risk factor for some 25 diseases and while its effects on health are well-known, the sheer scale of its impact on the global disease burden may still not be fully appreciated. No single disease is expected to make such a giant claim on health as this one risk factor.

Estimates indicate that tobacco is already responsible for about 2.6% of the total death and disease burden, and that it is projected to triple its share to 8.9% of the total by the year 2020. For each 1,000 tons of tobacco produced, about 1,000 people will eventually die.

In the more developed countries, the impact of tobacco on the health of men is being manifested at present, although it has yet to reach its peak among women. The epidemic is only now beginning in low and middle-income countries; the biggest and sharpest increases in the disease burden are expected in China and India, where the use of tobacco has grown most steeply. If current trends continue, two to three million annual tobacco-related deaths are predicted for China alone by the 2020s.

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, we are not far from this. In Egypt alone, 90% of lung cancer deaths are attributed to tobacco use. In general, tobacco-related cancers as a percentage of all cancers are on the rise. Among men, the proportion rose from 8.9% to 14.8% between 1974 and1987.

ChetanSoni (not verified) — Fri, 01/30/2009 - 5:10pm

I am Hindu and I have friends who are muslims and do yoga & they says that it helps them in life. Yoga has nothing to do with religion because in Yoga class no one ask person to convert to Hinduisum.

Anything which makes one's life healthy should be practice.

Richard MP (not verified) — Fri, 01/30/2009 - 4:39pm

More and more people like to see hypocrite chandra hamzah go behind bars. To follow Romli, the hypocrite guru.

A.R.Tauran (not verified) — Thu, 01/29/2009 - 11:17pm

So MUI issued a fatwa about some aspects of life. The Pope issued some guidance(?) on sexual behaviour and abortion. Other religious chiefs will have undoubtedly issued more nice rules on behaviour including the greatest prophets of our times: Our glorified Scientists. These last jokers have invented a foolproof system where they just take a sample of the population, which they call representative and then proceed to let loose on this sample all sorts of ridiculous tests and/or questions. The result they say applies to all people in the world, and what's exclusive in their branch of religion, is that they claim they can prove it! Statistics is their prophet and saviour, more powerful than Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed because they can calculate exactly your chance of reaching walhalla whereas these other fellows could only give vague indications about who stands a reasonable chance, but never expressed in numbers. So if you good people wish to believe statistics on tobacco, alcohol or the wart on your sister's nose, by all means go ahead. Just consider that the 'scientific proof' may some day be regarded just as backward and outdated as today's Papal decrees and Muslim fatwas. Let's hope our descendants will be just as genereous as we are in our comments on religious decrees.

ANov (not verified) — Thu, 01/29/2009 - 10:08pm

MUI again shows it's short sightedness. Where do you draw the line?

Sugar causes diabetic disease, are we going to ban sugar too?

Too much carbs increase the risk of obesity hence heart disease, are we going to ban rice too? or control how much people can eat so it does not cause them harm?

How about riding motorcycle? It is inherently dangerous and has potential to cause bodily harm. Are we going to ban that too?

All these activities has potential to cause harm, great harm even.

In a free society, people must be allowed to make choices, yes sometimes they made stupid choices but it's not MUI role to regulate civic freedom. Giving them authority to decide which is acceptable which is not will lead to a theocratic totalitarianism.

I think MUI is better off working on eradicating poverty, providing education to the poor rather than wasting time with edicts that few people care.

Stefano (not verified) — Thu, 01/29/2009 - 10:54am

Please go ahead, smoke as much as ypu like, so probably in a few years the world will be rid of many morons who follow MUI's idiotic statements. Whoever needs a medical advise from a religious cleric rather than from any doctor, does not deserve to live. Tobacco industry is so large and powerful in Indonesia than none in MUI has balls big enough to challenge them and publicly condemn smoke as haram, as smoke is far more harmful than pork or alcohol, MUI is just a brunch of corrupted bigots, when Indonesia will become an adult Nation will be able to abolish this useless institution and those lazy worthless ulema, they shall start working for real for once in their life, instead of being fed for doing nothing but saying bullshit on things they do not know anything about.
About Yoga, isn't there anything more serious to think about???

Panji_hs — Wed, 01/28/2009 - 12:07pm

"The danger of smoking is relative, not as significant as the danger of drinking (alcohol). Also, those who smoke have also relative benefit, for example, their thinking is clear when smoking,” he was quoted by Tempointeraktif.com as saying.

ROFL at Hasyim Muzadi. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard from a "scholar". Clearly, he knows nothing. NOTHING. Can anyone please tell him that back in 1950 Doll&Hill PROVED that smoking causes lung cancer?

Moreover, there's a just reason to question NU disagreement in smoking ban when their decision came from smokers. Or, sinnersw maybe?

panji_fh

Muhammad Ahmad (not verified) — Wed, 01/28/2009 - 10:38am

Yoga practice can be deceiving. Muslims knowledge and awareness on tauhid/faith vary and that's why the ulamas (warasatul anbiya) are concerned with the ummah's faith even with hidden syirik.

For a good muslim, what more for Hasyim who is a chairman of an organisation representing muslims, smoking can cause health problems and addictions. Koran urges muslims not to be close to things which can cause even small bad/ill effects on them. MUI was right in deciding the fatwa to protect the ummah.

Ken Maynard (not verified) — Wed, 01/28/2009 - 8:39am

The Indonesian judicial system is in a terrible state of corruption & despotism - If Muslims are to offer the Sharia as a serious alternative (It is the only competition the current judicial system has) Then the judicial body of Islam need to cease dabbling in frivolous matters of little consequence - to instead give rulings on serious matters of real consequence to the society - the role of religion is to enlighten not to endarken

CarolT (not verified) — Tue, 01/27/2009 - 5:36pm

More than 50 studies show that human papillomaviruses cause over ten times more lung cancers than they pretend are caused by secondhand smoke. Passive smokers are more likely to have been exposed to this virus, so the anti-smokers' studies, which are all based on nothing but lifestyle questionnaires, have been cynically DESIGNED to falsely blame passive smoking for all those extra lung cancers that are really caused by HPV.

http://www.smokershistory.com/hpvlungc.htm

The anti-smokers have committed the same type of fraud with every disease they blame on smoking and passive smoking, as well as ignoring other types of evidence that proves they are lying, such as the fact that the death rates from asthma have more than doubled since their movement began.

http://www.smokershistory.com/newviews.htm

And it's a lie that passive smoking causes heart disease. AMI deaths in Pueblo actually ROSE the year after the smoking ban.

http://www.smokershistory.com/etsheart.html

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