[Image from TIME, a yoga class in Tehran]
The Daily Times reported today that Islamic scholars in India, including those at the Darul Uloom Deoband, “say they do not object to Muslims practicing yoga, contrary to a recent decision by Malaysian clerics to ban yoga for Muslims.” Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, deputy vice-chancellor of the Darul Uloom, told an Indian news agency, “Yoga is a good form of exercise. If some words, which are supposed to be chanted while performing it, have religious connotations, then Muslims need not utter those. They can instead recite verses from the Quran, praise God or remain silent.” The Times of India cited a spokesman for the Darul Uloom, who added, “If you observe closely ‘namaz‘ [prayer], which every Muslim is expected to perform five times a day, is itself a sort of yoga and plays an important role in keeping a person healthy.”
The debate and controversy over Muslims and yoga began last year, when Malaysia’s top Islamic body, the National Fatwa Council, issued a fatwa banning it, “saying that it combines elements of physical exercise and chanting of religious mantras.” According to a TIME magazine blog, the council claimed “that the sweaty ‘Oms’ and other Hindu elements of a standard 60-minute yoga class could ‘destroy the faith of a Muslim.'” This past week, prior to the Deoband announcement, Indonesia‘s Islamic body followed the Malaysian example, issuing a similar edict banning yoga’s practice.
A Guardian columnist echoed my sentiments exactly when he noted, “The MUI’s [Indonesian] fatwa reflects a creeping conservatism influenced by an increasingly vocal extremist fringe, in a country where most observe a moderate brand of Islam.” In my opinion, fatwas are often used by religious councils to exert greater influence over the personal lives of local citizens. Edicts regarding the education of girls, [hello, Swat] or health policies are obviously much more serious than those banning exercise. However, the yoga fatwa is ludicrous because it’s so trivial, and because it could ultimately undermine the credibility of these councils. Yoga has become such an intrinsic part of pop culture that I am certain very few people realize its religious connotations. In fact, noted the aforementioned TIME blogger, “Muslims, at least those of the Middle East, have been practicing yoga widely since the mid 1990s, and in some countries the exercise is now as commonplace as it is in blue-state America.” Thank God the Deoband seminary didn’t give in to such melodrama. I don’t think my chakra could take it.
Om Shakti baby…Om Shakti Om! Yoga is definitely good for the body, mind and soul.
Muslims need to divest from their one sided thining and one track minds.
Pretty soon there will be nothing left to ban. and we’ll have to start banning our own stuff…starting with the hijab.
[…] url: "http://teabreak.pk/just-in-case-you-were-worried-42/13631/" }); Read more at: CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan abdul khaliq, darul uloom, deputy vice chancellor, edict, educati, fatwa, fatwas, indian news, […]
@ Yawar,
yes, you must always follow and imitate others,
good for body, but, for mind and soul !
reading your comment, I am not sure !
muslims have their physical excercise and prayers,
both, the best combination in addition to their sexual
excercise, sexual activities between husband and wife is
as sacred as a prayer, did you know that, mate ?? NO !!
@Rongon,
don’t get excited with Malaysian rumours, we have banned,
with Eurpean Union’s approval, wearing and showing ladies
strings in Lycées, poor backwards, hijab was already
banned by crusaders, thinking it might help fantasming with
female hairstyles, now the boys can not even enjoy
freedom of slips and underwears !! do you call it good for
body, mind and soul ??
The backwards are now even introducing the bloody old
UNIFORMS, can you imagine, now, in Europe ??
boys can not even enjoy the forms anymore !! you have to
lift the frock to assure the treasure is still there !!
do something, go out for protest !! Go to Malaysia,
Bollywood is going down there !!! get them ” civilized ”
don’t forget to take along Yawar !!! he might learn
something
Does this mean they’re going to ban pilates too? What about yogalates?
@ Eman,
you mean the yoghurt that you consume while
doing yoga ? yes of course !! !!!! its too much Eman,
please register your protest !
apparently bringing sexy back is forbidden in our part of the world, as well.
Sorry Rafay, it’s goign to take some time before you can make a trip back to the homeland.
@Rongon dear,
Sexy back, though very very beautiful but forbidden
by everyone, some where with pure hypocrisy,
” femme objet ” sex machine etc. but in
our part of the world due to moral grounds and respect,
nevertheless, our part of the
world the most cultured, venerated female beauty to its
hights, where as in your religion and culture, she was
declared as an eternal sin and burned alive ! I am not
looking for a dispute !
I can go back anytime I want, I have regular links, and
follow up all evolutions,
Karachi. Lahore, Islamabad, very little Quetta, ok, as soon
as I sort out some nice S backs, I can travel that far !
Erm, Rafay, I think Rongon was talking about “Sexy Back” the song by Justin Timberlake (one lyric is, “I’m bringing sexy back”), not in the literal sense.
“you have to lift the frock to assure the treasure is still there !!”
Is this what the level of discussion on this thread has stooped to??
Tell me about it, I am more than a little disturbed right now. Who would have thought yoga would have inspired such discussion?
I think I might have to agree with Yawar on this one. However, I would like to change his wording to “some” Muslims. Making generalizations toward any faith or culture is unfair. But, yes, many Muslim clerics are completely unopen to innovation, which is sad, since Muslims had once been the leaders of modernization!
The notion of moving away from religion due to yoga is preposterous. As someone who has recently taken up yoga, I find the peace that comes with it actually clears my mind and brings me closer to God. I’m not saying it’s the same for everyone, but if your faith is strong enough, then something as silly as chanting mantras or saying “namaste” after yoga class is over shouldn’t be an issue. The whole beauty of Islam is that we as Muslims have our individual direct connection with God (which is why we don’t have “priests” as in Christianity), therefore, anything that strengthens that bond with God should be appreciated, not threatened.
Yoga is a form of meditation and to build internal and external strength. It is not the teaching of religion – how many yoga classes do you know that speak of the meaning of Brahman, or quote the Bhagavad Gita during their exercises? I understand the forbidding of chanting “Om.” But to place a fatwa on the entire practice yoga? Honestly, if you’re swayed simply by a couple of “Oms” you were never really a true Muslim to begin with anyway.
If one spends as much time and energy trying to learn what a religion exhorts one to do, instead of nitpicking what it prohibits one from doing, one would become far more rounded a human being.
Islam asks one to give alms to the poor, to lead a simple and pious life, and to support the weak.
Islam asks one to believe in the fundamental unity of humanity, and the fundamental unity of divinity.
What makes one think that the divinity “Brahman” that one tries to understand via the Yoga is different from the “Allah” of Islam ?
It is myopic thinking (and paranoia) to the extreme to ban Yoga.
@ Kalsoom,
thanks for ruining my deliberate wit, discretely nitted
around sexy back.
@ Ayatullah Sameer,
sorry, you have a very “dry” opinion about treasures.
@ Maria S,
oh ! you are already back, how were Lahories ?
want to know about a lot there,
I know many muslims practicing yoga, but you don’t have
to pronounce religious chantings, after all yoga was
hinduised, why not Islamise yoga !! the Eurpeans have
Christianised so many muslim arabs practices, they even
fraudulantly changed the muslim Scientists and inventor’s
names !
Ibn-e- Rushd = Avorreos (ugly)
Bou-Ali Sina = Avesane etc etc.
As a muslim I have no priest or Mullah dictating me,
In islam, thank God, there is no priest-dom or clergy
in Islam (sunnis)
Fatwah is not allowed to be used for such nonsenses.
I think we had a discussion on Fatwas some times go.
Namaskar or Namaste means, how is your God ? or
greetings to your God,
( as if saying, say hello to your mother-in-law),
I always replied, don’t know, have’nt seen him today,
some Hindu acquaintences looked at me with some signs
on their faces, my Indian “secular” girl friend laughed her
head off.
@ vakibs,
Brahma, nothing to do with Allah,
Brahmanism is simply takeover of hindusim by priests
came from somewhere else not Hindus.
They say its Ishwar which is the equivalent of Allah,
@Rafay,
Your interpretation of Namaskar/Namaste or definition of Brahma and confusing it with Brahmin is wrong. Visit below link for what is meant by Brahman, omnipotent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman
Namaste or Namaskar means “I bow to the divinity within you” . As per hindu philosophy, God is everywhere and in every object and in every person. This god is nothing but the Brahman. All other gods we worship are different manifestations of same Brahman. This is what you call it “Allah”. Ishwar is another name of “Brahman”.
Brahmin is one who knows or understands brahman. Brahmins coming from somewhere and taking over hinduism is pure imagination.
BTW, Ravan after his death goes to Vaikunt (abode of Vishnu/Rama). Do you know the reason? While hating Rama, he keeps thinking about Rama and his characteristics and comes up with ways to defeat his strengths. Do not get surprized if you land up in a Christian Heaven or Judaims Gehenom or Hindu Swarg on judgement day. Not sure if there is a secular heaven.
Ravi,
Thanks for the explanation. Ishwar is not exactly the same as Brahman.
As per the Upanishads, Brahman cannot be understood in all His entirety by any human being. Each individual has a projection of Brahman that he tries to understand and worship. This projection is called Ishwar.
Whatever knowledge that one might possess about Brahman, it is always a drop in the ocean.
Islamic philosophy does not make a distinction between Ishwar and Brahman. So it is not clear whether Allah should be called Ishwar or Brahman.
It probably depends on whether one is mentioning Allah in the context of worship (Ishwar), or in the context of the united spirit of the universe (Brahman)
Rafay,
Grow up !
@Ravi
@vakibs
do you both believe in these bullshits of legendary
racist mythologies invented by the story tellers,
exploited and established by aryans, forcing, castes &
Lingham on the poors, removing Chakras wheel.
You dare to utter Hindusim a religion ?? or anything
other than village fantacies, with 3 millions of dieties,
the kali accepting the bali of human sacrifice.
What is Brahma, if its not fraud and falshood created.
My ancestors were Kashmiri Brahman Pandits from
Srinagar and AnantNag from both parents,
till early 18th century, your comments with terms &
definitions make me laugh. You can not fool entire world
with such stories, come on chaps, talk sense.
Hinduism and Brahmanis can be 120 times multiplied to
Greek mythology and polytheism nonsense.
Rafay,
Hate will not take you anywhere.
Hinduism, unlike Islam, makes no obligation on its followers. Every person is on his/her own journey towards salvation, and it is purely up to them whether they climb up or fall down in this journey.
So it is natural that Hinduism encourages diversity and everybody can do whatever they feel like. Nobody (except God) is expected to have any judgement on the doings of others.
What I have said regarding Brahman or Ishwar is the most basic philosophy of Hinduism. Your very own ancestors would have believed in the same. It is written in the most ancient books known to mankind – the Vedas and the Upanishads. Try reading them with an open mind. I don’t think they are in conflict with the Quran at all.
@Rafay,
Your true colors are revealed, living in paradise on earth where free speech or free thought is more prevailed then in our part of the world, when advocating violence, destruction and paving path for stone age in subcontinent. It is made more clearer now when cleverly trying to cover up your ancestors fear for sward and/or lust for extra fun.
Think logically why Islam is more prevailed on the north than in south. Think wherever it prevailed even today, how the generations are still submissive with no contributions to progress of human race. If not just prove me wrong.
Yes. Hinduism is not a mere religion. It is way of life. Tell me the place on earth where there is no segregation based on something or the other. That is natural process. How rigid it is depends on the collective intelligence of the masses. When it is rigid, strong is winning and when it is becoming flexible, still strong is winning.
Regarding 3 million gods, the concept itself is looking for god in everything. 3 million is still small number. This takes people towards creation and preservation. When it is other way, it takes you towards destruction. This is the simple concept your Taliban brothers use to destruct anything and everything in the name of Islam.
Regarding tantric rituals (bali of humans etc), may have existed in some practices of hinduism. When Hinduism is a way of life, all these abnormalities are absorbed as is and corrections happen in due course.
I pity your inability to understand Brahman, even with lineage with hinduism in your blood. I am sure, while doing namaz, your thoughts are more towards how hard you hit the floor so that mark on the forehead is more stronger than yesterday, how well you gyrated your head in different directions, in what perfect angle you are able to do the exercise. No marks for these dumb actions.
@ Vakibs
finally I discovered that you ended up as proselytes,
with your own rubbish classifiactions and self veneration
of your ” religion ” deviating maximum to exploite the
classes, for that you needed some vocabulary.
@ Ravi,
I am ashamed of my ancestors being Pundits living
fraudulantly dominating low castes and everybody.
They were considered :
As God incarnated on earth,
they never sat with all, everybody sat down on the floor
when they walked, nobody was allowed to touch or
derange their shadow,
upon touching others, they took 18 times shower or bathe
themselves to re-purify,
and hundreds of other inhuman and cruel theories,
perpetrating murders of millions of untouchables, shouders
mochis, chammars, all the neech jat,
as a religeous recommanded and ordered rituals
and this continue for
the last 3000 years, eliminating genociding achoots.
Brahmans had to re-shuffle hinduism, confiscated all
the old theories and introduced new dogmas and
methods to dominate others.
Rituals, drama, theatre, natak, imagination, devemala
Active and non active jobless Gods, retired, married,
divorced, concubinage, mistresses, offering herself to
God in Temples, where the F****ng Prohats is the
major “beneficiery”, sexual satisfaction of Prohat is
what you temples are for, this is the Brahma.
Don’t discuss these bullshits and Nazi theories with me.
I could see you both have corrupt and perverse info
about Islam, as usual, fabricated by your doctrine mongers
Hinduvta Prohats, and Chanakyas !!
How nice to be a muslim, we are glad to come out of
sheer darkness, obscurity, and perversity, and opted for
” EQUALITY, JUSTICE FOR ALL, SELF RESPECT,
SOUL RESPONSIBILITY ONE TO ONE, BEFORE
ONE CREATOR, NOT 3 MILLIONS, JUDGED BY ONE
VERY VERY CLEMENT CREATOR, HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
IS ENTIRELY ACCOUNTABLE TO HUMANITY, OUR
CREATOR WILL NOT PARDON YOU, IF YOUR FELLOW
HUMAN DOES NOT PARDON YOU.
IF I AM NOT VERY RELIGEOUS OR AM NON-PRACTICING
AND DO REBEL, IT IS PURELY BETWEEN MY AND MY
CREATOR, ALLAH, NOT ANY DAMFOOL OF PROHAT,
BRAHMAN, 3 MILLIONS OF GODs OR ANY POPE,
RABBI OR MULLAH.
BEING MUSLIM DOES NOT DEPEND ON CLERGY,
MANDIR, SYNAGOGE, MOSQUE OR PAGODA.
ciao
Rafay,
Hate will not take you anywhere. Also, try using good grammar when you write.
@Rafay,
You need not be ashamed of your ancestors and need not display your crocodile tears. There is an opportunity to serve dalits of Pakistan for the mistakes done by your forefathers. Here is the context and take the lead from here and report on your progress:
http://www.dawn.com/2009/01/29/letted.htm#7
Just note, they are not cowards like you and not looking to convert themselves to get their basic rights or run away from the country. They are intending to improve themselves from where they are, as they are. Lend these “brave hearts” an help hand if you are serious. Actions speak louder.
@ Vakibs
@ Ravi
look who is giving lessons of anti hate love, ha ha ha ha
grammar to hide Brahman Chanakyas ambitions of
annihilation of neighbours ?
Dawn is the biggest trash of karachi, the archives
dated back to partitions, the nonsense like untouchables
do not exist in Pakistan. Pakistan inherited the bulk of
despicable culturel deficiencies and social maladies from
India. we still have some traces, alas.
@Rafay,
You are a bigger escapist and a loser than what you perceive. Any religion is based on some practices which are good for that time and it would not be relevant with time. Acknowledging and correcting is the evolution. Hinduism is master in it. When opportunity presented to you/your blood kin, you are escaped from your moral duty. Before somebody calling you “CHOR”, you changed colors and started calling everybody “CHOR”.
You yell at high pitch about what others are doing to Pakistan/Islam. But when opportunity is given to you to serve for that land, you escape to Europe comfortably. Another loser characteristic.
When presented with evidence of difficulties faced out by Dalits of Pakistan which have been voiced not even 3-4 days ago, you would archive it in your mind. Height of escapism.
By getting away from India, you did a great favor to India. By being away, you are continuing to do a great favor to Pakistan. We call people like you “Dharti ka Bhoj”. Keep up the good work!!
@ ravi,
again, you repeat and repeat, and instead of
answering my serious critics, you start teaching
civics and light sociology, by living somewhere is
not conditional and attached with justification of
your morality which is nothing but hypocrisy and
cunning games, a verbal charlatanism.
Thank Almighty, I am not an Indian, first of all
I can not imagine living or breathing in a country
where you can be burned alive or watch others
hacked, raped, burned, lynched while living under
permanent menace, where your neighbours of
120 years attacked your home hacked your family
with Kirpans in the name of Rama and Akali Dal.
Dharti ka bhoj, Well, you have already, 1.2 bils Indians
on the planet, my 78 kgs can not fire a nuke.
Dharti ka bojh is eternal, but killing all minorities and
let them bleed on Dharti is lot more worst than ” Bhoj “.
remember this, the rest has no significance.
“However, the yoga fatwa is ludicrous because it’s so trivial, and because it could ultimately undermine the credibility of these councils.
the whole article is based on digustingness towards religion.
in order to put a question mark on every thing which is the source of check and balance in the islam. like ulema
may i ask what are your credentials to ask the credibility of these councils.do you have any degree in islamic studies?
the solution suggested by deobandi alim seems good but in islam there are always people who see beyond good and innocent looking picture with sincerity and taqwa.
it seems the motive for this fitwa is to protect the muslim masses from being in love with for hindu mythology.
if you can not obey the authority… fine. do what ever suit to you but please do not behave like “all knower”
Dr. Jawwad Khan-
Will all due respect sir, the article didn’t portray a disgust towards RELIGION, in fact, I consider myself a very spiritual person, but it questioned the nature of a decision made by TWO councils, in Malaysia and Indonesia. Personally, I don’t think I need credibility other than being an educated Muslim, but luckily, for your sake, I did do a degree in Middle East/Islamic studies at university. Regardless, a blog is to state an opinion, and my opinion is that a fatwa over something as harmless as yoga is questionable and worthy of debate. You are entitled to yours and that’s what this forum is for – I state my opinion, you agree or disagree or we agree to disagree and therefore a forum is created.
For me the beauty of Islam at its foundation is that it’s about one’s personal relationship with God – while the ulema is there to guide people on the right path in that relationship, I feel like decisions like these are more political than really religious in nature. But again, that’s my opinion. I am sorry you don’t agree, but don’t think I am an “all-knower” just because I probed discourse.
@ Dr. Jawwadkhan,
I appriciate your straight and undeniable
critic on the above article. Time to time,
some changes are agreeable.