KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia's top Islamic body on Saturday ruled against Muslims practicing yoga, saying it had elements of other religions that could corrupt Muslims. The National Fatwa Council's non-binding edict said yoga involves not just physical exercise but also includes Hindu spiritual elements, chanting and worship.... "It is inappropriate. It can destroy the faith of a Muslim," Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin told reporters. He noted that clerics in Egypt issued a similar edict in 2004 that called the practice of yoga "an aberration.".... Though the council's decisions are not legally binding on Malaysia's Muslim population, many abide by the edicts out of deference, and the council does have the authority to ostracize an offending Muslim from society.
Sometimes, when I begin to think that maybe, just maybe, that those who undertake a life of faith might actually be serious about following the teaching of their religion...something like this comes along, and I'm jarred back to reality.
What I'd really like is for someone to tell me what practicing yoga has to do with ANYTHING Islamic. Yoga, which has been practiced for thousands of years and often for it's spiritual component, is apparently now the latest roadblock between a faithful Muslim and their 72 virgins...or 36 PlayStations...or whatever it is they win if they make it to their version of Heaven. Yoga is not a religion, but apparent the idea of relaxation and getting in touch with oneself is anathema to those who make the rules for Muslims.
What is it about Islam that lends itself to ignorant, hateful morons who somehow rise to positions of authority and then proceed to (&^% things up for everyone? I understand that there is likely something in the Koran that can be twisted to support the ban on yoga, and I'll admit that I'm not exactly a student of the Koran (though I'm not completely ignorant of it's teachings). Nonetheless, this ban makes about as much sense as Christian sects such as the Nazarenes forbidding dancing for it's alleged licentiousness and lasciviousness. Isn't something really a threat to your faith if you give in to your fear and ignorance? If your faith is that fragile, you've got other issues you might want to give some thought to addressing.
This would be yet another reason to justify my antipathy toward organized religion. It's not the idea of religion I have a problem with...it's with the maroons who used the tenets of religion to enforce their own ignorance and petty prejudices, essentially giving them the force of law. This all has absolutely nothing to do with practice of religion, and/or adherence to the teachings of said religion. It's really all about power and control, and not at all about the religion.
Same as it ever was....
What would Jesus (or Mohammed, in this case) do? Somehow, methinks he'd be kicking some serious tail...and then he'd grab a yoga mat.
