ok, now i'm writing this piece as a complete ignorant and i sincerely want any people reading this to enlighten me on the subject. i wish anybody responding to this to respond in a polite manner because i don't want to stir a havoc or anything. i just want the thing to be clear so that all of us can be happy :)
now there is this issue of yoga being considered as 'haram'/unlawful in islam. the professor who said this did so because the practice itself is deeply connected with hinduism and its beliefs. the islamic scholars a.k.a ulamas are currently discussing this thing in the National Fatwa Council. we all know that the muslims [including me] are very particular in our faith.
if you go and read about the issue in malaysia-today, you can find many people lambasting and ridiculing the National Fatwa Council for its attempt to clarify the faith issue in yoga. the common people commenting over there really gets on muslims' nerves. they claim to know much about the islamic rulings, being sarcastic about the legality of 'belly-dancing' in arab countries, proclaiming themselves as being ulamas and even to the extent of issuing a fatwa of their own.
now, these kinds of people are doing nothing to promote understanding inter-religious and inter-racial harmony in malaysia. calling others names won't help and they should know better.
coming back to the issue of faith, my martial-arts brother Nadzrin once told me this. each martial-art which originated from a particular culture is deeply entrenched in its regional religion and philosophy. all of them i.e. karate, judo, muay thai, taekwondo, kungfu and silat not excluded. this is because the art is developed through the ages and the old-masters incorporated philosphy in the martial-art to attain inner peace and ritual aspects play a vital role in spreading the arts. [bro Nadzrin, correct me on this if i'm wrong]
even silat, which is a malay art and includes rituals involving recitation of quranic verses, has to adhere to the guidelines made by JAKIM. this is to ensure the purity of islam is not tarnished. in some schools of silat, the islamic rituals is not even present and is practiced widely by non-malays and non-muslims. you can observe this in indonesian silat organisations and european silat clubs.
the question now, can the same be done to yoga, a form of exercise originated from the little continent of india?
should ulamas interfere in yoga practice? should not this issue be clarified by the hindu religious authorities? what is the limit of jurisdiction for the ulamas and hindu priests?
can yoga practice be secularized so that everyone can practice?
i have my own opinion but i want to hear other peoples opinions first. do leave your responses.
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