From Reuter's Life! (29 October 2008)
KUALA LUMPUR - Not content with banning women from wearing trousers, Malaysia's top Islamic council now wants a ban on yoga, according to a report on state news agency Bernama.
The National Fatwa Council's Deputy Director-General Othman Mustapha told reporters after a seminar on Islamic jurisprudence on Thursday that the announcement would be made soon.
Professor Zakaria Stapa of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Islamic Studies Centre told the seminar on Wednesday that Muslims who had taken up yoga should stop practising as it could damage their faith, Bernama said.
Last week the Fatwa Council decreed that tomboyish behaviour by girls, including wearing trousers, was immoral as it may lead to the practise of lesbian sex. Gay sex is prohibited in this country of 27 million people where over half of the population is Muslim.
_____________________________________________________________
Fatwa on yoga out soon
From The Star (29 October 2008)
PENANG: The National Fatwa Council will come out with a ruling relating to yoga exercise soon. The announcement would be made by the council’s chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin, said Deputy Director-General (Operations) of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) Othman Mustapha. He told reporters this Wednesday after opening the two-day seminar on Islamic Jurisprudence and Eternal Islamic Thinking at Universiti Sains Malaysia jointly organised by the Islamic Studies Division of the university’s Human Knowledge Study Centre and Jakim here.
On Tuesday, lecturer Prof Zakaria Stapa of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Islamic Studies Centre advised Muslims who have taken up yoga to stop practising it for fear that it could deviate their belief. - Bernama
________________________________________________________________
Senaman didakwa boleh memesong akidah umat Islam
From Berita Harian (30 Oktober 2008)
GEORGETOWN: Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan sudah membuat keputusan berhubung senaman yoga yang dipercayai boleh memesongkan akidah umat Islam jika mengamalkan senaman itu.
Timbalan Ketua Pengarah (Operasi) Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim), Othman Mustapha, berkata keputusan berkenaan dijangka diumumkan dalam masa terdekat.
Difahamkan, isu mengenai amalan yoga dibincangkan pada mesyuarat Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan di Kota Bharu, Kelantan, baru-baru ini. Bagaimanapun, beliau enggan mengulas lanjut berhubung keputusan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan itu.
"Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan sudah ada keputusan mengenai perkara itu dan pengumuan akan dibuat," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Seminar Fiqh dan Pemikiran Islam Lestari di Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) di sini, semalam. Beliau diminta mengulas kenyataan Pensyarah Fakulti Pengajian Islam Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Zakaria Stapa, menasihati orang Islam yang mengamalkan senaman itu supaya menghentikannya.
Yoga, sejenis senaman harian yang kebanyakan pergerakannya berdasarkan unsur dalam agama Hindu, dipercayai boleh memesongkan akidah umat Islam jika mengamalkannya. "Yoga yang berasal daripada masyarakat Hindu, menggabungkan unsur keagamaan dan penyembuhan jiwa. Mereka mengamalkan yoga kerana percaya boleh menyatukan mereka dengan tuhan," kata Prof Zakaria.
Yoga, amalan kesihatan yang diperkenalkan sekitar 3,300 Sebelum Masihi, dikatakan dapat membantu melambatkan proses penuaan, mengurangkan risiko diabetes, darah tinggi, lelah dan penyakit berkaitan jantung. Sementara itu, Mufti Johor, Datuk Nooh Gadut berkata senaman yoga perlu diharamkan kerana bercanggah dengan akidah, syariat serta akhlak Islam dan wajib ditinggalkan oleh individu yang sudah mengamalkannya serta segera bertaubat kepada Allah kerana sudah melakukan perkara yang salah di sisi Islam.
"Bukan saja pengamal yoga, malah pengusaha pusat kecergasan yang beragama Islam juga perlu menghentikan perkhidmatan senaman ini kerana ia bercanggah dengan Islam dan boleh memesongkan akidah. "Keputusan mengharamkan senaman ini juga tidak perlu dipertikaikan lagi kerana ia bertujuan menjaga kesucian agama dan akidah umat Islam," katanya ketika dihubungi Berita Harian di sini, semalam. Nooh berkata, badan bukan kerajaan (NGO), pihak swasta dan kerajaan dinasihatkan supaya merujuk kepada pihak berkuasa agama lebih awal jika ingin menganjurkan acara menyerupai.
________________________________________________________________
Yoga-ta be kidding me.
48 comments:
oooouuuhhhh..i cant wait to see how people react on that one.
yoga itu haram? sounds funny..
i didn't know that.since when?
Masya Allah. Haram ke? I don't think so. I buat Tai Chi and I buat Yoga. Does that make me a murtad? Seriously, no. Lagi sihat ada la. I don't think I invoke any Hinduism or Buddhism whenever I do yoga or tai-chi, just deep breathing, and one of the most amazing restful feeling afterwards. I feel more thankful, more spiritual, and nearer to Allah. Since the exercises encourages you to be 'connected' to your body, I feel grateful for the air that I breathe, my working parts. I become more appreciative of God's creation - the breeze in the trees, the beautiful sunshine, the delight in my steps; and I am evermore grateful to Allah for eyes that can see and appreciate the majestic and miraculous beauty of my daily existence. So, itu salah ke? Wallahua'lam. Hanya Tuhan tahu what is inside everybody's heart.
haha ninie...cool pic...knew ud be pissed when i read citykoos punya blog about this yoga thingy...
I think we better focus on improving our infrastructure, our libraries, our school systems... a lot to improve. Malaysia nak jadi negara maju in 2020 (are we still on for that?), but the other day I saw kids masih buang sampah tepi jalan (then I saw that the mak bapak pun buat perkara sama, so camana nak jadi teladan camni), we have lots of bangunan tinggi, megah, but our power-out makin kerap; kita bangga dgn shopping kompleks besar2, terbesar di Asia Tenggara la, tapi sometimes air paip pun kat rumah pun takde. Furthermore, kita masih tak boleh minum air terus dari paip, air masih tak bersih, sometimes keruh lak tu.
Sampai bila Malaysia nak jadi camni?
That's right-- give those guys a piece of your mind!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoU6PcDvGDGB638IPpnS7_AjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20080215173752AAjcbzX
damn good answer. very objective. use it sister.
hi ninie,
apa khabar?harap u sihat la ok..
secara jujur i tak pernah baca blog u sebelum i tengok awek i baca blog u..
selepas dia explain baru la i tau pada masa tu i tak ambil pot sangat la..
but the first thing bila i tengok blog sesiapun i tengok dia punya URL..
seriously i tak minat blog2 macam ni..i cuma minat blog yang cerita tentang isu2 semasa je..
then bila i balik rumah i trial and error buka blog u..
then berjaya..
i cuba baca siapakah NINIE ni..
then i tahu u seorang yang berjaya dengan bakat dan kebolehan yang u ada..
itu sangat membanggakan..jarang wanita semuda u ada seperti yang u ada..
walaupun u datang dari family background yang berada u tetap nak membina empayar u dengan kebolehan dan bakat yang u ada..
i rasa la..
kalau salah jangan marah..
i respect u ninie..
then bila i balik lunch..i singgah kedai untuk beli rokok i ternampak satu artikel "Yoga Itu Haram"..i tak sempat la nak baca sebab i nak cepat..then dalam hati i berkata mesti ninie mengamuk ni..
bila balik rumah bila i i pun menjalani kehidupan seperti biasa dan bila i nak shutdown computer i teringat nak buka blog u..
bila i buka i dah agak u mesti mengamuk punya..
disini sebagai orang yang respect kat u..i nak bagi tahu u sebagai wanita professional tak elok la attached gambar ni kat blog u..i tahu u tak puas hati..jangan tangani dengan emosi..u are professional ninie..nanti orang hilang rasa hormat kat u..i tahu u memang marah..u ada proper channel dan selesaikan secara professional..
i minta maaf kalau ada salah dan silap dengan tulisan i ni..
adios..
salam...
i think what they meant when they say it is "haram" or prohibited is when u take that particular activity(yoga or whatever) as the way of life; putting aside islamic values that actually should be the main concern for Muslims.
its just that, u have to be very wise. it is not completely false that yoga is not haram; some of the teachings in yoga opposed teachings in Islam.
well, u just have to make wise judgment on this issue.. maybe u can give explanation on how yoga should be practised for Muslims. its a good way rather than just let them say yoga is "haram" since it has benefits.
=)
jazakallahu khair sis..
Okay. I was running just now on my treadmill. After that I stretched, then I realised, eh, I stretch buat forward bend, ni mcm yoga nih. I buat another stretch - side bend. Oops, mcm yoga move gak. But bende ni dah kena ajar waktu Pendidikan Jasmani lagi. All this stretching. Some of them dah assimilated in our stretching regime. Then comes a yoga teacher, buat perkara sama, but now it is yoga, not sekadar stretching je. My point is this - at what point simple stretching jadi yoga, and now since you buat stretching tetiba takleh buat dah because berunsur yoga, and 'yoga itu haram'. Semuanya bergantung kepada niat. All this time I buat yoga tak pernah pun terpikir dewa Siva or Krishna, or epic Ramayana, Mahabrata. Tak pernah. It is taught at gyms as part of exercise - mcm aerobik, kickboxing etc, takde pun berunsur keagamaan. IT IS JUST EXERCISE. After that, I pegi sembahyang Maghrib. Kalau nak take issue sesangat, patut letak "MENYANYI ITU HARAM", and disallow the likes of Siti Nurhaliza to sing.
IT IS JUST EXERCISE, people. Just a form of exercise. Just like Kungfu, Shaolin, Karate...kalau ikut betul, most of the martial arts tu monks yg buat.
Tuhan lebih Memahami, you know.
With reference to the title of this entry, I quote Marina Mahathir from her blog because she conveyed it well :
"I'm just waiting for the National Fatwa Council to come out with fatwas against corruption, violence against women, cheating etc. Instead they have these.
Do they know anything about yoga or is this a classic case of reacting out of fear and ignorance? Yoga may have spiritual roots but most of us do it for the exercise, both for the mind and body. It helps you to focus and in fact helps you to focus when you do your prayers.
If prayers are the only thing you need to be healthy, why are there so many unhealthy Muslims? Is this an indication that they don't pray? If all you need do is pray, why do sports or eat healthily?
If they have ever found any Muslim who has converted out solely because of yoga, they should produce evidence instead of speculating on the 'weakness' of our faith...
I know, I know...someone is going to tell me to shut up because apparently I don't know my religion. Well, that is a matter of opinion. The Islam that I believe in is just and fair, is compassionate, loving and peaceful. Someone tell me that's the wrong Islam."
Well said. Well said indeed.
hi babe,
I have been a silent reader all this while and this is my first time dropping a comment.
I honestly think this is diversion, you know how most politicians are doing crap anyway. something like how the PAS people kept on talking about women and howw they should act to cover the fact that they are doing nada. oh well.. cool picture.. me likey.
Out of curiosity, if yoga is fatwa-ed to be haram, will the Msian community care? I mean, I thought smoking was fatwa-ed as haram as well, but semua orang masih merokok gak. Just a garu-kepala thought.
ala takyah tunggu fatwa yg yoga tu haram. tgk cik ninie yg buat yoga dengan baju yg dh nk separuh bogel tu pon dh haram
ape yg ko marah sgt yoga tu haram. kan selama ni pon ko byk buat mende haram, takde hal pon.
Hi. I'm one of your avid reader, hence I truly understand how pissed u are at the 'yoga is haram' issue, but please refrain from showing that rude sign esp. when we all know who that sign is directed to. Majlis Fatwa might make a very unpopular decision, but I believe they have basis on the decision that they made. If u feel that their decision is wrong, the best thing you can do is to have a diolog with them. U and other muslim yoga practitioner vs them. U can then give them factual info about yoga as u know it and thrash out all ur concerns etc, and see what transpires. Who knows they might take back their decision. But please, once again, have some respect for the Majlis Fatwa. What they did is only for the best interest of Islam after all, and as muslims, I think we need to at least applaud that.
p/s: I'm not agreeing with them just yet, need to see the arguement from both side.
huhuhuhu i was shocked to see the news statement terus teringat kat u! what the hell i dont know.dont kaitkan isu yoga with religion can a?
walaupun i dont do yoga i jog its just an activity do by people. owh ya some people do it for religion to.btw wtf
Yea.. shove it to em where it hurts most!!
malaysia (semua tak) boleh, they really have a lot of time to waste but too shallow a mind to have helped make malaysians look stupid(er) and ever so shallow.
indeed!
dari semalam memang tunggu your POV tentang ni. yatt & I discussed this via YM yesterday and concluded that these people memang takde kerja! tak faham aku!
cool pic, babe!
Isy, berlambak lagi keje lain yang terbengkalai diorang tak jenguk pun. I think this is just one way of diverting the urban Muslim's attention. I hope the Majlis Fatwa will come out with a clear and rational guideline on this.
sis, since you're a very smart girl, I have no qualms you'll be nailing this issue in no time.
Love you and see you tonight!
Kisses,
*your neighbour di depan rumah (walaupun a few blocks away jugak)
I heard the news and thought, "The Yoga Instructor sure mengamuk punya nie..."
It turns out, yeay! I betul. Hee hee!
But then, semua dah besar, pandai2 la pikir yang mana syirik yang mana elok untuk kesihatan..
Go Yoga! I support Yoga and Ninie.
Btw,
Where do you work now, I kinda want to learn yoga dengan you. :)
tak payah nak argue2 la..tgk la instructor berpakaian macam mana.sekali tgk pun dah tau...haram mendedahkan aurat..that's all..tu baru je pemakaian..cheers! Jangan melatah orite...
I've completed my 1st level yoga instructor course & will be pursuing the next level soon.
This statement really makes people like me more confused than ever...
ntah aper2 ntah lah kan...byk lagi bende lain nak pk..naperlah kita yg beryoga nie dijadikan tmpt melepaskan masalah..nilah bila semua org nak tunkuk "pandai" n "caring" kengkonon..pleaseee lah weyyy...huhuhu...
me love yoga ok...
kalau tak nak dengar cakap mufti cakap alim ulamak..
siapa lagi lah yg kita nak dengar yerk
So much social illness in our country but they choose to look into healthy practices? Makes me wonder whose got the wrong practice in this situation.
"Mereka mengamalkan yoga kerana percaya boleh menyatukan mereka dengan tuhan,"
Oh puhleeeez!!! It doesn't mean I want to BE God!!
Benda-benda (bodoh) macam ni yang make me want to leave & migrate.
Why don't they go catch all those people yang merokok since cigarettes & smoking dah diharamkan!! (Another BRILLIANT fatwa)
leila 3stripes,
When arwah Datuk Ishak Baharum, the former Mufti of Selangor quoted in newspapers about the banning of cigarettes, he was merely giving a suggestion. It WASN'T a fatwa.
You need to understand how fatwa works ie the fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie by the great Ayatollah Khomeni. The West thought it was the most stupid fatwa. Killing a human being, which is a sin in Islam. But people in the Muslim world agreed with the fatwa based on what Rushdie wrote in Satanic verse. The former Mufti also suggested to the fatwa committee between 1996 to year 2000, on the banning of bersanding, saying it was haram but was not agreed by the committee (especially the minister in prime minister department Datuk Abdul Hamid Othman). Look, this is the problem among you people, you are not open. You panic easily. Treat it as a suggestion. It is okay to disagree but do not start a war.
Nevertheless, a suggestion if it comes from a mufti ie Jom Heboh is haram by Perak Mufti Harunsani.
I've been looking high and low for this one word that explained it all... these outrageous claims and so called fatwa (by the way, fatwa is man made, I can wear the most labuh tudung I could find and say some crap, stupid people will still believe me)
Oh back to the one word...
Bangang.
Yes. That's it! :)
Do what you think is right, Ninie. People are always judgemental, no matter what you do... or don't!
Ninie,
Im ur silent readers. Im with you. Dont bother what they want to say as long we know where we stand...
Love Yoga, love u.
Ada seorg Pak Haji ni, my collegue, join the yoga class with us, there are only 2 guys in that group. One day, just before raya, Pak Haji came up to me and told me how wonderful yoga was to him n his life. Pak Haji had a bypass operation a year ago. He run and avoid roti canai but still kena bypass. Anyway Pak Haji told me that after few session of yoga he can PERFORM HIS SOLAT BETTER, there's no more sengal2 tulang lutut & sendi kaki, nor sakit belakang. And most importantly he can perform his responsibility towards his wife way better than it was before. 2-2 pun tuntutan agama kan? If yoga helps you become a better Muslim, WHY NOT?
Did i miss anything here? Isn't it said that “If it involves any faith or religious elements, it is definitely not permissible but if it is just a form of exercise that is all right.”
So what's the fuzz? If you know that you just doing and exercise and It has nothing to do with any of the six Hindu principle of Yoga at all, then carry on.
This is not an issue. Be rational. be calm & don't emotional. Didn't Yoga teach you guys to be calm? :)
By the way, majlis fatwa is made up of humans, therefore they cannot make God laws especially this!!! It is so freakin ridiculous. To ban yoga because they THINK that it weakens a Muslim's faith is so BOOLSHEET. They really need to have a life, and don't just sit there on their asses and think about what they can do next to make Malaysia more backward than it already is.
Lately I feel like eating muruku. Lately I love roti canai soo much. Lately suddenly I feel like celebrating Deepavali. OMG! I even wore a punjabi suit. Oh, die, I must stop yoga now!
p/s: This is seriously nonsense. Now they know which finger is longer.
Ugh, yoga banned??? Please lah. Anyone practising yoga knows it has nothing to do with religion. There's a difference between spirit and faith and I for one know that yoga has a positive affect on one's spirit, one's outlook on life, which in turn gives yourself a better understanding of YOUR own faith. It doesn't mean once we practise we'd automatically want to go Hindu or Buddhist. Close-minded people just don't get it. Maybe they should just try a few breathing exercise so it'll broaden their mind. sigh~~
Hi Ninie,
I have been a silent reader for so long & honestly you really inspired me. I hold to your affirmation..impossible is nothing =)
Anyways, I had my own personal experience on this. I was sent (forced =)) to attend an islamic boarding school in which I joined the karate team. By virtue, we were supposed to bow (as low as our rukuk in our solat) to the instructor which symbolized the japanesse belief in praying to the sun which will be totally wrong. However, for us muslim, niat is always important. We wanted to learn self-defense & as a form of exercise too. So, when we were required to bow, we only nod our head as to pay respect to the chinesse instructor & she sincerely understood. The bottom line is it is all in our niat & only the Almighty knows as we are no one to judge.
I heart Ninie the Yoga Instructor =)
I laughed out loud when I read this, and of course, I HAD to blog about it too.
Perhaps the council believes that there are many people out there who have extremely LOW faith in their religion, so it freaked them out. They decided to be the voice of reason. LOL.
But, as far as jokes go, why not go the full length, have a fatwa for everything, outdoor clothing, indoor clothing, cinemas, rempits...the full works.
Pathetic.
HAHAHAHHA....Malaysia is getting better at this crap man...seriously!!! I have been in this fitness and yoga industry for ages.. i have not seen any of the yoga instructor actually trying to influence anyone at all..except for the fact that telling them(members) to be healthy and do yoga posture the right way.
And hell ya...they deserve that middle finger pose :)
Semua nyer tak boleh kat Msia...concert Beyonce,Gwen Stefanie,Avril Lavigne,PCD...and now YOGA!!!For god sake...i feel so embarrased wth all this bullshit!We are no longer living in an isolated trapped world out of nowhere..it seems Msia is still way far backwards when it comes to thinking.Be more open we are living in year 2008 soon 2009.But everything is forbidden in Msia...that is why our younger generation seems to prefer being abroad coz they really get to enjoy the freedom of life.Stop this double moral!!Its ashame when foreigners start doubting about the way of you narrow minded people thinking abt YOGA...We live in a multicultural surrounding,modern infrastructure and we are even in the eyes of other countries around the world but still backwards in other ways.Such a shame!!!
hey ninie,
im one of your yoga student and you're a GREAT teacher.
Im in full support for you and no one can stop something so beneficial especially to our health and mind. Yoga is universal.
Keep doing what you're really good at. ;)
Cheers
jen
You're not alone. We're behind you. :)
kalau begitu, gimnastik,gimrama,aquatik itu semua sekali haramlah ... bodoh !!!
i support u ninie ^^
hahaha... yoga haram..?? whahahahahahahaha!!!
*falls off chair*
*ahem*
ok.. seriously... yoga haram? got nothing better to do ah? if yoga haram might as well ban other sports activities too... i think other sports got more reason to be banned. BAN ALL SPORTS! let us all just just at home n pray only... no matter what is ur religion. just sit all day.. no need exercise or work out or anything. lagi bagus.
ninie, i'll be supporting you! cheers!
they are insane to ban yoga man!
why not they just focus more on how to build our economic?
stupid government
Dear Ninie, I stumbled upon your letter in the Star, and was very impressed with your logical arguments. I was more than a bit shocked when I heard about the possible fatwa on yoga, and immediately discussed it with Muslim friends. I'm not a Muslim and daren't criticise the possible fatwa openly, as I might be called anti Muslim. For all that's said, not a single Muslim person I spoke to truly stands on the side of the Fatwa Council I laud you for speaking up. I practise yoga too, am NOT a Hindu and I know my limits, ie, I don't believe I get carried away that it goes against my religion. You go, girl!
Whats next?... Will speaking English become Haram as it is the language of the Christian Infidels?
kalo dh ckp haram ikut je la.yoga tu senaman org hindu buat apa nk ikut.kalo ko tu islam ko buat solat 5 waktu pn dh kira senaman kalo nk lebih buat solat tahajud.ahli2 fatwa bukan senang nak kuar kan fatwa,dorang pn study gak seblom kuarkan fatwa.ingat dorang tu tak belajar ker.dorang study kitab2 yg kita sendri tak paham.dorang ni bukan nya tok imam atau tok bilal tapi dorang ahli tertinggi dlm islam konpem ilmu agama dorang terlalu tinggi.apa guna jadi umat islam tp taknak ikut apa yg dorang ckp.
With this, I end my allowance of approving EVERY comment at this blog.
However you see it,
to me I was just conducting social experiment of how people love taking advantage of kindness and freedom of opinions.
I got my conclusion, alright
and I'm happy to end it here.
If there's any you need me to answer personally, drop them at ninie.ahmad@gmail.com. My apology in advance if I might take time in replying.
Peace, love and light,
The Yoga Instructor
Post a Comment