‘It will be a matter of time before a fatwa is issued to ban martial arts based on the same reasoning that they have religious connotations.'

On Fatwa Council under fire for banning yoga

JTB: Now that Muslims are officially banned from practising yoga, I can see a slew of other activities especially those concerning martial arts that will be banned to Muslims as they also may have religious connotations.

Shaolin martial art is the mother of all other Eastern martial arts, started by Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk.

Till today it is promoted by the Buddhist monks in China and the Shaolin Temple is world famous today because of its martial arts.

Certainly there are religious connotations in Shaolin martial arts like the Stance of the 18 Immortals and the Buddha's Palm. Get a Steven Chow movie like ‘Shaolin Soccer' or ‘Kung Fu Hustle' and you will know what I mean.

From the main source, different masters in different countries have evolved their own martial arts but the fact remains it is Buddhist in origin. In karate for instance, the Shorinyu school is actually a Shaolin school.

Looking at things, with the yoga fatwa now coming into force, I am truly sorry for all Muslim martial arts practitioners and fans and all the karate instructors in the police force.

It will be a matter of time before a fatwa is issued to ban martial arts based on the same reasoning that they have religious connotations.

To all Muslim karate national athletes, we hope you can represent the country for the 25th Sea Games in Laos before the ban.

A Muslim Malay Woman: I am shocked, aghast and dismayed at the fatwa on yoga and on the dressing of not-so-feminine clothes. What will they think of next? Seems to me these people have nothing better to do.

Their posts are redundant and they have to do something to attract attention. Unfortunately the attention they attract is very negative and further destroys the liberal image of Islam Hadhari which the prime minister has tried to portray.

I have been practicing yoga since I was young and have never become a ‘lesbian' or joined the Hindu religion as alleged.

What an insult to Muslims and particularly women. Insulting women and belittling them seems to be the main target of these men.

There are more important issues to focus and worry about such as the killing of innocent civilians, women and children under the false guise of jihad. Also, the killing of innocent women who have been raped.

Instead of punishing the rapists, the poor innocent victim is put to death for the ‘shame'. This is not Islamic.

Stop it now before it is too late. Jakim should be revamped and its funds could be put to better use to assist the poor and needy.

There are enough Muslim organisations already looking after Muslim interests without them messing it up and making more Muslims, particularly women, angrier. When the women march, there will be no stopping them!

Tom Tom: By getting the National Fatwa Council to issue a fatwa on yoga, religious extremists in Umno wants to outbid PAS to see which party is more Islamic in the eyes of Malays by once again exploiting the factor of religion in politics.

Clearly they cannot distinguish between a popular exercise which can prevent diseases like diabetes, and whatever links yoga may have with Hinduism.

As such, they have ended up being patronising and insulting the intelligence of Muslims, taking for granted that Muslims can lapse into chanting Hindu mantras while performing their yoga exercises.

How absurd and ridiculous!

And true to senselessly propagating the countless absurdities of Umno, the bodek mainstream media lied through its teeth that Singapore and Egypt recently issued fatwa to ban yoga!

On the contrary, Muslims in both countries have clearly shown that the practice of yoga is strictly exercise and has nothing to do with religion.

It is good that Muslims in PAS and PKR have come out to oppose this ridiculous fatwa which is nothing but Umno's extremely patronising attitude on Muslims without scant regard for their ability to judge things for themselves.

Ann Teoh: May I ask the National Fatwa Council to come out with two other fatwa to assist affected Muslims (and non-Muslims) in this country?

One is on money politics in Umno, and two, on the blatant corruption in both the private and public sectors.

Ganga: They don't have the knowledge to distinguish between the good and bad. Like the Malay saying, ambil yang jernih buang yang keruh .

It's that simple but some people cannot realise the benefits of a good practice for health.

Well, there so many other things in the other fields of life that come from the teachings of Hinduism. Like aura readings for the benefit of meditation and many more that come from Hinduism.

Eystan: Well, I guess all my Muslim friends could still settle for Pilates. All is not lost. It is still a good way to keep your health. But than again who is the founder?

In the late 50s, a history professor in the then University of Malaya in Singapore took a holiday at the east coast of Malaya.

Whilst there, he pondered on the state of the British navy and came up with Parkinson's Law to explain the ever increasing staff of the navy in spite of Britain's diminishing role in world affairs.

Simply stated, Parkinson's Law says that work expands to fill the time available. Now we see religious leaders with all the time in the world coming up with edicts such as designating yoga as haram .

It is not that the country is not crying out for edicts on something really useful such as money politics, judicial corruption, abuse of power and a million other things that bedevil the nation; but no, such useful injunctions will tread on the interests of those who employ them.

So with all the time, they have to prove they are doing something. So the nation continues to be a laughing stock and being featured on the BBC (both radio and TV) for all the wrong reasons.

Venki Sankar: I cannot help feeling that the ruling on yoga from the National Fatwa Council arises from their own feelings of insecurity.

This comes about from their misunderstanding or lack of understanding of other religions which they have denied themselves from their refusal to participate in any inter-religious dialogues.

Perhaps they should approach the question of religion with an open mind before they rule against any practice.

What is amazing is that yoga is practised as a health activity outside of temples and religious establishments.

As such the influence of religion is minimal and to now link it so closely to the Hindu way of life is fundamentally an error.

The fatwa council have themselves admitted that yoga leads to a union with God. Is this not the fundamental purpose of all religions of the world?

Sitha: I'm not so good on religion or fatwa or what but I think I am a good human being and that is what all religions teach us - to be a good human being.

And I am not an expert on yoga but I understand what human nature or behaviour is.

When someone is asked not to see what is inside a box, people will be naturally more curious to know what is inside that box.

Asking someone not to get involve in yoga will many even more curious about what this yoga is.

Secondly, over-protecting a kid since young by preventing him from mixing with other friends for fear he will be ‘influenced' will not only make the kid weak, but it will also prevent the kid from learning what life is about and standing on his own two feet later.

Protecting one from other religions and outside world is not going to increase one's faith. But allowing them to explore will make one to have more faith in one's own beliefs..

Well, there is a saying, if you love something, set is free. If it comes back to you, then it is truly yours.

VIDEOS

Fatwa and control, Part 1

Fatwa and control, Part 2 l 10 min