No ban on yoga for RI Muslims yet: Ulema body

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/24/2008 9:05 AM  

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said Sunday it would not follow its Malaysian counterpart in banning yoga, if only because it did not know how widely yoga was practiced here. 

MUI deputy chairman Umar Shihab said the board of clerics would have to conduct a study before issuing an edict to ban it. 

"It's OK if it's for sport. I guess we can allow it here. But I don't know if it is proved it can destroy our beliefs as Muslims or contains ideas of polytheism," he said. 

Umar said the MUI had never conducted a study on yoga because there had been no public complaints. 

Malaysia's National Fatwa Council, which has the authority to rule over how Muslims practice their faith, took the international community by surprise Saturday when it issued a fatwa or edict banning Muslims from practicing yoga, saying the Indian physical exercise contains elements of Hinduism and could corrupt Muslims. 

The council said yoga involved not just physical exercise but also Hindu spiritual elements, chanting and worship. 

A fatwa is not legally binding on Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 27 million people, unless it is enshrined in national or sharia laws. However, many Muslims abide by the edicts out of deference, and the council does have the authority to ostracize an offending Muslim from society. 

Many analysts have said the fatwa reflects the growing strain of conservatism in Malaysia, which has always taken pride in its multiethnicity. About 25 percent of Malaysians are ethnic Chinese and 8 percent ethnic Indians, mostly Hindus. 

Creeping conservatism has also been observed in Indonesia, as evident in the recent passage of the controversial pornography bill and enforcement of sharia-based ordinances in regions. 

Deputy chairman of the MUI edict commission Ali Mustafa Yakub said Muslims here were allowed to practice yoga as it was not clear how popular it was. 

"I've rarely heard of Muslims here practicing yoga. We don't need to ban it because we haven't found Muslims practicing it here. If they do, they are not publicly visible, so there will be no problems," he said. 

Yakub said he was sure the Indian influence in Indonesia was not as strong as in Malaysia, arguing the influence was limited to dangdut music. 

Hundreds of yoga classes with thousands of participants throughout the country have emerged since the 1998 financial crisis, with many adherents regarding yoga as a way of relieving stress and frustration. 

"All of a sudden, the classes are full," Janet Wijaya, a senior yoga instructor, was quoted as saying by Tempo magazine recently. 

With a financial crisis looming over the country, more people -- regardless of their religion -- may take up yoga.