Malaysia has made another great backward step into caveman-ism by banning Yoga for Muslims

what seemed to have triggered this sudden revelation is the statement by Professor Zakaria Stapa of the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, who stated that yoga’s origins could be traced back to Hinduism and saying that it could cause them to “deviate from their faith”. Oh WOW Mr Genius… really?

To me personally, as long as the participants do not deviate from their beliefs. I don’t see anything wrong. Or even if they somehow get inspired to deviate from their faith - I mean… firstly, are we Malaysians being accused of being so weak and incapable that our faith would be swayed just by merely practicing yoga? And secondly… don’t we have the right to choose?

“Muslims cannot practice yoga in its original form because it involves another religion”, says Harussani Zakaria, a controversial cleric from the northern Perak state of Malaysia.

another yoga expert
Wow again… the wise words of someone who probably has sky-high cholesterol levels while struggling with an unhealthy BMI.

Who elected the National Fatwa Council (Malaysia’s Government-backed Islamic Council) to be guardians of a healthy lifestyle? Heck - even the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) has not done anything stupid like this before. It’s silly enough they feel threatened when women dress up differently (they just recently banned Muslim women from dressing or behaving like men), but now they wanna get their hands dirty on this too? What’s next - a ban on workout apparel for women as well cos it’s too revealing?

In 2005, a study was done by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) to evaluate the modern day body benefits of the 5,000-year-old practice of Hatha yoga. I urge you to download the report here: http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/studies/YogaStudy2005.pdf

Though Yoga may not be the sole answer to your weightloss problem, the physical benefits such as increased strength and endurance, improved balance, and better flexibility is something that all of us cannot deny, and in fact should strive to obtain. Bottomline - Yoga can benefit you physically.

I have personally never tried yoga for myself as I’ve been quite happy with the benefits I get from my existing workout routine which is basically resistance training, cardio, and stretching for flexibility. However, to everyone else out there - If I were to give you a tool that would help you get fitter, more relaxed, and improve your quality of life - would you use it, or ban it?

My client, a successful Muslim woman who goes for Yoga classes twice a week and happens to be the wife of a very, VERY influential person in this country, a name you’d find on the newspapers almost every other day - can’t live without Yoga. I can personally testify how much good it has brought into her life. However, she is out of the country at the moment so it will be a rude shock to her once she’s back. It would be interesting to see the fireworks that will fly if she were to get her husband involved in this. We’ll see.

You know… it’s hard enough for us fitness professionals to get people to adopt healthier lifestyles and incorporate physical activity into their everyday life - this ban just makes it so much more difficult for us.

I wonder what’s going to happen to the health clubs here in Malaysia - Fitness First, Celebrity Fitness, True Fitness, California Fitness - will they be forced to put up a ‘No muslims allowed’ sign during their yoga classes? We shall wait and see. You know… it’s annoying that Malaysia keeps making backward steps when the rest of the world is moving forward. Sigh.

I also know that by now… some of you would be offended by the things I’m saying. But let me tell you that different people have the rights to hold different opinions on this - so I have the right to have mine.

I call upon the National Fatwa Council, and Professor Zakaria Stapa to exercise some understanding, and plain common sense in this. I call upon you to take a hard look at your own physiques in the mirror (yes, it looks horrible doesn’t it? Well that’s the result of your sedentary lifestyle!!!). I call upon you to get your bodyfat levels tested, your blood pressure measured, and exercise capacity assessed - so you’ll know how soon you’re going to die of a heart attack before you dare issue thoughtless rules and poke your noses in the affairs of those who are obviously more concerned with their health than you.

And as for my muslim friends hang in there...................................

souce: Malaysia Thoughtless