Malaysia’s war on yoga
The nation’s Fatwa Council takes on the Indian exercise
Most people practice yoga as “a form of therapy” to enhance their well-being, said Leo Reyes in Digital Journal, but “if you are a practicing Muslim it may be bad for you.” That at least was the conclusion reached by Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council, which banned the exercise for the country’s Muslim majority because it “contains elements of Hinduism that could corrupt” them. The council’s fatwas are not legally binding in themselves, but are often followed.
“What is called ‘yoga’ in fitness centers,” said Malaysia’s New Straits Times in an editorial, obviously has no “relation to Hindu devotional practices.” In the end, the yoga fatwa just serves to drive a wedge between Malaysia’s Muslims and non-Muslims.
The council’s arrogant “lack of sensitivity” to Hindus is bad enough, said Farouk Peru in Malaysia Today. But its “lack of information” is appalling. The chanting they call sacrilegious is just a way to purify your being of things like pride and jealousy, or to signify “qualities of God such as wisdom.” What’s “so unislamic” about that?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
People are upset because yoga has become very popular here, said Mazwin Nik Anis in Malaysia’s The Star, but it’s not like Malaysia is the only Muslim nation to declare yoga “haram,” or prohibited. Egypt and Singapore have reached the same conclusion. The Fatwa Council had to act, it said, because in Islam, “prevention is better than cure.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published