Published on: Thursday, October 30, 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 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 Wednesday.
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.
The practice of yoga, a popular stress-buster in Kuala Lumpur, dates back thousands of years in India, where it was a favourite of holy men before becoming hugely popular internationally, especially among western celebrities. - Bernama
