Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Urdu Section

12 Feb 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

On Clerics’ advice to Muslims: Stay away from yoga camps
	Ever since I read about some Mullahs asking Muslims in India and Malaysia to stay away from yoga camps, I was wondering what could be so threatening about Yoga. Is our faith so brittle that we would cease to remain Muslim if we just learn to do yogic exercises, now recommended by doctors, particularly cardiologists and surgeons after heart by-pass surgery or to those with high blood pressure? In fact Yoga is useful to patients of an assortment of illnesses, and also as a preventive health-care technique. If practiced regularly yogic meditational techniques can lead to beautiful and extremely rewarding spiritual experiences too. -- Sultan Shahin, Editor, NewAgeIslam.com
	On Clerics’ advice to Muslims: Stay away from yoga camps By Sultan Shahin, Editor, NewAgeIslam.com Ever since I read about some Mullahs asking Muslims in India and Malaysia to stay away from yoga camps, I was wondering what could be so threatening about Yoga. Is our faith so brittle that we would cease to remain Muslim if we just learn to do yogic exercises, now recommended by doctors, particularly cardiologists and surgeons after heart by-pass surgery or to those with high blood pressure? In fact Yoga is useful to patients of an assortment of illnesses, and also as a preventive health-care technique. If practised regularly yogic meditational techniques can lead to beautiful and extremely rewarding spiritual experiences too. Now the cat is out of the bag. Maulana Nadeem-ul-Wajidee tells us: “Muslims must abstain from Yoga Camps as the Faith cannot be endangered for the sake of physical fitness. After all, the protection of Faith is more important than the health and physical beauty.” Now how does our faith get endangered by Yoga? Well, the yoga teacher makes us occasionally chant “Om” and at least one teacher sometimes recites verses from Islam’s earliest scriptures, the Vedas. I have no cure, at least in the short run for our Mullah’s cave mentality, their deep-seated prejudices, amounting to hatred of Islam’s earlier scriptures. If Allah and the Holy Quran cannot make them respect His earlier prophets and their revealed books, despites repeatedly, scores of time, instructing them to do so, who am I to presume these people can be cured of their cave mentality. But learning Yoga may be an urgent requirement for some Muslims. So some of us could learn it from Nastik Hindu teachers and then ourselves teach it to our people. Having leant Yoga after my surgeon’s advice following a heart by-pass surgery, I can assure you that chanting Om is not at all necessary. You may do yoga without a chant altogether or you may supplant it with the word Allah or Allahu or whatever and it would work equally well. Reading from religious scriptures is not at all necessary, but if you wish you can very well read verses from the Holy Quran while teaching Yoga. Islamise Yoga, if you have to, but learn it, practise it and teach it to fellow Muslims, and of course, to fellow human beings. Please click on the link below to read the translation of Maulana Nadeemul Wajidi’s article on Yoga: www.NewAgeIslam.Com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1145 URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=4108