Sunday
22nd Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Nasheed. Photo: Majlis
Parliament Speaker former President Mohamed Nasheed is once again stoking religious sentiments of the public, by citing that scholars have no unified view on the legality of yoga for Muslims.
His statement came as a rebuttal to the statement released by ruling coalition partner Adhaalath Party citing that yoga was not permissible for Muslims.
In a tweet posted in Dhivehi, Speaker Nasheed said that scholars have not been able to agree on legality of yoga on Muslims. He added that accepting the views of one party as an Islamic tenet is not acceptable.
Adhaalath Party’s paper on yoga went in-depth on the historical origins of yoga, the close links between yoga and Hinduism, and various scholar’s views on yoga. The paper stressed that the general consensus was that yoga was not permissible for Muslims.
Additionally, it added that even if the spiritual aspect of yoga was taken out and yoga was practiced as a physical exercise, as it is being practiced in modern times, it was still not permissible.
The paper said the widespread propagation of yoga in Maldivian society is something we have to be careful of. The party called on the President, relevant authorities, and Maldivians to be aware of this.