Parliament Speaker and former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has spoken out against the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party's stance on practicing yoga.
Yoga is considered impermissible for Muslims under several strong Fatwas due to its ties to Hindu worship and rituals. The topic has been heavily debated in recent weeks after the government organized a mass event to celebrate International Yoga Day, which turned sour after a group stormed the venue at which the event was ongoing.
Over a month after the incident, the Adhaalath Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, issued a detailed statement on the ruling on practicing yoga.
The research issued by Adhaalath's Scholar's Council said yoga is forbidden for Muslims. The paper said Allah (SWT) has made Islam the most perfect system for humanity and has stated that He is pleased with it and that no other religion or worship of any other religion is acceptable.
Therefore, in today's world, when different religions and cultures are coming from one country to another, the customs and cultures that are practiced in a 100% Muslim society must not be contrary to Islam, it said.
The research said it is clear that the origin of yoga activities and practices is Hindu and that steps must be taken to ensure that such practices are not normalized in an Islamic country like the Maldives.
“Therefore, we advise and urge the President of the Republic of the Maldives, all relevant institutions, and the people of the Maldives to pay attention to these issues and uphold Islamic principles,” the study said.
In response to Adhaalath's research, President Nasheed said that the consensus of scholars does not make it clear that yoga is shirk or polytheism. It is difficult to accept that the philosophy of certain people is a ruling of religion, he said
