KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's National Fatwa Council on Saturday banned Muslims from practicing yoga, saying the Indian physical exercise contains elements of Hinduism that could corrupt Muslims.The NFC, which has the authority to rule on how Muslims must conduct their faith, issued a fatwa, or edict, saying yoga involves not just physical exercise but also includes Hindu spiritual elements, chanting and worship.“It is inappropriate. It can destroy the faith of a Muslim,'' Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin told reporters, noting that clerics in Egypt also issued a similar edict in 2004 that called the practice of yoga “an aberration.''Decisions by the Fatwa Council in Malaysia are not legally binding on Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of the country's 27 million people, unless they are enshrined in national or Shariah laws.However, many Muslims abide by the edicts out of deference, and the council does have the authority to ostracize an offending Muslim from society.
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