Hi Jeanne,

It's a curious problem. The Bhagavad Gita is a religious text as well as a foundational text for Yoga. The Yoga Sutras by Pantanjali seem to me to be more of a spiritual text in which religion plays a very insignificant role. The spirit of yoga is both fluid, flexible, and personal.

However, "banning" the practice is fundamentally an act of insecurity. It's a shame to see things like this happen.

I like practicing Yoga. Yoga like many other martial arts has religious aspects to it. As a Muslim, I do make an effort and separate the two aspects of yoga. The reason I�m more interested in physical yoga is that it gives me an opportunity to flex myself within the confines of my house.
About the Fatwa; it's more likely about spiritual yoga. I see it as a welcome opportunity for dialogue within muslims communities. Fatwas are not carved in stone and are given in response to the local community needs or concerns. So if a fatwa is issued in Malaysia, it�s very well response to the local needs and concerns of that community.
But I will add; fatwa is right in a sense that if intention of doing yoga is anything beside physical flexibility; it will lead to mere confusion. Islam provides ample nourishment of soul for muslims and as such does not need to be enhanced by spiritual aspects of yoga.
Practicing yoga is to me is like weight training. No one can say that weight training is akin to any school of thought and as such part of that particular group theology. Anyone can benefit from it. So why not yoga?

'Yoga' is not related to any religion or community, it is a complete lifestyle which is related to 'humanity'. 'Yoga' originated in India thousands years back by yogis, it is not meant only for physical exercise but for spiritual benefits as well. People who oppose yoga, should understand it first.