Senaman PERKASA ganti Yoga?

KUALA LUMPUR: Heboh pasal Yoga difatwakan bercanggah dengan akidah Islam jika diamalkan secara sistematik kerana ia merupakan ritual dan sistem pertapaan (meditation), warisan yang sememang diamalkan oleh penganut agama Hindu sejak lama dulu. Maka muncul NGO berkepentingan seperti Sisters in Islam dan Amnesty Malaysia menyanggah keras keputusan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan tersebut konon atas dasar kebebasan dan hak asasi manusia.

Penulis hairan, kenapa orang Islam dalam Sisters in Islam dan Amnesty Malaysia perlu mempertahankan Yoga? Adakah masyarakat perlu bergantung kepada Yoga untuk survival mereka? Kerana jika kita benar-benar perlu beriadah untuk kecergasan dan kesihatan mental dan fizikal, Senaman Perkasa sebenarnya adalah alternatif terbaik.

Tugas dan tanggungjawab Majlis Fatwa adalah jelas. Pemerintah kena bertegas mempertahankan akidah umat Islam daripada terus diperdaya dan terkeliru dengan 'kebagusan' Yoga yang konon boleh menyelesaikan masalah kesihatan dan pelbagai masalah penyakit termasuk penyakit hati (?).

Sebagai umat Islam, kita dilarang keras daripada mengamalkan ritual dan tradisi agama-agama lain tak kiralah jika amalan itu sebaik dan sebagus mana sekalipun. Dan jangan lupa dalam masyarakat Melayu Islam di Nusantara telah ada sistem senaman tua yang diamalkan secara meluas oleh para pesilat yang jika dipraktiskan secara sistematik dapat membantu meningkatkan kecerdasan mental dan fizikal seterusnya memulihkan pelbagai masalah kesihatan dan penyakit kronik.

Seperti biasa yang berlaku kepada produk tempatan milik kita ialah masalah samada kita sendiri yakin dan percaya atau bersedia untuk belajar mengenainya. Senaman Tua atau 'Senaman Perkasa' itu berasal dari Perguruan Silat Melayu dan pergerakannya diambil dari 'disiplin tradisi gerak dan kawalan nafas'.

Ia menjadi amalan harian guru-guru silat lelaki dan perempuan. Senaman tua tersebut telah dibukukan oleh Azlan Ghanie, penerbit majalah Seni Beladiri dan beliau adalah pengasas Senaman Perkasa (SP) yang pernah diperkenalkan beberapa tahun lalu di kalangan kakitangan Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia.

Azlan Ghanie telah menemui lebih 1,000 guru-guru utama dan guru-guru tua samada silat dan bukan silat dan beliau telah membukukan cerita serta amalan mereka dalam buku Senaman Tua yang merupakan teras kepada program kesihatan dan kecerdasan atas branding baru - 'Senaman Perkasa' yang akan diperkenalkan ke seluruh negara kelak, justeru membantu umat Islam meningkatkan jati diri, kesihatan dan kecerdasan mental dan fizikal tanpa perlu kepada Yoga atau lain-lain unsur penyelewengan akidah dari agama-agama lain.

Jika kita benar-benar serius dan bersatu, "Senaman Perkasa mampu mengembalikan keyakinan umat Islam kepada kekuatan dalaman mereka sendiri," demikian menurut Azlan ketika ditemui di pejabat beliau di Danau Kota kelmarin.

Senaman Perkasa bukan dari mana-mana aliran atau perguruan beladiri tertentu dan ia terbuka kepada semua golongan tanpa mengira jantina, umur, bangsa dan agama. Matlamat Senaman Perkasa ialah bagi memastikan rakyat kekal sihat dan cergas selain memastikan warisan Melayu tidak pupus, malah terus berkembang segar dan diperkasakan selayaknya.

Menurut pakar kesihatan dan sains sukan serta bekas pesakit, Senaman Perkasa sebenarnya mampu merawat penyakit jantung, sakit buah pinggang, kencing manis, darah tinggi, asma, resdung, bahu beku, leukimia, kegemukan (obesiti), ghout dan sebagainya.

Senaman ini dalam sains sukan dikategorikan sebagai kalistenik. Ia merawat penyakit dan kecederaan melalui senaman dan gerak pernafasan. Juga yang uniknya, ia aerobik dan anaerobik iaitu mengenai perjalanan darah dan kekuatan jantung (kadeo vaskular). Pengakuan ikhlas para pengamal senaman tersebut dalam buku Senaman Tua dan VCD Senaman Tua telah menjadi bukti.

Untuk kecergasan dan kesihatan, buku Senaman Tua merupakan dokumentari yang membuktikan tamaddun dan tradisi bangsa Melayu juga cukup terbilang! Seperti perumpamaan yang menyebutkan "Hanya jauhari yang mengenali manikam". Justeru, kalau bukan kita yang mempromosi dan memperkasakan jatidiri bangsa sendiri, siapakah lagi yang hendak kita harapkan?

Untuk tujuan ini, para peminat senaman untuk riadah, kesihatan dan kecergasan boleh menjemput penceramah dan jurulatih Senaman Perkasa untuk mengendalikan Seminar dan Kelas di pejabat, sekolah atau di kawasan kediaman masing-masing.

Senaman Perkasa ini bagus sebagai aktiviti tambahan yang bermanfaat untuk ahli pertubuhan, persatuan penduduk dan PIBG di seluruh negara. Sila layari http://www.senibeladiri.com.my/ atau hubungi segera 016-3102001 (Angah Naseron) atau 012-3326723 (Azlan Ghanie).

Oleh NAS ISMA
Sumber: http://groups.google.com.my/group/kgmalaysiaraya/browse_thread/thread/d5130f80d22796a7

Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim

KUALA LUMPUR: Just stop practising yoga. This is the message to Muslims by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abd Aziz.
"Perhaps those who practise yoga did not realise that it contains Hindu elements. So, we advise Muslims to stop doing so as it could affect their aqidah (belief ).
"It is our responsibility to set things right," he said when contacted by phone yesterday.Yoga practice among Muslims became an issue when Professor Zakaria Stapa of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Faculty of Islamic Studies said the practice could cause Muslims to deviate from Islam.
The National Fatwa Council on Saturday banned Muslims from practising yoga, causing an uproar among certain quarters, including Muslims.
Wan Mohamad said Muslim yoga centre operators would have to find other forms of exercise to teach."I'm sure they are smart enough to diversify their businesses or find alternatives," he said, adding that those who wished to seek clarification should refer to the relevant religious authorities like the state muftis.
Wan Mohamad said the fatwa was not made based on emotion, individual opinion or specific interest but thorough scientific research and collective effort.
"We also went through the yoga practitioners' holy books and other Islamic methodology and hadith," he said, adding that one should not regard the fatwa as though Islam was against physical exercises.
He said the fatwa was decided by the council, consisting of all the state muftis and five experts from various fields, who were appointed by the Conference of Rulers. Asked if similar fatwa would be issued on other forms of exercise like tai chi and qi qong, Wan Mohamad said, "Don't generalise. The issue here is yoga.
"He said certain types of the Melayu martial art silat were also banned due to elements of mysticism.Asked if one could appeal against the fatwa, he asked: "Can we appeal to God to change the rules according to our whims and desires?"
Syariah lawyer Mohd Burok said the ruling had to be gazetted and enforced in the states before it could be brought to the syariah court."Muslims are allowed to appeal and argue their case should they be charged with going against the fatwa, deviating from their faith or if there are any allegations or claims made against them," he said.
Muslims who are unhappy with the ruling could not appeal against the ruling now as they have to wait for it to be gazetted and enforced.
He said only then could one appeal at the Syariah High Court with a team of experts and present arguments on why the fatwa is irrelevant.
"But, it (challenging a fatwa) has never happened before." The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism was, however, more concerned about the word "haram" than the ruling itself.Its president, Datuk A. Vaithilingam, said using the word haram in barring Muslims from practising yoga was uncalled for.
He said in a multiracial, multi-religious country, the fatwa council should be more sensitive in its choice of words."Instead, they should have used words like 'unsuitable' for Muslims. The word haram should have been avoided," said Vaithilingam, who is also president of the Hindu Sangam.
He said he had been getting calls from Hindus in the country, criticising the word "haram".
"The council has the right to make decisions for the Muslims in the country but commenting and calling a practice of another religion as 'haram' is insulting. It's hurtful to the Hindu community."
Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, in her blog, suggested that a more measured fatwa ruling be issued for Muslims who practised yoga, like joining classes that did not require chanting. She said it was also insulting to many Muslims who have been practising yoga for years and have not felt their faith weakened to be now told that yoga could affect their faith.
"Must longtime yoga practitioners now go for rehabilitation?" she questioned.
National Fatwa Council chairman Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin had said that the banning of yoga was not new as the Singaporean and Egyptian Islamic councils had also prohibited the exercise among Muslims.
In Egypt, a religious edict forbidding the practice of yoga was signed in 2004 by the then mufti Ali Gomoa and was published in Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat.
The edict states that the 5,000-year-old practice violates Islamic law and could distort Islamic beliefs, while Egypt's highest theological authority called yoga an "ascetic Hindu practice that should not be used in any manner of exercise or worship".
Yoga, which dates back more than 5,000 years and is a form of spiritual practice in India, is one of the six classic systems of Hindu philosophy that stresses self-control, discipline, postures, breathing, restraint of the senses, steadying of the mind, meditation and contemplation.
It is a collection of spiritual techniques and practices, aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit. In recent years, classes have started at gymnasiums and in dedicated yoga centres.

Oleh Suganthi Suparmaniam Shuhada Elis and Ili Liyana Mokhtar
Sumber:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/2410186/Article/index_html

Fatwa Council, Yoga and Silat

For critics of the new Fatwa Council's ruling on yoga, I wish to offer my view and defend the rational behind the decision. A quick glance at some of the local news headlines, I think it's The Star which gave the most accurate reporting to it.

TheStar: Fatwa Council says yoga with worshipping, chanting is prohibited

See headline above. It only mentioned yoga 'worshipping' and 'chanting' that is prohibited. Personally, I don't see it as a blanket ban on Yoga. Read what the Fatwa Council Chairman, Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said.

"..the council has declared that practising yoga when it comes all together with the three elements (physical movements, worshipping and chanting) as haram."

Note that it is considered as haram only if all three elements is being practised. In other words, it is alright if people just practise the physical activity of yoga without the spiritual aspects.

Singapore's Straits Times also carried this news and I must say that I agree with the comments by some of the Singaporean Muslim yoga practitioners. Let me quote some of them.

"Yoga may have its roots in Hinduism. But if you take away the meditation and other spiritual aspects, it becomes just another form of exercise.' - Mohammad Yusri Yusoff, executive imam of the Al-Falah mosque."

In classes, instructors may ask you to say Hindu incantations. I simply did the exercises without all that.' - Teacher, Hafiza Yahya. -- The Straits Times

So, basically as long as only the physical activity of Yoga is being practised, then, it is alright.

Silat Melayu
In Malaysia there are thousands of different forms of Silat groups which many of them are registered with the Pertubuhan Silat Kebangsaan or PESAKA, the parent body of all Malaysian Silat organisations.

While majority of the Silat organisations are clean physically and spiritually, e.g. Silat Gayung, Gayung Fatani, Cekak, Lincah, Sendeng, Kuntau and so on, there are other smaller Silat groups, mostly based in the kampungs which are clearly deviant in its practises or syllabus. And these are the groups that gives bad name to the beautiful Melayu martial art.

Therefore, I feel that the Islamic authorities should also closely monitor some of the deviant Silat organisations too, which some still practises strong elements of tahyul and khurafat. As a Silat practitioner myself, though no longer active, to me, real Silat must involve physical contacts between two or more fighters.

If one could knock out an opponent with just a blink of an eye, then there must be something wrong. That is not silat. (e.g. the teachings of the now defunct group Al-Maunah, or famously known by their raid on the Army Reserve camp in Sauk, Perak and stealing weapons from the armoury)

Senaman Tua
Lastly, for those out there trying to find an alternative practise to yoga, try Senaman Tua, Malay traditional exercise founded by the Guru of Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 and Seni Beladiri magazine editor, Guru Azlan Ghanie. I've actually tried to practise it once before, but due to work and other personal commitments had somehow prevented me from joining.

Oleh Shahnon
Sumber: http://www.shahnon.com/labels/Yoga.html

Yoga is okay?

A Muslim cleric in Malaysia has called on Muslims to stop doing yoga exercises, but some religious experts in Singapore do not share that sentiment.

They are largely of the opinion that yoga is harmless as long as its spiritual aspects are not practised.

Professor Zakaria Stapa, a lecturer at University Kebangsaan Malaysia's faculty of Islamic studies, said recently that yoga is based on Hindu elements and could affect the faith of Muslims practising it.

That sparked a nationwide debate and the Malaysian National Fatwa Council may issue a fatwa, or decree, on yoga soon.

The country seems to be alone in its concern.

Yoga centres are flourishing in more orthodox Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In Iran, yoga is so popular that there are classes for children.

In Singapore, Mr Mohammad Yusri Yubhi Md Yusoff, 33, executive imam of Al-Falah mosque, said: 'Yoga may have its roots in Hinduism. But if you take away the meditation and other spiritual aspects, it becomes just another form of exercise.'

Veteran religious expert Pasuni Maulan, 64, agreed. The former registrar of Muslim marriages said spiritual elements in exercises are not exclusive to yoga. Silat, which has its roots in Malay culture, can sometimes involve hailing spirits, a practice not allowed in Islam.

'Those who are not sure about what is allowed may want to do other exercises,' he suggested.
As a rule of thumb, avoid the spiritual forms of exercises and embrace only the physical aspects, said religious teacher and counsellor Abdul Manaf Rahmat, 50.

Teacher Hafiza Yahya, 26, who studied yoga through books five years ago, has been doing just that.

'In classes, instructors may ask you to say Hindu incantations. I simply did the exercises without all that,' said the mother of two, who shed more than 30kg through yoga after each pregnancy. She now weighs a trim 46kg.

Written by Nur Dianah Suhaimi
Sourced from http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_300202.html

Yoga: Majlis Fatwa akan umum keputusan

PULAU PINANG: Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan akan mengumumkan keputusan berhubung hukum senaman yoga kepada pengamal senaman itu yang beragama Islam dalam tempoh terdekat ini.

Timbalan Ketua Pengarah Operasi Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) Othman Mustapha berkata keputusan itu akan diumumkan sendiri oleh pengerusi Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan, Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin.

Osman bercakap kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan persidangan Seminar Fiqh dan Pemikiran Islam Lestari di Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), di sini hari ini.

Seorang pensyarah dari Fakulti Pengajian Islam, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof Zakaria Stapa menasihati orang Islam yang mengamalkan senaman yoga supaya menghentikannya kerana bimbang boleh memesongkan akidah.

Sumber: http://www.hmetro.com.my/Current_News/myMetro/Wednesday/Mutakhir/20081029131845/Article/index_html