Wednesday November 26, 2008
Rulers to have final say
IPOH: It is up to the individual Ruler and religious bodies of each state to accept or reject the National Fatwa Council’s edict to ban Muslims from practising yoga.
Islamic Development Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abd Aziz said the council’s edict would be discussed in the respective state fatwa committees.
»The committee has to deliberate the matter in greater detail so that a decision is not made hastily« SULTAN SHARAFUDDIN IDRIS SHAH The members of the committees are appointed by the respective Rulers.
“After it is agreed to by the committees, the matter will be presented in the various state religious councils.
“Subsequently, it is brought before the Sultan for consent,” said Wan Mohamad when speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the country’s state Islamic religious council heads yesterday.
Wan Mohamad said it was the state’s prerogative to approve or disapprove or whether to implement a fatwa. He added that the stand taken by certain state authorities did not reflect a difference in opinion between the state bodies and the council.
The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said the matter had yet to come before the Selangor Fatwa Committee.
He said the committee had to deliberate the matter in greater detail so that a decision was not made hastily.
Yesterday, Perak Raja Muda Raja Nazrin Shah urged the Perak Fatwa Committee to consider the edict carefully.
Both Sultan Sharafuddin and Raja Nazrin Shah said the matter should have been referred to the Conference of Malay Rulers.
On the statement by Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainal Abidin that yoga with its non-Muslim elements removed should be allowed, Wan Mohamad said: “Did the Perlis Fatwa Committee meet before the mufti voiced his disagreement? The matter has to be discussed first before it is agreed or disagreed upon.”
The Islamic Development Department is the secretariat of the National Fatwa Council and conducts research on the issue before presenting it to the councils.
He pointed out that discussions generated by various quarters over the council’s decision showed that Malaysians were interested in understanding Islam better.
He, however, reminded that Islam was the official religion in the country as enshrined in the Constitution and, hence, it should be respected by all.
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