Article: Religious fatwa in Egypt says Islam forbids yoga

SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
09-19-2004
Dateline: CAIRO, Egypt
A religious edict saps the energy out of yoga enthusiasts in Egypt, where clerics say the 5,000-year-old practice violates Islamic law.

Answering a religious question put forward, Egypt's highest theological authority called yoga an "ascetic Hindu practice that should not be used in any manner of exercise or worship."

The undated but recent edict was signed by the mufti, Ali Gomoa.

The edict, published in the pan-Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat and obtained Sunday by the Associated Press, called the practice of yoga "an aberration" and said mimicking it is "forbidden religiously."

Yoga is a collection of ...

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