{"id":85989,"date":"2013-10-30T23:03:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T21:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=85989"},"modified":"2023-04-03T12:08:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T09:08:01","slug":"is-yoga-halal-for-turks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2013\/10\/30\/is-yoga-halal-for-turks\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Yoga Halal for Turks?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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People practice yoga in Gezi Park at Taksim Square in Istanbul, June 7, 2013. (photo by REUTERS\/Osman Orsal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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By:\u00a0Pinar Tremblay for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse<\/strong>\u00a0Posted on\u00a0October 28<\/strong>.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Print and social media boomed with news on Oct. 25 that Turkish Interior Ministry\u00a0sought the official opinion\u00a0of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (DRA)\u00a0on whether\u00a0yoga is\u00a0caiz<\/em>\u00a0(not explicitly forbidden by\u00a0Islam).\u00a0News reports suggested that the cause of the inquiry was the Interior Ministry\u2019s desire to provide yoga classes for the\u00a0overstressed police force.\u00a0The DRA replied as long as yoga was practiced as a sport activity it was permissible, but if it has a \u201creligious mission\u201d it could be objectionable.<\/p>\n

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About This Article<\/h3>\n
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Summary :<\/p>\n
Much discussed in the Muslim world since the 1990s, the question of yoga and Islam has finally confronted a rather confused public in Turkey.<\/div>\n

Author:\u00a0Pinar Tremblay
\nPosted on:\u00a0October 28 2013<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Categories :\u00a0Originals\u00a0\u00a0Turkey<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I should provide the disclaimer that I have been practicing yoga more than 10 years. Although the news caught many Turks by surprise, as someone who studies religion, I’m quite familiar with statements such as \u201ckosher yoga,\u201d\u00a0or questions such as \u201cIs yoga sinful for Catholics?\u201d\u00a0I am also happy to confess I have friends who would never step foot in a yoga class because they do believe it is a sin, and they are not exclusively Muslims. On the other hand, I have attended \u201cwomen only\u201d yoga classes where no men were permitted and some participants were Orthodox Jews or hijabis (women dressed in accordance with Islamic law). The Muslim world has been debating\u00a0whether yoga is an aberration\u00a0for two decades-plus now.<\/p>\n

I talked to quite a few licensed yoga instructors for\u00a0Al-Monitor<\/em>, many of whom preferred to stay off the record. They agree upon two statements: They have never viewed yoga as a religious belief system, but rather a philosophical state of mind; and that the popularity of yoga is growing exponentially in Turkey. It is estimated that there are over 50 studios just in Istanbul. A young yoga instructor, who was proud to lead a yoga session during Gezi park protests, told me over the phone that yoga clientele is becoming more diverse. He said soon we should expect classes for kids, pregnant women and women going through osteoporosis.<\/p>\n

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Photo Gallery<\/h3>\n
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View our slideshow on Yoga’s Rising Popularity in Turkey\u00a0\u00bb<\/div>\n
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Ayca Gurelman, the founder of the\u00a0Istanbul Yoga Center, is a pioneer for holistic yoga in Turkey with an impressive resume. She has travelled extensively, studied and practiced yoga in different continents, including its birthplace, India. Gurelman also has founded\u00a0Purnam Publications,\u00a0which publishes books on different yoga practices. Gurelman told\u00a0Al-Monitor<\/em>\u00a0her center represents\u00a0S-Vyasa University. She explained short, medium and long-term goals of someone practicing yoga. We agree that except for the few, most of us who practice yoga are only interested in short and medium term results: better health, less pain, stronger body and calmer mind.<\/p>\n

Gurelman clarified their practice has no connection to \u201cHinduism.\u201d She compared yoga to a good night\u2019s sleep \u2014 you’re rejuvenated once you complete your session. Gurelman told\u00a0Al-Monitor<\/em>\u00a0most of their clientele are women aged 20 to 50. They’re college students, professional women as well as housewives. She said: \u201cWe have not had any negative reactions from the observant Muslims, to the contrary we have some hijabi students. If there will be male students in the sessions we inform them accordingly. We do not differentiate between religious identities but we are sensitive to everyone\u2019s wishes and beliefs.\u201d Gurelman\u2019s most intriguing explanation was that a type of yoga \u201cBakthi\u201d indeed encourages one to \u201cengage in his own religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have also had the opportunity to talk to a few practicing Muslim women about yoga. The hijabi friends who were willing to talk but didn’t want their names used. One said: \u201cI prefer yoga to be a private time for me, I do not feel the need to share it with the world.\u201d Most of them attend a studio regularly, none of them view yoga as a religion, and all were perplexed when this was questioned by the Ministry. One told\u00a0Al-Monitor<\/em>: “We only do the poses and try to control our breathing to have a healthier life,\u201d another added, \u201ceven my mother joined us and the hip opening moves relieves her sciatica, but I do it as a part of a regimen of resistance training, cardio and yoga; Islam encourages exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to put all this into perspective I sought the opinion of Hilmi Demir, associate professor of theology from Hitit University in Ankara. Demir told\u00a0Al-Monitor<\/em>, \u201cWe first need to question whether yoga is used as an escape route for internal peace by Muslims.\u201d Demir said: \u201cAs long as yoga practice is stripped of its spiritual and metaphysical aspects, it cannot be considered haram. However, this does not mean yoga is in synch with the kind of person, society, world that Islam seeks. Therefore, rather than asking the question whether yoga is halal or haram, maybe we should question why Muslims seek relaxation in yoga.\u201d On Twitter, no one questioned the issue from this perspective, but most Turks were focused on the \u201cfatwa\u201d (religious decree).<\/p>\n

One Turk, alluding to the \u201chalal sex shop,\u201d tweeted: \u201cso DRA is now questioning yoga, which means\u00a0helalyoga.com\u00a0is on its way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popular columnist\u00a0Hayko Bagdat\u00a0wrote, \u201cI better check with the Patriarchy. This is yoga, no joke,\u201d highlighting his Armenian identity.<\/p>\n

Another columnist, Ismet Berkan, tweeted sarcastically, \u201cI cannot even sit crossed legged, so I cannot practice yoga, and never be a master yogi, but still I am curious\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 100,000 followers, Berkan wrote, \u201cso if I tried to spread the ‘belief of yoga’ police will take me into custody? Whatever happened to freedom of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkan\u2019s question highlights a crucial aspect of the case because most Turks were busy dealing with the \u201cfatwa\u201d from the DRA and not many questioned why the Interior Ministry sought an official inquiry into yoga and Islamic permissibility. Should the Central Bank of Turkey seek an answer from DRA about riba (charging and paying interest, which is banned in Quran)? What is stopping the Ministry of Family and Social Policies from questioning if polygamy is permissible? I cannot find any fault at DRA for answering the question in accordance with the rules of Sunni Islam. It’s normal that public and ulama should discuss whether yoga is permissible but it is wrong that this discussion is initiated by the government.<\/p>\n

This is not \u201ccreeping Sharia,\u201d but rather an unchecked bureaucracy seeking the approval of their top leadership through Islamic salvos with no rhyme or reason in the state traditions. As Demir succinctly put it, DRA \u2014 and hence Turkish state \u2014 has been awfully pragmatic in declaring what is halal what is haram, while DRA can boldly state \u201cAlcohol is the mother of all evil,\u201d they fail to repeat a similar statement for riba \u2013which is considered haram clearly in the Quran. The \u201cofficial\u201d fatwa-makers of Turkey continue to dominate the public debates, but the real question is why tax payer money and government employees\u2019 precious time are being spent on an inquiry as such and how does this inquiry enhance our religious\u00a0 freedom?<\/em><\/p>\n

Pinar Tremblay\u00a0is a doctoral candidate in political science\u00a0at University of California Los Angeles and an adjunct faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She has previously been published in the\u00a0<\/em>Hurriyet Daily News\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Today’s Zaman. On Twitter:\u00a0@pinartremblay<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read more:\u00a0http:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/pulse\/originals\/2013\/10\/yoga-halal-turkey-ruling.html#ixzz2jF18LRSX<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By:\u00a0Pinar Tremblay for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse\u00a0Posted on\u00a0October 28. Print and social media boomed with news on Oct. 25 that Turkish Interior Ministry\u00a0sought the official opinion\u00a0of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (DRA)\u00a0on whether\u00a0yoga is\u00a0caiz\u00a0(not explicitly forbidden by\u00a0Islam).\u00a0News reports suggested that the cause of the inquiry was the Interior Ministry\u2019s desire to provide yoga classes for the\u00a0overstressed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":85990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2939],"tags":[9280,9279],"class_list":["post-85989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultureart","tag-halal","tag-yoga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}