Fatwa poco-poco is 'haram' in malaysia

Soccer Extreme : A former Perlis Mufti disagreed today with an edict in Perak banning the poco-poco dance, claiming instead that it is a must especially if performed for health reasons.

“In my opinion, the poco-poco dance is a must, unless a person performs it for the purpose of propagating a belief that is wrong in terms of faith.

“If it is merely for health reasons or is just a normal dance that is not linked to any false beliefs or mixed with immoral deeds like consuming alcohol, free sex and the like, then it is permissible under Islamic law and should not be banned.

“If there are negative elements, then do as the Prophet does and abandon the bad elements and leave only the good ones,” Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said in a statement today.

The outspoken Muslim cleric was commenting on the recent “fatwa” or edict issued by the Perak Fatwa Committee to ban the dance as it was considered as haram (forbidden) to the Muslims.

The poco-poco is a popular dance said to have originated from the Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia.

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria was quoted in a local daily as saying that the dance was haram as it contained elements of Christianity and soul worshipping.

Bernama news agency reported yesterday that Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir had agreed to abide by the edict and had called on all quarters to respect the decision.

“Perhaps Harussani has his own personal reasons. But with respect to the Perak Fatwa Committee, the Perak Mufti and the Perak government, I would like to offer my views on this. This is because I fear that the basic Islamic principles would be misunderstood by the others (non-Muslims),” Asri said.

The scholar explained that Islam encouraged all daily activities that involved the question of needs or importance except for those that were clearly banned under Islamic law.

“Thus, all forms of exercise, dance, food, finery can be used or done except when there is clear evidence that it should be forbidden under Islam.

“This is why the Prophet Muhammad did not ban a lot of activities in the Arab culture that provide benefits to individuals whether directly or indirectly, including singing, dancing and the playing of drums during marriage ceremonies,” he said.

Asri added that only when the activity contained negative or un-Islamic elements, would Prophet Muhammad rebuke or filter the acts.

He urged Muslims to understand the breadth and depth of Islam in its entirety, stressing that it should be interpreted with an open mind.

“Edicts for dances, exercises, games and the like, should be broad, not narrow, and should seek to see the allowances that Islam provides. Particularly as we live in a society with various challenges,” he said.

Asri added that if the poco-poco dance was banned on the basis that it had no Islam origin, this would eventually impact other activities that were not founded on Islamic background like tai-chi, chi-kung, taekwondo and many others.

“Therefore, with full respect to the Perak Mufti and the Perak Fatwa Committee, I wish to express different views: that a poco-poco dance that is not performed to propagate false beliefs, should be encouraged,” he said. (themalaysianinsider)

Posted by Cyber News on 6:39:00 AM. Filed under entertainment, intermezzo . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Feel free to leave a response

Other Recommended Posts on entertainment, intermezzo