The recent rulings by the National Fatwa Council on dress and yoga should best be ignored by Muslims if each in his/her own conscience does not agree with it.

A fatwa (decree) is an opinion. Each and every opinion must be based on sound reasons. Judging by the numerous opinions of Malaysians, the matter is not closed by such rulings.

Indonesian Muslim intellectual friends are highly amused by our consternation of these recent episodes. Syafiq, who runs an outfit on civilisational dialogue and pluralism in Jakarta shrugs it off.

These things do not cause offence to ordinary Muslims in Indonesia. Fatwa -issuing bodies have no clout over and above any other body which has as its objectives the promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of belief.

islamic state A Muslim is free to agree or disagree. If however such an opinion will affect the rights and liberties of the citizen by enforcement of such an opinion, that matter has to be first negotiated in a fully functional democracy.

As a recent fan of Dr Roizen and Dr Oz (of the ‘You, The Owner's Manual’ book fame), I am unfazed in my yoga and tai-chi poses. There have been medical findings of the benefits of meditation to brain cells in strengthening the mind and body for among others, cellular renewal.

The new science suggests that one does not lose grey matter with age with meditative training. It is practically common knowledge that meditative training could help depression, anxiety, stress and other conditions.

It would be useful to know if members of the council had access to new science or global academic research in their deliberations or if they know for a fact that yoga and other types of meditative training are secret cells for something else.

If one looks back at annals of fatwa one can find the most curious rulings. Muslim Morocco in days of old banned coffee as haram .

Legal rulings in Islam

In fiqh (legal rulings) annals one finds discussions and disputations as to the nature of ablution that must be carried out if one happens to walk across the desert and chose to pick up a dried (dismembered) penis.

One suspects that there no threats of disease, or pestilence or invasions of 'barbaric' tribes at the borders of the empire which allows these fiqh scholars to address their minds on such detailed inquiry. There was probably some abundance such that the treasury (baitulmal ) could well afford the stipends for these deliberations.

islam and judiciary judgement If we do a little reading of history as opposed to a plain reading of these voluminous fiqh , we might find that very few of these edicts made their way into governance principles of Muslim administrators.

We might suppose that fiqh principles then would have to meet the needs of the community and exigencies of governance.

Perhaps now is a good time to revisit the government (executive branch) offices/structure dealing with Islam. The ruler under the federal constitution is the head of Islam.

Many of the state structures may stand alone in each state or is subject to some federal body/institution dealing with Islam.

It might be worthwhile to revisit the functions of these bodies in relation to the needs and aspirations of its Muslim electorate and principles of good governance.