Yoga is a clean thing, say
Muslim experts
Dr B. Islam
External affairs
minister Sushma Swaraj at a press conference regarding World Yoga Day
celebrations in New Delhi on Tuesday (PTI)
'The objections are based on a misunderstanding of what yoga is'
"The objections are based on a
misunderstanding of what yoga is," says Dr Badrul Islam, who has been
practising yoga for the past 35 years and has also written a handbook in Urdu
on the subject. Islam is a yoga instructor with the Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan and also runs a training centre near Delhi's Muslim-dominated
locality of Jamia Nagar, where he claims to have taught thousands of
youngsters.
"Yoga is a clean thing, it helps you to
connect with yourself, keeps you alert, smart and fit. As for surya namaskar,
Islam enjoins you not to bow in front of anyone but Allah, so don't turn to the
sun when doing it. Think of it as a form of exercise," says Islam, who is
also a member of the NCERT editorial board that developed a curriculum for yoga
in schools. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to release the two books –
one for class VI to VII and the other for class IX and X -- that Islam has
helped write on June 21, International Yoga Day.
