The Bali India Foundation will hold from March 3-10 an international yoga festival, that will also see experts discuss yoga in the light of Islam, the Jakarta Post said.
The festival, that will spread out over the entire island, will see experts seeking to answer a controversy that had erupted following a fatwa by a body of scholars, declaring yoga unlawful for Muslims.
In January, Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) had triggered a debate by issuing a decree banning Muslims
from practicing yoga, that includes Hindu rituals like chanting of 'mantras'. The religious decree is not legally binding.
MUI head of research Salman Harun has confirmed his attendance to discuss the edict declaring yoga haram
(forbidden), as the Foundation will hold a special seminar to discuss yoga from an Islamic perspective, the paper said.
Events will take place in the capital Bali, in Denpasar, Bangli, Klungkung and Ubud.
The festival will feature some 100 yoga practitioners from Indonesia and overseas, including from India, Germany,
Sweden and the United States, the paper said.
