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School children in Malaysia seem to like this line dance, Poco-poco which some said comes from Jamaica and others said originates from Indonesia or the Philipines. They could be seen performing it on special occasions in schools and especially when they are out camping. It came rather as a surprise then when Mufti Tan Sri Harusani Zakaria announced that the dance would be banned in Perak. A mufti by the way is a Sunni Islamic scholar who inteprets or expounds the Sharia or Islamic law. As it is, the Perak mufti had requested some cultural officers to do research and they had found an unacceptable cross-shaped movement in the dance. The cross is of course, linked to Christianity. A Christian from France had called the mufti to dispute the edict by the Perak Fatwa Committee but the former was also of the opinion that it is wrong for Christians to perform a dance depicting Muslims' prayer movements. Upāsaka and Upāsikā, that is, Buddhist laypersons who merely undertake the Buddhist Five precepts -not to take the life of a sentient being, not to take things not given, to refrain from sexual misconduct, false speech and from becoming intoxicated- would probably not be troubled by the dance Poco-poco, would they? Poco-poco in Malaysia - Look for the cross-shaped movement, won't you?
School children in Malaysia seem to like this line dance, Poco-poco which some said comes from Jamaica and others said originates from Indonesia or the Philipines. They could be seen performing it on special occasions in schools and especially when they are out camping. It came rather as a surprise then when Mufti Tan Sri Harusani Zakaria announced that the dance would be banned in Perak. A mufti by the way is a Sunni Islamic scholar who inteprets or expounds the Sharia or Islamic law. As it is, the Perak mufti had requested some cultural officers to do research and they had found an unacceptable cross-shaped movement in the dance. The cross is of course, linked to Christianity. A Christian from France had called the mufti to dispute the edict by the Perak Fatwa Committee but the former was also of the opinion that it is wrong for Christians to perform a dance depicting Muslims' prayer movements. Upāsaka and Upāsikā, that is, Buddhist laypersons who merely undertake the Buddhist Five precepts -not to take the life of a sentient being, not to take things not given, to refrain from sexual misconduct, false speech and from becoming intoxicated- would probably not be troubled by the dance Poco-poco, would they? Poco-poco in Malaysia - Look for the cross-shaped movement, won't you?
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