MUI's investigation, which will begin this week, was triggered by the edict issued by Malaysia's National Fatwa Council banning yoga and by media inquiries.

'We are investigating the practice of yoga not only because of the fatwa issued in Malaysia, but also because the media asked us about it,' Mr Ma'ruf Amin, head of MUI's fatwa commission, told The New Straits Times.

'We will investigate to see what is really yoga, whether or not it is a religious ritual and whether it is against the teachings of Islam,' said the cleric.

'Following the investigations, we will discuss the issue, and only then we will come out with a fatwa. The investigations will not take very long.'

'For the time being, Muslims should stop practising yoga,' he said.

Mr Ma'ruf said investigators will interview practitioners across Indonesia to see if restrictions need to be passed. They will also visit yoga clubs and gyms.

'We have already met to discuss it and we've decided to investigate by visiting yoga centres to see how many Muslims are participating and how they do it,' Mr Ma'ruf told The Jakarta Post.

He said the yoga centre inspections will involve all MUI branch offices around the country.

Should the investigation find the routines and exercise classes contain Hindu rituals and ideas of polytheism, MUI would issue a fatwa to ban Muslims from taking part, he said.

'It may mean that yoga could harm Muslims' belief,' Mr Ma'ruf added.

Fatwa commission deputy chairman Ali Mustafa Yakub said Indonesian Muslims have so far been allowed to practise yoga but it is not clear how popular it is.

He said he was sure Indian or Hindu influences in Indonesia were not as strong as in Malaysia, arguing the influence was limited to dangdut, a genre of Indonesian popular music partly derived from Arabic, Indian, and Malay folk music.

Another MUI deputy chairman, Mr Amidhan, shared Mr Ma'ruf's views, saying any future decision to ban yoga should not be seen as an intolerant move against Hindus.

'If we find that it's just a sport, we won't issue any edict against it. If we do, we're only trying to protect Muslims from being intoxicated by influences that could corrupt their beliefs,' he said.

Hundreds of yoga classes with thousands of participants have emerged throughout the country since the 1998 financial crisis, with many participants regarding yoga as a way of relieving stress and frustration.

Visits by MUI clerics to yoga centres would undoubtedly inconvenience its practitioners, who come from different religions.

Singer and actress Widi AB Three is one such Muslim yoga devotee, and she is undeterred by the current controversy, saying she would continue doing it because she felt there were many healthy advantages. 'I think our relationship with God is a personal matter. I see no problem with practising yoga,' the singer told The Jakarta Post recently.

Indonesian analysts and moderate Muslims have said the fatwa banning yoga in Malaysia reflects a growing strain of conservatism there.

They expressed concerns that the MUI could ban yoga as further evidence that conservatism has been taking root in Indonesia, adding to the recent passage of a controversial pornography Bill and the enforcement of syariah-based ordinances in many regions.

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'We will investigate to see what is really yoga, whether or not it is a religious ritual and whether it is against the teachings of Islam...For the time being, Muslims should stop practising yoga.'

MUI fatwa commission chief Ma'ruf Amin