In what is bizarre but not improbable, the emergence of an ‘Islam-friendly, ‘Sharia-compliant’ gym in Kerala’s Palakkad district has sparked a major debate among netizens in the country.
The owner of this 15-year-old fitness centre, Nawaz Muthu T, uploaded a video on social media, announcing the gym’s transformation into an ‘Islam-friendly’ space, wherein rules in line with the Sharia law will be implemented, with segregated workout time-slots and spaces for men and women, no loud music being allowed, same-gender trainers, and women wearing burqas while exercising.
With the announcement of the said gym transforming the way it functions, a lot of criticism has followed for the same. People have raised concerns about ‘gym jihad’, saying that this idea is absurd and against the secular fabric of the country. Netizens are also questioning the Kerala Congress government on allowing such a thing to happen in a secular country like India.
Despite what the people criticizing the idea have to say, it has to be understood that the gym is a privately-owned space and the owner has every right to operate his business as he wants, until and unless anything illegal does not take place inside his gym. There is nothing illegal in Nawaz introducing such rules inside a space he privately owns, especially if other Muslims are interested in using such a facility.
At the same time, the problematic factor is this- Nawaz, following the criticism for his idea, came up with a clarification video on social media, through which is stated that this gym is ‘open for all’, and has no religious restrictions for people who want to join the same.
Now, while concerned people belonging in other religious communities cannot question the legality of this space, what they can do, in order to make sure their religious identity and faith is not negatively impacted with a facility like this, is to make sure that they do not become a part of such a space wherein the rules of one particular religious community are being implemented, because even though Nawaz said that the gym is ‘open for all’, he added that whoever becomes a part of the fitness centre would have to follow the rules implemented inside of it. Hence, these two factors become contradictory to each other.
While a Muslim would be okay with following the rules as a member of this said gym, a non-Muslim, even if not interested, would be forced to function according to the same inside of it, and this is what would actually become problematic and non-accommodative for individuals belonging in any other faith than Islam.
Therefore, while questioning the legality of this facility does not make much sense, what concerned citizens could do is to ensure that they and their near and dear ones avoid such a space like the plague.
