‘Sinful’ Zumba — aerobic exercise to music — banned in Iran

In this July 19, 2015 photo, thousands of Filipino health enthusiasts dance to high tempo music as they participate in a Guinness World Records attempt for the largest Zumba class held along the main streets of Mandaluyong city, metro Manila. Iran's clerics have outlawed Zumba, calling it sinful. (Reuters file photo)

JEDDAH: Iranian clerics have outlawed Zumba, a mode of exercise that involves dance and aerobic movements performed to energetic music.
According to a report in The New York Times, Iranians shaking their hips to Latin American music during Zumba exercise classes is sinful.
“Iran has undergone a health revolution in recent years, and as in many countries, Zumba, an aerobics dance class, has attracted a wide following, especially among women who gather a couple of times a week to work out to upbeat tracks by singers like Ricky Martin and Shakira and lose weight in the process,” said the New York Times.
The edict banning the exercise was issued this month by the head of the Sports for All Federation, a government institution promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle. It described Zumba classes as “contrary to Islamic precepts.”
“Since 1979, Iran’s Shiite Muslim clerics have codified into law hundreds of lifestyle regulations, meant to keep their flock on the right path. In their world, things like drinking alcohol, mixing between men and women, and dancing can lead to committing sins. Sins can undermine families, the cornerstone of life in Iran, so it has been decided that these temptations, and many others, are illegal, as an extra push to make sure they do not happen,” said The New York Times.
The head of the Sports for All Federation, Ali Majd Ara, said: “Activities such as Zumba, performance of rhythmic movements and dancing in any form and under any title, lacks legal credibility.”
Iran’s clerics are not the only ones opposing Zumba, said the NYT report. The legal department of Zumba Fitness, the American company behind the fitness craze, revoked permits for those operating in Iran.
Some American companies interpret sanctions on Iran rigidly, and many instructors received a letter saying that only if they moved to a country other than Iran would they get their permits back.