Sin or Wrinkles Face Malaysia's Botox Users

Wrinkled faces or a life of sin is the choice facing Malaysia's majority Muslim population after the country's National Fatwa Council ruled that Botox contains substances prohibited under Islam, including those from pigs, it was reported yesterday.

After six months of research the council ruled that Muslims should reject the increasingly popular anti-ageing treatment on religious grounds.

"The council arrived at the decision after studying reports from abroad, local specialists and fatwas made in Middle Eastern countries," council chairman Datuk Shukor Husin was quoted as saying in Friday's New Straits Times.

While council fatwas are decrees that do not legally bind Muslims, people who disobey them are considered to be committing a sin.

But Botox - the brand name of a substance derived from the toxin botulin which temporarily paralyses facial muscles to eliminate wrinkles - will be allowed to treat medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, muscle spasm and migraines. "This decision refers to situations when there are no alternatives for medical treatment," Dr Sukor said.

The council said another reason Botox should be banned is because of potentially harmful imitations.

Some 60% of Malaysia's 26m population are Muslims but doctors quoted by the newspaper said only between 10% and a third of their customers are Muslim.

Each Botox treatment in Malaysia costs up to 700 ringgit (£105).

The paper quoted a variety of reactions to the decision. One television personality, Azwan Ali, welcomed the ruling. "People should learn to accept their looks and come to terms with ageing instead of altering what God had given them," he reportedly said.

One woman said she would continue to be injected because she did it to look good rather than young.

The fatwa council created controversy in January when it banned "black metal" music because it could encourage listeners to rebel against religion.