Clerics in Saudi Arabia ban Pokémon game

stacey

July 21, 2016 11:05 AM

An old fatwa, issued 16 years ago in 2001, considered the Pokémon game a form of gambling, which is forbidden in Islam.

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Pokémon Go players in Saudi Arabia have been told to forgo the hit app as top clerics have declared it a form of gambling.

Arab News reports the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, on the website of the General Presidency for Scholarly Research and Ifta, has explicitly renewed the fatwa of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas banning the mobile game.

The old fatwa (No. 21,758), issued 16 years ago in 2001, considered the game a form of gambling, which is forbidden in Islam.

A member of the council said the current version of the game is the same as the old one.

Aside from being a form of gambling, the ban was also issued because the game promoted polytheism, (the belief in and worship of many gods), as well as the promotion and advertising of disbelief, logos, and forbidden images.

The game is based on the 1996 Nintendo game. In this new version created for smartphones, the game uses the camera, clock and satellite, as the player hunts out the Pokémon character and trains them for battle.

It will show a variety of creatures depending on where you are. You need to move around to play it.

According to the UK Guardian Pokémon Go has not yet being officially available in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia but many have downloaded it illegally.

stacey