Saudi Arabia issues fatwa against Pokémon Go

Saudi Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Ifta said game blatantly violates Islamic teachings by promoting polytheism, gambling, and atheism


Haram: Clerics in Saudi Arabia have declared a fatwa against Pokemon.

By ITP.net Staff WriterPublished July 20, 2016

A fatwa against reality mobile game Pokémon Go has been reissued by the Saudi Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Ifta.

The Japanese game blatantly violates Islamic teachings by promoting polytheism, gambling, and atheism, the committee said in a statement posted on its website.

It said Pokémon Go is ‘haram,' forbidden, in Islam whether it is being sold, purchased, or used to make profit. It called on Muslims to prevent their children from playing it, according to Akhbar24 newspaper.

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has also warned Muslims over using digital applications which have GPS features.

Pokémon Go is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic. It was released in some countries in July 2016 for iOS and Android devices.

Saudi Arabia issues fatwa against Pokémon Go - - ITP.net