Dubai ‘fatwa’ against Pokemon

posted on 09/04/2001: 57 views

Dubai Department of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has issued a ‘fatwa' banning Pokemon because of the nature of the game of the game and its adverse effects on religious beliefs and behaviour of children. The department said that after a thorough study of the rules of the game and its nature, a special committee formed for this purpose found that Pokemon was against the teachings of religion because it was a clear form of gambling and ‘even more dangerous than that.' The ‘fatwa' said that in the Pokemon game the winner did not gain anything material, save for the cards he won from his partner, unless the loser wanted to regain his lost cards by buying them back.



However the real profit went to the company producing these cards and selling them at prices which varied according to the powers of Pokemon characters. The ‘fatwa' said any game involving monetary gains and losses fell into the category of gambling. A senior official of the Dubai Municipality, when asked if the game would be withdrawn from the market following the ‘fatwa' , said that the issue was within the jurisdiction of the Dubai Department of Economic Development. He said that the municipality could only withdraw products posing risks to environment and public health. (The Khaleej Times)

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