Pokemon Go banned in Saudi Arabia because of a 15-year-old fatwa

Saudi men play with the Pokemon Go application on their mobile phones in the capital Riyadh. Photo credit: Daily Mail

Because of a fatwa, the phenomenal mobile game Pokemon Go will be banned in Saudi Arabia. The fatwa in question is the fatwa no. 21,758, issued in 2001.

That’s 15 years ago.

Fatwa are rules in the Islamic law given by a recognized authority. In this case, the fatwa was issued by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, which advises the king on religious matters.

The fatwa no. 21758 in a nutshell states that Pokemon game cards, which was very popular back then, is a form of gambling, which is forbidden in Islam. On top of containing polytheistic symbols, the game is also said to promote Darwin’s theory of evolution, both seen as religious violations in Islam.

Now fast forward to 2016, Arab News reports, that the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars has renewed the fatwa, stating that the new version of the game, Pokemon Go, is the same as the old one. You can read the entirety of the fatwa here.

It’s unclear how the renewal of fatwa no. 21758 will be received by other Middle Eastern countries, and what action the Saudi government will take on players who have obtained the app outside the country or by some other means.