Return of the Pokémon Fatwa in Saudi Arabia

An old religious fatwa has been dug up to ban the Pokémon Go virtual game.

387921 03: Ash, Pikachu and Misty (background) in 4Kids Entertainment's animated adventure "Pokemon3," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
387921 03: Ash, Pikachu and Misty (background) in 4Kids Entertainment's animated adventure "Pokemon3," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
387921 03: Ash, Pikachu and Misty (background) in 4Kids Entertainment's animated adventure "Pokemon3," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. (Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)

Conservative Saudi clerics were probably relieved when Pokémon, banned by the country’s top religious body in 2001, fell out of favor over the past decade.

Conservative Saudi clerics were probably relieved when Pokémon, banned by the country’s top religious body in 2001, fell out of favor over the past decade.

But those years of Pikachu-less peace faded into oblivion in recent days, as the country’s Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Iftaa was forced to dig out of its archives the 2001 fatwa banning Pokémon games. This time, it’s an order to ensure Saudis aren’t wandering the streets of Jeddah and Medina hunting for imaginary monsters with their phones.

The resurgence is due to Pokémon Go, a wildly popular mobile game, that is technically not available in Saudi Arabia, but users have found ways to download it illegally. That’s prompted a wave of questions from the public, who want to know whether religious scholars believe playing the game violates the teachings of Islam.

The old fatwa, posted on the clerical body’s website this week, said the game should not be played by Muslims because it employs “deviant” characters inspired by polytheism.

According to the edict, Pokémon is also similar to gambling. It’s unclear what part of the Japanese game — the virtual version of which involves hunting for various monsters — resembles gambling. One guess? Its addictive nature apparently triggers the same part of the brain as food and cocaine.

Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

More from Foreign Policy

Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.
Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.

Russians Are Unraveling Before Our Eyes

A wave of fresh humiliations has the Kremlin struggling to control the narrative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.

A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance

De-dollarization’s moment might finally be here.

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat

Is Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Factual or Farcical?

A former U.S. ambassador, an Iran expert, a Libya expert, and a former U.K. Conservative Party advisor weigh in.

An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.
An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.

The Battle for Eurasia

China, Russia, and their autocratic friends are leading another epic clash over the world’s largest landmass.