Pokémon GO was banned in Saudi Arabia after an old fatwa outlawing the original game was renewed. The religious edict, which was issued 15 years ago, called the franchise un-Islamic, Reuters reported. The General Secretariat of the Council of Religious Scholars said mutations of creatures in the game amounted to blasphemy because it supported the theory of evolution.
The fatwa read, “It is shocking that the word ‘evolution’ has been much on the tongues of children.” It added that the game also had elements of “polytheism against God by multiplying the number of deities, and gambling, which God has forbidden in the Quran and likened to wine and idols”, and said some symbols used in the franchise promoted other religions, including Shinto, Christianity, Freemasonry and “global Zionism”.
Pokémon GO is an augmented reality smartphone game allows players to capture, train and battle virtual creatures. Within a few days of the app’s July 6 launch, gaming giant Nintendo witnessed a substantial rise in its share prices. Earlier this week, the company’s value surpassed that of Sony, with its stock having more than doubled since the release the app, Pokémon GO.
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