In a huge blow to Pokemon fans, Muslims have been banned from playing 'Pokemon Go' in the Federal Territories of Malaysia by order of a Shariah state committee.
The decision, finalised on August 1, was based on Quran scripture and made for the "well-being of Muslims" and "ill-effects the game carries," said the Mufti who chairs the Islamic Legal Consultative Committee in the Federal Territories.
The Islamic Legal Consultative Committee expressed hopes that Muslims, especially those from the Federal Territories, will avoid the temptation to join the latest craze.
'Pokemon Go' is an augmented-reality game where the players need to go around to catch virtual monsters.
Back in 2001, influential Egypt-born cleric Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa calling Pokemon harmful. Following on from that claim, Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri, of Federal Territories said that like Pokemon, Pokemon Go is equally harmful and must be avoided.
The cleric focussed on previous cases to support his claims. He listed "espionage, violation of personal privacy, traffic accidents, addiction to gadgets, emotional disturbances like getting angry easily when losing the game, as well as threats to one's studies and job" as some of the reasons why Pokemon Go is harmful.
"Besides that, it also affirms powers and the powers of certain gods, plus it can lead to gambling. Therefore, we believe that the arguments about how playing Pokemon is 'haram' have strong grounds," he added.