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Saudi Arabia Revives 15-Year-Old Ban On 'Zionism-Promoting' Pokemon (timesofisrael.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Clerics in Saudi Arabia have renewed a 15-year-old ban on Pokemon, following the release of the highly popular augmented reality version of the game, Pokemon Go. According to Reuters, the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars reaffirmed a 2001 ban on the game. The Times of Israel reports: "While fatwa no. 21,758 makes no mention of the latest iteration of [the] game, it does list many sinful aspects of Pokemon. Firstly, the game is seen as a form of gambling, which itself is forbidden. Secondly, it encourages belief in Darwin's theory of evolution, and thirdly, the fatwa says, the symbols used in the game promote the Shinto religion of Japan, Christianity, Freemasonry and 'global Zionism.'" The ruling says: "The symbols and logos of devious religions and organizations are used [including] the six-pointed star: You rarely find a card that does not contain such a star. It is associated with Judaism, the logo and sign of the State of Israel, and the first symbol of the Masonry organizations in the world." Pokemon Go has been such a success that it has already doubled Nintendo's stock price after launching just two weeks ago.
Are they trying to keep us from the Rare Desert Pokemon?
OK, but you have to admit that this one is good legislation.
*ducks out*
I read this and I'm just shaking my head at how incredibly ludicrous every word in that statement was.
If it weren't for the fact that millions of people live under the oppression of this sort of thinking, it would actually be funny.
When will these people finally join the 21st century and stop basing their entire lives around this bullshit?
Israel: "Palestinian territories; gotta catch em all!"
Table-ized A.I.
Wow, such insanity. Clearly Pokémon Go is promoting a Lamarckian Theory of Evolution, not a Darwinian Theory of Evolution.
"You saved 1968." - Ms. Valerie Pringle to the crew of Apollo 8
Pokemon Go has been such a success that it has already doubled Nintendo's stock price after launching just two weeks ago.
Well good luck maintaining that bubble, Nintendo, now that people can't openly play Pokemon Go in Saudi Arabia. Time to start shorting NTDOY and hoarding gold.
Nothing posted to
if the Middle East had their way, we would still be in the Dark Ages.
We're gonna ban Pokemon, but it's cool to beat your wife or jail folks for "insulting" Islam and other ludicrous nonsense.
How can a modern World leader, look them in the eye and not just bust out laughing ? How on Earth does anyone take them seriously on anything ?
Unless they pull off a miracle, the entire Middle East will be instantly forgotten once our reliance on oil dries up.
They really have nothing to fall back on.
So is this the new version of "cracker, not hacker"?
#DeleteChrome
If a Law Conflicts with Reality, then the Law brings itself into Disrepute!
Man, I'm glad we don't have any of that craziness here in the US...
...damn
This is where Turkey is headed now too, after the staged coup which was used as justification for purging tens of thousands of secular leaning judges, teachers and soldiers.
Better known as 318230.
That's the old Vatican. I wouldn't be surprised if the current Pope has a replica wand and Time-Turner.
why we're friends with these guys? Oh yeah, cheap oil for our cars. Well I guess it's either that or the bus...
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Just because it has been condemned by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars doesn't mean people won't be playing it. As I walk around Riyadh I can see many people playing Pokemon Go, so perhaps not such a big deal as some of the posters make out.
Wow, such insanity. Clearly Pokémon Go is promoting a Lamarckian Theory of Evolution, not a Darwinian Theory of Evolution.
We are talking about a people who don't build any buildings with triangles in them, just because the triangle is a symbol of Christianity (it represents the father, son, and holy spirit). And who ban words with the letter 'X' in them because the X resembles a cross. I don't see why we should have any expectation of rationality out of that bunch.
At least it would fulfill every criteria in the ICD-10 F22.0 definition of delusion if religions were not explicitly exempt. Because, well, what's the difference between a delusion and a religion except the fact that a lot of people have the same delusion?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
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The reasons stated for banning are, in this order: gambling, evolution, use of religious symbols of other religions ("six-pointed star of Judaism", "the cross", "angles and triangles - Masonry", "Symbols of the Shinto creed").
So... the "Zionism-promoting" thing is invention and interpretation of Times of Israel, as neither Zionism nor Israel are mentioned in the fatwa.
Other than that, the entire thing reads like any other religious edict of any religion - detached from reality, one leg in conspiracy theories and religious paranoia, other leg firmly cemented in mental issues.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
"Haven't you noticed, muslims are often completely insane?"
Fuck off. There is nothing wrong with Muslims or Islam you racist piece of shit.
If someone is committing a terrorist act claiming that they are doing it because they are a Muslim or in the name of Islam it is bullshit. Islam is peaceful. They are either lying about being muslim/islamic or they are a Zionist stooge.
Thank you, I had forgotten the "they blame everything on the Zionists" to add to the list of muslim insanities. You obviously suffer from a lot of them