FT mufti: No to Pokemon Go for Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims have been advised to avoid playing Pokemon GO as the reality game and its characters can bring harm to the players.

Federal Territories mufti Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri said the Federal Territories Islamic Legal Consultative Committee had at a meeting on Aug 1 decided on the matter on the principles of maslahah (public interest).

“After studying the opinions of religious scholars and the fatwa (edict) issued, we agreed that the edict has a basis.

“And that Pokemon GO and all the Pokemon characters should be avoided as they can bring harm.

“The game promotes a search for power and deities, with certain powers which could lead to gambling activities.

“Based on previous cases, the game allows foreign surveillance, breach of private space, and could also lead to safety issues, such as accidents and distractions,” he added in a statement, according to Bernama.

Pokemon GO is a conventional “hide-and-seek” game where players are required to find and fight virtual characters based on real-world location detected via smartphone.

The application was officially released on July 6 in Australia, New Zealand and the United States and has reached over 30 countries.

The hugely popular mobile application game may be made available in Malaysia for Android and iOS users in September.