A video clip of Saudi Arabia’s top cleric saying that the game of chess is “forbidden” in Islam because it wastes time and leads to rivalry and enmity among people has provoked heated debate, and widespread criticism, among Arabic Twitter users.
The clip was shared on YouTube in December, gaining traction in recent days on social media. Some Twitter users mocked Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, saying chess is an intelligent game and that is why conservative clerics decry it. Others defended his religious advice, saying that many other Islamic scholars have also warned that the game can be addictive and cause people to lose focus from their daily prayers and remembrance of God.
Saudi Arabia has banned Chess? Why? Because that's one place where the female (Queen) has more freedom to move around than the male (King).
— Vivek Pant (@misguideddna39) January 22, 2016
Saudi Arabia is calling chess haram and banning it 🤔
I suppose they can't handle the amount of freedom given to the queen 😜
— HershDo (@hershdoshi) January 22, 2016
geetikar [1:01 PM]
Saudi Arabia cleric thinks 'Chess' is the work of Satan. This raises an important question - What side does the Satan play: Black or White?
— Belgian Chocolate (@InterNester) January 22, 2016
:joy:"@WajahatAli: Because The Queen has too much power: "Chess forbidden in Islam, rules Saudi mufti" https://t.co/PHKGYLAGPS"
— Sana (@MirSana22) January 22, 2016
Morning news: In Denmark pork meat becomes obligatory. In Saudi-Arabia chess is forbidden. Nobody has the monopoly for dumb fundamentalism.
— Burkhard Schwetje (@Burk68) January 22, 2016
Saudi Arabia mufti rules that chess is forbidden in Islam. Tell that to Yemen, a pawn on the Kingdom's chessboard. https://t.co/wLWHUbKssF
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) January 22, 2016
Saudi Arabia’s influential religious establishment adheres to a strict Sunni Islamic ideology known widely as Wahhabism.
Similarly, Shiite Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani previously declared that chess is religiously prohibited because it could be used for gambling, which is not permissible in Islam.
In the 44-second clip, Al Sheikh says “the game of chess is forbidden,” backing up his statement by referring to a verse in the Quran that bans gambling, intoxicants and idolatry. Answering a question posed to him by a viewer on the Saudi religious Almajd network, the mufti says chess “wastes time and money and causes rivalry and enmity” because it makes rich people poor and poor people rich.
Despite some top religious scholars frowning upon chess, the Saudi sheikh’s opinion is not seen as a formal edict that could lead to a ban on the game in the kingdom. Games such as backgammon and cards are popular among men in the Middle East.
Muslims, who introduced chess to Europe, have been playing the game since the 7th century in Persia.
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