SAUDI ARABIA'S HIGHEST ISLAMIC CLERIC : CHESS IS HARAM AND A WASTE OF TIME.

 Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic cleric 'bans' chess, claims game spreads 'enmity and hatred'

Previous fatwas by clerics in Iran and Iraq have banned chess Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s highest religious cleric has declared chess “haram”, meaning it is forbidden for Muslims, while claiming the game shows “enmity and hatred”.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti, made the proclamation while taking questions during his weekly television show.
“The game of chess is a waste of time and an opportunity to squander money. It causes enmity and hatred between people,” he said, according to a translation by Middle East Eye.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh, the Saudi Grand Mufti, at the Shura Council in Riyadh in 2008

 

Abdullah reportedly compared it to a pre-Islamic Arabian game called “maisir” which was forbidden by the Koran.

His fatwa does not constitute a ban in Saudi Arabia as it does not carry the force of law, but it was provoking debate in the country today.
Musa Bin Thaily, who presides over the Saudi Chess Association’s law committee, said a planned chess tournament in Mecca would be going ahead on Friday.
Pointing out that the Grand Mufti’s proclamation is old, with a YouTube video showing it put online last month, he referenced a previous fatwa that banned chess being used for profit, gambling or interrupting prayers and other religious duties.