- and it is being condemned in Saudi Arabia

- in Egypt the game is being compared to alcoholism, which is forbidden by Islam

- Abbas Shuman, deputy head of Al Azhar-Egypt's top Islamic institution said:

“This game makes people look like drunkards in the streets and on the roads while their eyes are glued to the mobile screens leading them to the location of the imaginary Pokemon in the hope of catching it,”

- the Pokemon franchise was already banned in Egypt by Nasr Fareed, Egypt’s then grand mufti, the country’s highest Islamist official, accusing it of promoting Charles Darwin’s "controversial" theory of evolution.

- in Saudi Arabia the game has been condemned by the Higher Committee for Scientific Research and Islamic Law. They issued a fatwa against the game, describinh it as "possessing the minds" of children while promoting Zionism and gambling.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/pokmon-go-declared-forbidden-un-8423109

Wtf

Yeesh.

Well, pretty much anything fun is forbidden in Islam, so I'm not surprised. =P

Dang lol!

I am not surprised at all.

Similar fatwas were issued years ago (or decades ago?) during the initial Pokemon boom.

And if someone is gonna come in here and tell me this is extreme Wahabi teachings only, read the OP again. This is coming from Al-Azhar, an institution that is well-known for its "moderate" views among Muslims, not only that, actually a lot of Muslims criticises Al-Azhar for being "too moderate".

Moderate Islam just doesn't exist period.

i feel sry for the pokemon fans in these countries

You know their motto

"if it's fun and doesn't hurt people, let's ban it"

“This game makes people look like drunkards in the streets and on the roads while their eyes are glued to the mobile screens leading them to the location of the imaginary Pokemon in the hope of catching it,”

"imaginary Pokemon"

Just like imaginary gods am I right?