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Chess forbidden in Islam, rules Saudi mufti, but issue not black and white
UK Guardian ^ | January 21, 2016 | Kareem Shaheen

Posted on 01/21/2016 8:58:47 AM PST by C19fan

Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti has ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam, saying it encourages gambling and is a waste of time.

Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh was answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers’ queries on everyday religious matters.

He said chess was “included under gambling” and was “a waste of time and money and a cause for hatred and enmity between players”.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: History; Hobbies; Religion; Society
KEYWORDS: chess; islam
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To: fwdude
Is it because the game has a "queen?"

"See, the king stay the king, a'ight? Everything stay who he is. Except for the pawns. Now, if the pawn make it all the way down to the other dude's side, he get to be queen. And like I said, the queen ain't no bitch. She got all the moves."

21 posted on 01/21/2016 9:18:36 AM PST by Flick Lives (One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast. -- Heinlein)
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To: thackney

If chess is gambling then couldn’t we say the same about just about any board game ?? Or any sporting event ??


22 posted on 01/21/2016 9:28:13 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: baltimorepoet

Yeah, I guess the Arabs cannot think that far ahead.


23 posted on 01/21/2016 9:28:28 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: FatherofFive
Chess encourages logical thinking - dangerous to Islam.

You beat me to it. Just like any tyranny, they only want mind-numbed robots.

24 posted on 01/21/2016 9:28:31 AM PST by Art in Idaho (Conservatism is the only Hope for Western Civilization.)
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To: C19fan

Chess is a game requiring reason. Imams for the last 10 centuries have been working to drum reasoning out of their people, which is why the cannot think clearly and coherently.


25 posted on 01/21/2016 9:28:51 AM PST by Slyfox (Ted Cruz does not need the presidency - the presidency needs Ted Cruz)
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To: notaliberal

Don’t forget the little boys. They like those little boys.


26 posted on 01/21/2016 9:29:11 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: baltimorepoet

He doesn’t like chess because playing it requires one to think, not simply do what the Imam says.


27 posted on 01/21/2016 9:32:18 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: C19fan

That actually happened to me in high school. I got a bunch of people playing chess during lunch. It was an informal chess club. After a few weeks, people ranging from the nerds (I was one of those) to the jocks and even cheerleaders were playing. (Aside: one of the best players was our varsity starting quarterback — he’s now a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force — and another was one of the cheerleaders.)

Our idiotic principal then told us we could not play chess during lunch because that could lead to checkers which could lead to gambling.

Needless to say, my father read him the riot act. Pretty sure he wasn’t the only parent to do so. The idiot backed down. FAST.

Note: Chess develops strategic and tactical thinking including planning and understanding your opponent. It’s basically brain exercise with direct applicability to military planning and execution. For that reason alone, I applaud this moron ruling that chess is haram.


28 posted on 01/21/2016 9:38:27 AM PST by piytar (http://www.truthrevolt.org/videos/bill-whittle-number-one-bullet)
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To: C19fan

Prior to World War II, blindfold play was forbidden in Russia, and Americans dominated international chess. After the War, the great Russian players came out of the woodwork, it seems. Did Stalin fear humiliation?


29 posted on 01/21/2016 9:39:00 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Prendre cinq et rendre quatre ce n'est pas donner.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Really? Blindfold play was banned? That’s just bizarre!


30 posted on 01/21/2016 9:44:52 AM PST by piytar (http://www.truthrevolt.org/videos/bill-whittle-number-one-bullet)
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To: C19fan

Chess is forbidden, but any version of checkers is acceptable, because any game where one player is jumped by the other conforms to the islamic way!


31 posted on 01/21/2016 9:45:16 AM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: C19fan

‘He said chess was “included under gambling” and was “a waste of time and money and a cause for hatred and enmity between players”.

None of those objections actually apply to chess, but they do all seem to apply to soccer, which Muslims are fanatical about. Let’s see an imam try to issue a fatwa against soccer!


32 posted on 01/21/2016 9:47:54 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: C19fan

Just one more black mark in the book of Islam.


33 posted on 01/21/2016 9:52:07 AM PST by chesley (Obama -- Muslim or dhimmi? And does it matter?)
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To: notaliberal

You forgot the camels.


34 posted on 01/21/2016 9:52:40 AM PST by chesley (Obama -- Muslim or dhimmi? And does it matter?)
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To: C19fan

He didn’t have to use Bobby Fisher as an example of what Chess can do to a man...


35 posted on 01/21/2016 10:07:32 AM PST by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
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To: C19fan

Good idea. I’ve never won any money in a high stakes chess match.


36 posted on 01/21/2016 10:17:50 AM PST by PAR35
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To: C19fan

Chess is forbidden, but slicing Jewish necks is OK.


37 posted on 01/21/2016 10:21:47 AM PST by I want the USA back (The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. Orwell.)
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To: C19fan

Bacha Bazi boys raped. No problem.
Sex with 9 year olds. No problem.
Blowing up civilians with children clad in suicide vests. no problem.
Lighting enemies on fire. No problem
Beheading Christians for Youtube. No problem
Chess. BIG problem.


38 posted on 01/21/2016 10:49:26 AM PST by Organic Panic
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To: C19fan

What about backgammon? Why would that be different? (Unless that is also banned.)


39 posted on 01/21/2016 10:58:29 AM PST by MoochPooch (I'm a compassionate cynic.)
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To: C19fan

Maybe it’ll be approved if they put a burka on the Queen, and the rooks and knights get to rape the pawns?


40 posted on 01/21/2016 11:01:29 AM PST by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
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