RIYADH: Playing and watching Football is Haram. Football is an abomination that causes people to waste their time, to adopt the depraved customs of the enemies of Islam, and to glorify infidel football players, believes Saudi cleric Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman al-Barrak
In a recent fatwa, Al-Barrak wrote that the game of soccer is a moral and social abomination.
According to a translation of his statements by Memri, the Middle East Media Research Institute, the sheik proclaimed that football has caused the degradation of Islam.
“There is no doubt that football, played according to [the accepted international rules], has caused Muslims to adopt some of the customs of the enemies of Islam, who are [preoccupied with] games and frivolity. [This game] causes many abominable and corrupt acts,” he said.
One of the central issues with the sport, which goes against the pillars of Islam, is the act of being a “fanatic” fan. “A social abomination, manifest in being a fanatic [fan] of a certain team, which spawns hostility between the fans of different teams.”
The sheikh also disapproves of a Muslim fan admiring a football player who is not Muslim.
Football games also cause people to curse and become aggressive, the sheikh wrote.
According to the report, Sheikh al-Barrak issued the fatwa in response to a query by a reader on his website (albarrak.islamlight.net), who wondered how to react to football fans who admire and praise foreign football players.
This Fatwa is being used by Boku Haram and Al-Shabaab in Africa and both organisations have threatened attacks on people who would be found watching Football World Cup, the report said.
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