Religions Weren’t Designed With Video Games In Mind

Video games may or may not be dangerous, they may or may not be art, but I don’t think I’ve ever stood back and wondered whether they were permissible under Islam.

Blogger Ebrahim Saifuddin has though, and he’s penned a fascinating catalogue of the litany of instances in which he believes video games violate certain teachings found in Islam’s holy book, the Koran.

Music, for example, can be seen by literalists and hardliners as “haram”, which means forbidden under Islamic law. The same goes for “animate objects” (characters), the fact games can be seen as a waste of money and that they can be distracting to one’s faith.

Saifuddin is of course a single orthodox Muslim, and his views are neither representative of the Islamic community as a whole or any organisations or groups. They’re just his personal interpretation of the ways in which video games can be incompatible with someone who wants to live a devout life free of the trappings of the “haram”.

It’s still an interesting read though! Especially since it makes you think what other religions may, at least in the most literal sense, not have been built with video games in mind.

Are Videogames Permissible in Islam? [via Game Politics]