So Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh has just issued a Fatwa, ruling, that Chess is Forbidden in Islam !!!
And I wonder Why??
Well ok, I do agree that he thinks Chess is a waste of time. Even I think that Chess is a Waste of time, but thats only because even my 9 year old son beats me at it.
I am more happy with Play Station which I wont consider as a Waste of Time until my Son starts beating me at that too.
But if the Mufti was so worried about Wasting Time, he should have thought about shortening his name a bit and not using “Sheikh” twice in it. It took me two minutes just to type all that !!!! Sheesh !!!!
And how exactly does Chess promote Gambling?? Its not as if Bets can be placed on “Whether the Horse will now move 2 and a half spaces or 3 spaces”. There are no surprises there and you cant even fix Chess by giving the Horse some drugs to make him run that extra space.
And Chess in the Middle East is also such a Male Oriented game.
Unlike the Western Chess which has a Queen, the Middle Eastern Chess has a Wazir …. so thats like an All Male Army where Women have no place in the field and are probably behind a Purdah somewhere making those little Chess Babies that they call Pawns.
So the Mufti doesnt have to worry about Women suddenly taking the forefront in some game.
The Mufti also said that Chess is a Waste of money !!
Oh come on, Chess is the cheapest game which can be played. You dont even have to buy your Chessboard. Just go to someone else’s house and play on his Chess board. Didnt Farhan Akhtar do the same?? Always used Bachchan’s Chess board!!
Its not like Camel Racing where everyone needs to own a Camel to take part, right?
And the Sheikh also claims that Chess increases enmity between players !!!
Have you looked at Vishwanath Anand?? Does he at any point of time look like he is going to Slap one of his Russian Opponents, even if they have such difficult names like “Obolentseva”??
So, I totally dont see any logic behind the Mufti’s claims.
Chess is such a nice fun game. You can have a War without any bloodshed. You can kill each other’s armies without anyone crying or really dying. And if you start losing you can always kick the board and run away.
The only reason why I think Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh thinks Chess is a Waste of time is because some kid must have beaten him at it and made him look stupid.
Well, in all honesty, this Fatwa that he issued isnt making him look any less stupid either.
Disclaimer: All those people who are still laughing at my Kid beating me at Chess …. well I beat him at Wrestling !!! Hah !!
The Desi Cracked Pot 