Saudi bans Pokemon
Pokemon game has been criticised in several countries. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Pokemon games and cards have been banned under an Islamic edict issued by Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority.
The fatwa by Saudi Arabia's Higher Committee for Scientific Research and Islamic Law said Pokemon "possessed the minds" of Saudi children, promoted Zionism and involved gambling which is banned in Islam.
The edict stated that the video game and cards featuring the Pokemon characters have symbols including "the Star of David, which everyone knows is connected to international Zionism and is Israel's national emblem."
A Nintendo spokesperson in Tokyo on Monday has denied that religious symbols are depicted on Pokemon items and said Nintendo did not design them with religious symbols in mind.
Pokemon cards typically have a brightly coloured picture of a character along with geometric symbols corresponding to the fanciful powers it possesses.
The Pokemon phenomenon originated in Japan three years ago as a video game. It quickly expanded in cartoons, comic books and trading cards, becoming a multi-billion dollar enterprise that is enormously popular around the world.
The edict alleges that Pokemon "has possessed the minds of a large chunk of our students, captivated their hearts and become their preoccupation, (they) spend all their money to buy the cards and compete with each other to win more."
The game has been criticised in several countries, with a Christian church in Mexico calling it "demonic" and organisations in Slovakia saying television shows based on the game are detrimental to children.
In Turkey the series caused a public scandal last year after two children jumped off their balconies apparently to imitate Pokemon characters with special powers. Both children survived.
Other sources:
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast...i.pokemon/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_...243307.stm
Islam And The Theory Of Evolution
Islamic perspective of Theory of Evolution
Article states:
"We as Muslims must ask: Does the theory of evolution – and likewise the theory of natural selection as a mechanism of evolution – conform to Islamic teachings or conflict with them? Is a Muslim allowed to believe in evolution as a scientific theory as long as he or she accepts that Allah is behind it? Is a Muslim allowed to believe in human evolution? If not, how can we explain the fossils of upright, bipedal, tool-using apes with large brains that have been discovered? We wish to re-emphasize that our concern here is not with examining the scientific merits of the theory of evolution. What we want to know is what Islamic teachings have to say about the idea. Whether evolution is true or false scientifically is another matter altogether. When we look at the sources of Islam – the Qur’ân and Sunnah – we see that, with respect to human beings living on the Earth today, they are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Allah also says: “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is the one who is the most God-fearing.” [Sûrah al-Hujûrât:13] The Prophet (peace be upon him) identified the "male" mentioned in this verse as being Adam. He said: “Human beings are the children of Adam and Adam was created from Earth. Allah says: ‘O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is the one who is the most God-fearing’.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (3270)] We also see that Allah created Adam directly without the agency of parents. Allah says: “The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: ‘Be’ and he was.” [Sûrah Âl `Imrân: 59] We also know that Eve was created from Adam without the agency of parents. In the Qur’ân, Allah states clearly: “O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 1] Therefore, the Qur’ân tells us that Adam and his wife were the father and mother of all human beings living on the Earth today. We know about this by way of direct revelation from Allah. "
and "The only thing that the Qur’ân and Sunnah require us to believe about the living things on Earth today is that Allah created them in whatever manner He decided to create them. Allah says: “Allah is the Creator of all things and over all things He has authority.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 62] Indeed, Allah states specifically that He created all life forms: “And We made from water all living things.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 30] We know that “Allah does what He pleases.” Allah can create His creatures in any manner that He chooses. Therefore, with respect to other living things, the Qur’ân and Sunnah neither confirm nor deny the theory of biological evolution or the process referred to as natural selection."
Therefore muslims believe that Adam and Eve were created without parents. However, Adam and Eve did not evolve from other species. Furthermore, there is no explicit prohibition on believing in Nature Selection or Evolution of other animals. In summary, human evolution is against Quran and Sunnah, however, the evolution of other living things is not denied by Quran and Sunnah, according to the article.
Source:
http://islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id...cat_id=792
Okei then Saudi banned Pokemon cz it violates Islamic perceptions.....NOw what does Saudi do in case of studying evolutionary theory in their country.. Islam has emphasized on learning and also what are those learning. Then what shuld be the outcomes of learing evolutionary theory for muslim. Here is an article on learning enouragement for muslims.
"It is indeed not my intention to discourage young Muslims from the pursuit of knowledge and learning. To learn is an obligation, which is enjoined upon us from the cradle to the grave. But what I intend to emphasize here is that however broad their learning and knowledge may be, they are bound to heed those who are specialized. The Sharee`ah has various interdisciplinary branches and Usool which these young Muslims are incapable of knowing and comprehending and for which they neither have the time nor the means. Furthermore, I feel obliged to point out that I do not approve of the tendency of some youths who abandon the colleges in which they have enrolled, and in which they have made good progress and are expected to do well, and seek to specialize in Sharee`ah. Such people ignore the fact that to pursue knowledge - and to excel in any discipline - is fard kifaayah: a collective obligation. It should also be observed that the competition between Muslims and non-Muslims for mastery of the secular sciences is at its highest. When a Muslim seeks to learn, to excel, and acquire insight into such sciences for the sake of Allah (SWT) he is actually performing `ibaadah and jihad.
Let us remember that when the divine message was revealed to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), his earlier companions had various professions. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) did not ask them to give up their work and devote themselves to the study of Islam, except, of course, those who were entrusted with a special mission and who had to adjust themselves to its fulfillment. What I honestly fear is that the tendency to give up pursuing other disciplines in order to study and master Sharee`ah may be motivated by an unconscious covert desire for popularity, ostentation, and leadership, especially in meetings, debates and seminars. Such a desire is not easy to detect, because Satan has countless means and inlets into the human soul, which is vulnerable to temptation, unless that individual is constantly alert. This means that we should carefully investigate our thoughts, motivations and strategies; we should constantly try to find out whether these are impelled by mundane or spiritual goals. Self-deception is a snare, which confuses motives and blurs clarity of vision. We should never tire of reminding ourselves of this Quranic verse: "Whoever holds firmly to Allah will be shown a Way that is straight" [3:101].
By: Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Source: islamzine.com