With the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, users of social media were exasperated by a fatwa (religious edict) describing the event as haram (against Islam). An Egyptian scholar appeared in a video clip circulated on social media to announce that soccer matches are haram. He claimed that they distract people from observing their religious duties. He said that watching the games was “catastrophic”. Tweeters strongly criticized this unusual fatwa and called for stopping scholars from making such unrealistic decrees. They said that fatwas should only be issued by the concerned official religious authorities. This is not the first time an Islamic scholar has ruled that soccer is haram. Two years ago, a Saudi scholar said the same thing. He said soccer is a Masonic game. In 2003, Abdullah Al-Najdi, a Saudi scholar, wrote a 36-page report in which he claimed that playing soccer is haram. He put a number of conditions on how the game should be played. Among others, these conditions included the cancellation of free kicks, corners and penalties. He also said the players' shirts should not be numbered. Al-Najdi also said the yellow and red cards should not be used by referees in soccer matches. I would like to ask a few simple questions: Is Islam against innocent entertainment? Why are some fatwas aimed at killing joy and preventing happiness? Why does it seem that some Muslim scholars want people to hate Islam? Why do these scholars want to make Muslims miserable and turn their lives into hell? Some fatwas seem to deal with people as if they were flocks of sheep with no freedom to choose or think.They not only harass people but tell them what their attitude should be toward their own compatriots and other people of the world. Some extremist fatwas have prohibited what Allah has made permissible for us. They have openly asked us not to enjoy the numerous bounties Allah has graciously bestowed upon us. Other fatwas spread the culture of “blow yourself up” in order to go Heaven. They have turned many of our young men into terrorists and have caused them to lose their lives for nothing. These fatwas rate the value of death high and make life cheap. Such stupid fatwas have taken many of our young men from the bosom of their families and from their schools and have led them to the fields of destruction. The issue of wrong fatwas can be solved in two ways: First, there should be legislation making it a crime for any scholar to issue a fatwa asking young men to engage in jihad. Whoever issues such a fatwa should be tried as a terrorist along with those who commit terrorist actions. Second, fatwas should only be issued by the concerned religious authorities. We should all realize that Allah has given us minds to think and to use for doing good and for abstaining from doing wrong.
