Saudi Grand Mufti says chess is forbidden under Islam

Saudi Arabia's highest religious cleric has ruled that chess is forbidden under Islam because it encourages gambling.

"The game of chess is a waste of time and an opportunity to squander money. It causes enmity and hatred between people," said Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah. He also cited a verse in the Koran banning gambling.

The ruling came during the cleric's weekly television show during which he pronounces fatwas – legal pronouncements on aspects of Islamic law – in response to viewer's questions.

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Musa Bin Thaily, the president of the Saudi Chess Association's law committee, confirmed on social media that a fatwa had been issued, but had not come into effect.

He added that Grand Mufti, "being an old man in his 80s", is unaware that players do not usually bet on the outcome of games, the Middle East Eye reports.

The issue isn't black and white, says The Guardian. "Since the ruling was in response to a specific question, it was probably meant as an advisory opinion rather than a formal edict," it says. As such, chess is unlikely to be banned.

Saudi Arabian clerics have a long history of issuing unusual fatwas. Sheikh Mohammed Saleh al-Munajjid prohibited the building of snowmen last year.

He also banned Micky Mouse, calling the much loved Disney character "one of Satan's soldiers" and proclaiming that all mice, both real and fictional, must be killed.