Controversy and Criticism of Pokemon

In the view of Islam world

Pokémon has only belatedly made its way to the Islamic world, at this point, in Saudi Arabia. The driving point behind this factor is the belief that the trading card game promotes gambling with cards. This declaration is been made official by Mufti, the most influential conservative religious group in Saudi Arabia. In most other moderate Islamic countires it poses no threat.

Despite assurances from the Nintendo that the trade name stands for "Pocket Monsters," the video games and related items have been stripped from store shelves in Saudi Arabia and turned away at ports. Schools in Saudi Arabia have set up collection points to turn in clothing decorated with Pokémon figures.

A fatwa, or religious edict, issued by a Saudi sheik urges all Muslims to beware of the game, noting that most of the cards bear "six-pointed stars, a symbol of international Zionism and the state of Israel."