“Playing PUBG is Haram & Players Should Be Whipped,” Say Islamic Scholars in Aceh

If you’re an active PUBG gamer, you’re also a violator of Islamic law in Aceh, Indonesia, according to Islamic scholars there.

“As Aceh is a province that adheres by the law, offenders who commit haram acts that are forbidden by the religion of Islam deserve to be dragged or whipped accordingly based on the rules governed by Aceh,” said Tengku Abdurrani Adian, the Chairman of Ulema Council of West Aceh District in a statement recorded by Kompas.

He added that PUBG is a game that contains elements of violence and warfare and players should be sentenced to a public whipping.

As of June last year, the Aceh Ulema Council issued a fatwa (ruling on a point of Islamic law) to make PUBG illegal in the district. The fatwa was issued because the game was said to have many negative effects on the community, especially the younger generation.

PUBG was also identified by the Council, as a game filled with elements of violence and war, feared to have psychological effects on the morals of its players. Currently, there is no implementation of the law or corporal punishment that bans the game but Tengku Abdurrani said that the Aceh government can still carry out the sentence.

“As a Muslim, if they continue to play the game of course they are sinning. They will be responsible for their sins hereafter,” he said, adding his hopes that the government of Aceh immediately realise the fatwa of PUBG players that can be subjected to whipping according to Code No.6 of 2014 under Islamic Criminal Law.

He also requested that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Center recognise previous verdicts of Aceh’s Ulema Council to ban the game. Scholars believe that online video games bring more disadvantages than advantages. According to them, PUBG causes players to become addicted and influenced by violent behaviour.

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