Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's supreme Shia religious authority, has previously issued rulings forbidding chess. After the 1979 Islamic revolution, playing chess was banned in public in Iran and declared haram, or forbidden, by senior clerics because it was associated with gambling.
Is chess “haram” and “unIslamic”? For brief while, fundamentalist Islamic “scholars” — from both Sunni and Shia camps — decreed it is and banned the game. Saudi Arabia's grand mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh once ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam, saying it encourages gambling and is a waste of time.
The game originated in northern India in the 6th century AD and spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently, through the Moorish conquest of Spain, spread to Southern Europe.
He stated that he had issued the fatwa forbidding chess because it is like gambling and “a waste of time.” The Grand Mufti added that chess is a work of Satan that causes hatred and enmity between players.
In Islam, gambling (Arabic: ميسر, romanized: maisîr, maysir, maisira or قمار qimâr) is absolutely forbidden (Arabic: harām).
In such games our beloved Prophet recommended and encouraged sports such as swimming, shooting, horse riding, running (athletics) and wrestling, and even they were engaged in them (2).
This meat is called "halal." Muslims are also prohibited from gambling, taking interest, fortune-telling, killing, lying, stealing, cheating, oppressing or abusing others, being greedy or stingy, engaging in sex outside of marriage, disrespecting parents, and mistreating relatives, orphans or neighbors.
Beethoven's music, chess and everything that was interpreted as a sign of “decadent capitalism” was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution (1965-1976) — a sociopolitical movement that saw millions arrested and killed during the last years of Mao Zedong's regime.
Chess has been called the “game of kings” and pious Christian legend attributed its invention to King Solomon himself. Hindu legend says that it came from a wise man who invented the game to instruct a tyrannical king named Shimram what his subjects were actually like, hence the variety of characters on the board.
Chess was banned in Iran by Imam Khomeini, who defined it as a diabolical game that disturbs the minds of those who play it, because in the Middle Ages it was a game of chance (it was played with dice) and gambling, two things that are strictly prohibited by the Koran, even though some moderate Muslim countries do ...
This was during what the historians call the Islamic Golden Age which began around the time of the creation of chess. During this time the Islamic Empires stretched out into Africa, Asia, and Europe. This allowed for the game of chess to spread quickly in the three continents.
The Muslims created new chess-pieces to reinterpret the realistic-naturalistic Persian-Indian models. After the game entered Europe, the non-representational Arab chessmen were transformed into human likenesses.
The first account of the game of chess in Western Europe dates back 1010 A.D. A Christian and a Muslim playing chess, late 1200s.
Historically, chess and religion did not co-exist harmoniously. Chess was seen as a game that contradicted many religious beliefs and practices and was prohibited by Judaism, Islam, the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicans, the Puritans, and the Taliban, among others.
"Especially boxing and fighting [sports] without rules are considered, from the religious point of view, haram, as they can damage health, disable someone," said Abdulkodirzoda, who is appointed to his post by the government. He added: "All kinds of games and duels [done] for money are haram.
With trademark idiocy, Pakistan has pulled out of the World Chess Olympiad that gets underway in Mammalapuram outside Chennai today, citing the Olympiad's torch relay passing through Kashmir.
As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, lives of many people will change dramatically, and that unfortunately includes those who play chess, because apparently the Taliban do not approve of chess.
Jewish players and theoreticians have long been involved in the game of chess and have significantly contributed to the development of chess, which has been described as the "Jewish national game". Chess gained popularity amongst Jews in the 12th century.
Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, widely considered the "father of modern chess," extensively analyzed various double king-pawn openings (beginning 1. e4 e5) in his book The Modern Chess Instructor, published in 1889 and 1895.
The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) is dedicated to promoting the game of chess in Australia, and is a member of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The ACF administers its own chess rating system for tournaments in Australia, and runs the ACF Grand Prix, a series of chess tournaments run by local organisers.
Chess passed from Persia to the Arab world, where its name changed to Arabic shatranj. From there it passed to Western Europe, probably via Spain.
1. Russia - 211. Another 22 players currently competing under the "FIDE" flag used to represent Russia until recently.
Exposing the intimate parts of the body is unlawful in Islam as the Quran instructs the covering of male and female genitals, and for adult females the breasts. Exposing them is normally considered sinful. Exposing intimate parts when needed, such as going to the toilet or bathing, falls under a specific set of rules.
Worshipping anyone or anything other than God, known as shirk, is the most major sin for a Muslim.
Ali said the Koran is clear that Muslim men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women as long as their brides are “People of the Book” — Christians or Jews, both of whom recognize Abraham as their spiritual forefather, as Muslims do. A Muslim woman, however, cannot marry a non-Muslim man unless he converts.