# Top Religious Leader of Saudi Arabia bans Chess **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 22, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892 "2016-01-22T18:04:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/361 "2016-01-29T01:40:05Z")
Ugh lets not start that one up again. Personally, I’m willing to concede they’re not priests, they’re preachers or clerics. Doesn’t matter because when they say stupid things it still influences people. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/362 "2016-01-29T02:33:15Z")
We need to find some of them who will instruct folks not to kill people. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/363 "2016-01-29T03:06:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We need to find some of them who will instruct folks not to kill people. [Ahem.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslim-clerics-condemn-terrorism_us_566adfa1e4b009377b249dea) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/364 "2016-01-30T00:54:55Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > [Man arrested at Euro-Disneyland carrying handguns and a religious text](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-guns-idUSKCN0V627V). > > The religious text was > > You were really hoping I was going to say the King James Bible, weren’t you ? > > A’isha previously provided 2 examples of Christian-murder for apostasy. Perhaps it is just as common elsewhere as in Bangladesh and I am suffering from selection bias. How about this case? In 2015-2016, when someone was arrested with guns and a religious text, was there a proportional distribution of religious texts? As many Taoist texts as there are Taoists? Well, I for one am not going to argue with you. Clearly, your anecdote demonstrates that muslims are far more dangerous than adherents of most other religions. You’ve made your case; now it’s time for ideas, wouldn’t you say? So, what do you think would be the most effective ways to oppress muslims so that incidents like the one described above don’t happen again? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/365 "2016-01-30T03:24:41Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > So, what do you think would be the most effective ways to oppress muslims so that incidents like the one described above don’t happen again? Find some religious leaders who will tell them that murder is wrong who they will listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/366 "2016-02-02T05:10:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Money? It’s the cheapest game in the world. You could play it on a sheet of paper with smaller bits of paper as pieces. Real experts can dispense with physical pieces and play the game in their heads. I read somewhere that part of the reason was that it could bring on gambling. But hey, anything that robs time from religious study… In any event, though, fatwas even in Saudi Arabia do not have the force of law, so it isn’t like the game has been summarily banned, as opposed to such things as consuming alcohol or seeking converts to other religions, which are illegal and strictly punished. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/367 "2016-02-02T05:50:11Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Find some religious leaders who will tell them that murder is wrong who they will listen to. Missed #363, did you? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/368 "2016-02-02T11:44:22Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > … > So, what do you think would be the most effective ways to oppress muslims … ISWYDD I have recently been informed of an effective new strategy of oppression that is so easy, anyone could do it! It is: glaring angrily, yet silently, passive-aggressive style, at those most obviously Muslim when encountered in grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/369 "2016-02-02T16:26:01Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > consuming alcohol…which are illegal and strictly punished. While technically illegal, I’ve served drinks to Saudis in a bar in Saudi Arabia, so strictly punished, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/370 "2016-02-02T20:10:07Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > While technically illegal, I’ve served drinks to Saudis in a bar in Saudi Arabia, so strictly punished, not so much. I am pissing myself laughing at this claim. Karl Andree ring any bells? Booze isn’t technically illegal in Saudi, it’s strictly fucking illegal. And while every Aramco and most service company compounds I worked at across the kingdom had some form of illicit bar with a selection of piss poor homebrew and over priced smuggled booze, everyone who ever had a still fermenting pint of piss there knew fine there was a chance the mutawa could rock up to shut the place down and break heads. The saudis themselves, even in a raid, weren’t likely to get more than a telling off, but expats (particularly non-western) were deeply screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/371 "2016-02-02T21:03:26Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > I am pissing myself laughing at this claim. Karl Andree ring any bells? No, but I Googled him, so… I had been under the impression that alcohol was strictly forbidden in SA _for Muslims_, yet permitted for non-Muslims. Clearly that’s erroneous. Am I thinking of a different Muslim country? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/372 "2016-02-02T21:15:22Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > No, but I Googled him, so… I had been under the impression that alcohol was strictly forbidden in SA _for Muslims_, yet permitted for non-Muslims. Clearly that’s erroneous. Am I thinking of a different Muslim country? It’s a couple years old now, but [here’s a fun piece](http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/07/06/199087974/what-a-fella-has-to-do-to-get-a-drink-around-the-muslim-world) from an NPR journalist looking at some of the alcohol prohibitions and their workarounds in MENA. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/373 "2016-02-02T21:43:58Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > No, but I Googled him, so… I had been under the impression that alcohol was strictly forbidden in SA _for Muslims_, yet permitted for non-Muslims. Clearly that’s erroneous. Am I thinking of a different Muslim country? You are most certainly not thinking of KSA. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/374 "2016-02-02T22:08:13Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > No, but I Googled him, so… I had been under the impression that alcohol was strictly forbidden in SA _for Muslims_, yet permitted for non-Muslims. Clearly that’s erroneous. Am I thinking of a different Muslim country? You’re confusing Saudi Arabia with some, but not all, of the emirates in the United Arab Emirates. ---
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/375 "2016-02-02T22:23:28Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > … fatwas even in Saudi Arabia do not have the force of law… The [Wiki article](http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_system_of_Saudi_Arabia) claims that Saudi Arabia has adopted Sharia in an uncodified form , and that judges do not need to follow precedent. How can this be reconciled with a fatwa not being forcing? It seems to me that if an action is not covered by the modern written laws for corporate law, intellectual property law etc., that is then covered by Sharia. Do you claim this because traditionally Sharia says nothing about Chess? The Mufti claimed chess was gambling, which is subject to Sharia. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/376 "2016-02-02T23:11:26Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > How can this be reconciled with a fatwa not being forcing? Words actually mean things, troll. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/377 "2016-02-03T00:16:48Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > You’re confusing Saudi Arabia with some, but not all, of the emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Possibly Afghanistan, based on the NPR article andros linked to. ---
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/378 "2016-02-03T18:59:04Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Words actually mean things, troll. This was not a rhetorical question, so please elaborate. ---
**Author:** ![A\_isha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@A\_isha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_isha)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/379 "2016-02-03T19:54:45Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > This was not a rhetorical question, so please elaborate. It’s the same as the difference between a judge assigned to a specific case giving a ruling on that case, and Antonin Scalia [talking about something in a commencement speech at a high school somewhere.](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/275ecd74694f4fcb8faba72f4ed33ec7/scalia-dismisses-concept-religious-neutrality-speech) The latter might be the considered opinion of a respected and influential judicial figure, but it still doesn’t have the binding force of law precisely because it’s not the former. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892/380 "2016-02-03T20:52:39Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > This was not a rhetorical question, so please elaborate. What **A’isha** said, troll. “Sharia” =/= “fatwa.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-religious-leader-of-saudi-arabia-bans-chess/743892.md?page=20)