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Pokémon controversy: Difference between revisions
→Islam: Added background info about the controversy in the Arab world that I recently came across.
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===Islam=== | ===Islam=== | ||
===Background=== | |||
On March 15, 2001 an anonymous user online claiming to be located in {{wp|Saudi Arabia}}, Qatif City, posted a forum thread on the then big Arabic message-board site '''Montada''' makes questionable claims of the [[Pokémon]] franchise being tied to {{wp|Darwinism}}, {{wp|Zionism}} and {{wp|Satanism}}. | |||
The post contains the following fabricated evidence of the character's names having anti-islamic meanings and zionist undertones when translated in English: | |||
* [[Pokémon]] meaning '''I am a Jew''' | |||
* [[Pikachu]] meaning '''Be a Jew''' | |||
* [[Charmander]] meaning '''God is weak''' | |||
* [[Magikarp]] (misspelled as ''[[Magmar]]'') meaning '''God is stupid''' | |||
* [[Growlithe]] meaning '''God is lazy''' | |||
The following months would see those questionable claims get spread around by either word-of-mouth or anonymous printings of those very misleading rumors that originated off of that forum, which spiraled into a perplexing social smear-campaign movement that succeeded in convincing a number of Arabic nations to outright ban and limit the presence of the Pokémon franchise such as in {{wp|Egypt}} where Mufti ''Nasser Fareed Wasel'' declared in April 06, 2001 the forbidding of remotely interacting with any of its content. | |||
====Claims of Zionist Jewish plot==== | ====Claims of Zionist Jewish plot==== | ||
Some outspoken, fundamentalist Muslims claimed that Pokémon is a Jewish conspiracy intended to get Muslim children to renounce their faith.<ref>[http://www.cairoscene.com/LifeStyle/10-Egyptian-Conspiracy-Theories 10 Egyptian Conspiracy Theories]</ref><ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/24/news/mn-54861 Arabs See Jewish Conspiracy in Pokemon - latimes]</ref><ref>[http://archive.adl.org/presrele/islme_62/3791_62.html ADL denounces claim by Muslim leaders that Pokemon game is “Jewish Conspiracy" - Press Release] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160724034549/http://archive.adl.org/presrele/islme_62/3791_62.html archived copy])</ref><ref>[http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/saddam-hussein-tried-ban-pokemon-7732176 Saddam Hussein tried to ban POKEMON in Iraq for an utterly bizarre reason - Mirror Online]</ref> These same groups claimed that the word "Pokémon" means "I am Jewish", with the claimers and their followers generally unaware of the franchise's Japanese origin. The "Evolution vs. Creationism" conflict was also commonly brought up.<ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/691674/Saudi-Arabia-fatwa-Pokemon-GO-un-islamic-blasphemous-theory-of-natural-evolution Saudi Arabia issues fatwa against POKÉMON for being ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘blasphemous' | World | News | Express.co.uk]</ref><ref>[https://www.memri.org/tv/dubai-family-consultant-dr-khalifa-al-makhrazi-pok%C3%A9mon-go-prohibited-spreads-darwinism Dubai Family Consultant Dr. Khalifa Al-Makhrazi: Pokemon Go Is Prohibited, Spreads Darwinism | MEMRI]</ref><ref>[http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=10338&PageNo=1&BookID=7 Fatwas of the Permanent Committee]</ref> | Some outspoken, fundamentalist Muslims claimed that Pokémon is a Jewish conspiracy intended to get Muslim children to renounce their faith.<ref>[http://www.cairoscene.com/LifeStyle/10-Egyptian-Conspiracy-Theories 10 Egyptian Conspiracy Theories]</ref><ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/24/news/mn-54861 Arabs See Jewish Conspiracy in Pokemon - latimes]</ref><ref>[http://archive.adl.org/presrele/islme_62/3791_62.html ADL denounces claim by Muslim leaders that Pokemon game is “Jewish Conspiracy" - Press Release] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160724034549/http://archive.adl.org/presrele/islme_62/3791_62.html archived copy])</ref><ref>[http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/saddam-hussein-tried-ban-pokemon-7732176 Saddam Hussein tried to ban POKEMON in Iraq for an utterly bizarre reason - Mirror Online]</ref> These same groups claimed that the word "Pokémon" means "I am Jewish", with the claimers and their followers generally unaware of the franchise's Japanese origin. The "Evolution vs. Creationism" conflict was also commonly brought up.<ref>[http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/691674/Saudi-Arabia-fatwa-Pokemon-GO-un-islamic-blasphemous-theory-of-natural-evolution Saudi Arabia issues fatwa against POKÉMON for being ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘blasphemous' | World | News | Express.co.uk]</ref><ref>[https://www.memri.org/tv/dubai-family-consultant-dr-khalifa-al-makhrazi-pok%C3%A9mon-go-prohibited-spreads-darwinism Dubai Family Consultant Dr. Khalifa Al-Makhrazi: Pokemon Go Is Prohibited, Spreads Darwinism | MEMRI]</ref><ref>[http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?languagename=en&View=Page&PageID=10338&PageNo=1&BookID=7 Fatwas of the Permanent Committee]</ref> | ||