By Agencies
Cairo: Egypt’s Dar al Iftaa, the country’s top Islamic authority, has declared ‘Blue Whale’ forbidden in Islam after learning that the video game has led to several suicide-linked deaths.
The governmental body has warned against the game after an 18-year-old Egyptian boy reportedly committed suicide after playing the game last week.
In a YouTube video, a Dar Al-Iftaa representative said the game consists of “several elements” deemed to be “forbidden” in Islam, as quoted by Al-Masry el-Youm newspaper.
He goes on to explain how the game demands its players to commit self-harm tasks in a challenge that eventually leads them to take their own lives.
“After studies and research into the game, we say that it is a filthy game and causes harm. So we deem that it is forbidden. It is forbidden to play it and we ask our youth to spend their time in something that is productive for them and their society,” he added.
The death of a son of a former Egyptian MP sent shock waves across the community after his family blamed its occurrence on the controversial “game.”
The victim’s siblings said their brother hung himself in his room surrounded by scribblings and symbols referring to the “Blue Whale” video game.
