Source:
https://scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3140205/fortnite-faces-ban-indonesia-after-minister-brands-it
This Week in Asia/ Politics

Fortnite faces ban in Indonesia after minister brands it blasphemous to Muslims

  • Viral footage that has prompted uproar across the Muslim world shows a character with a scythe walking around a complex resembling the Great Mosque of Mecca
  • As Minister Sandiaga Uno orders a review, some players fear other games – like Minecraft – in which people can create their own worlds could also be banned
A still from the viral YouTube footage showing a Fortnite player in a complex that resembles the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Photo: YouTube

The video game Fortnite could be banned in Indonesia after a minister branded it “blasphemous” for depicting Islamic holy sites.

The news follows an uproar sparked by viral footage showing a scene from the game in which a character carrying a scythe walks around a complex resembling the Great Mosque of Mecca, the Masjid al-Haram, complete with a Kaaba-like structure in the centre.

The Kaaba, which Muslims around the world face towards to pray, is widely considered the most sacred site in Islam and its depiction has caused anger across the Muslim world and particularly in the Middle East. While the offending footage has been around since 2019, it appears to only recently have come to widespread attention.

Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno on Monday branded the game as “blasphemous”, warning it could trigger religious intolerance in the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation.

Sandiaga said he understood gamers were being encouraged to attack the Kaaba icon, though the viral footage does not show this happening.

“We face the Kaaba at least five times a day, from wherever we are in the world to practice shalat [prayers]. I was told that in this game there was an icon that resembles the Kaaba that must be destroyed by the players in order to earn new weapons and level up,” Sandiaga said.

“This contradicts [our] values, particularly religious principles, including religious tolerance. This is something that is very sensitive.”

Sandiaga said he had instructed his staff to review the game and would immediately ban it if the review found it culpable.

His intervention comes after the Centre for Electronic Fatwas at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, the world’s most renowned institution for Islamic learning, banned the game on June 30.

“This affects young people’s beliefs and self-respect and underestimates the importance of their sanctities. Hence, the centre reiterates the banning of all electronic games that encourage violence or contain false ideas which distort faith or show contempt for religious beliefs,” the institution said.

Addressing the backlash, Fortnite Middle East said on Facebook that the Kaaba-like building was user-generated under the game’s “creative mode”, which allows users to create their own icons, and that it was not one of the game’s official elements.

“We would like to emphasise that our team respects all religions and works closely with our game content makers to provide a safe gaming experience for all our players,” the game’s developer, Epic Games, said.

Indonesia’s communications and information minister Johnny Plate told the Antara news agency he would work with the police to track the creator of the offending images.

However, some Indonesian gamers are opposed to a ban. One Twitter user said such a move would make it easier for the government to ban other games such as Minecraft, which also allows users to build virtual worlds.

In 2017, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia all banned the online game Fight of Gods on the grounds it was blasphemous.

Indonesia has also recently said it is considering banning the games PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Free Fire, Mobile Legends, and Higgs Domino after a complaint from a regent in Sumatra that the games would negatively affect children.

The Ulema Council in Aceh, the only province in Indonesia under sharia law, last year said players of “violent” games like PUBG could be flogged if caught.