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E-sport enthusiasts defend PUBG as MUI mulls edict against it
The perpetrator of the shooting rampage at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, cited the war game Fortnite -- which is similar to PUBG -- in his manifesto, prompting speculation that he was inspired by the game.
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A gamer plays "Player's Unknown Battleground" on his smaertphone (Shutterstock.com/Lukmanazis)
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ndonesian e-sport enthusiasts are defending the popular war game Player Unknown's Battleground (PUBG) after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said it is considering declaring the game -- which was linked to the recent mosque shootings in New Zealand that killed 50 worshippers -- haram.
Andrian Pauline, the founder and CEO of one of the most prominent Indonesian e-sport organizations Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), said there was no relation between violent games and violent acts.
“There have many violent games for decades, but games are only for entertainment. There are many soap operas, films, and sports that can be categorized as violent but the audience know that these forms of entertainment are not doctrine videos ordering them to be radical terrorists,” Andrian told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
“If they say PUBG is haram today, will they say action movies, or boxing, or karate are haram too because they can be interpreted as violent?”
The perpetrator of the shooting rampage at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, cited the war game Fortnite -- which is similar to PUBG -- in his manifesto, prompting speculation that he was inspired by the game.
Asrorun Ni’am, the MUI’s fatwa commission secretary, told the Post on Saturday that it was planning to meet with several experts to discuss the matter on Tuesday.
“[We] plan [to meet] on Tuesday,” he said via text message. “We will listen to suggestions from experts from various fields such as the psychologists, the Communications and Information Ministry, Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI), legal experts, as well as game producers and gamers,” he added.
