Sunday, August 29, 2004

!!الجنجفة حرام

The other day at work, we met with a company that specializes in quick and inexpensive giveaways for an upcoming exhibition that we're participating in next October. Among the many things we ordered were playing cards sets with the company logo on them. Ho-hum, big deal, routine purchase, right? WRONG!!

The company rep urged us to order soon to get the order of cards to arrive before October 1st. Why, I hear you ask? You won't believe this but apparently there's an order from airport customs banning the importing of playing cards as of October and throughout Ramadan because playing cards are حرام!!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My head started pounding, I thought I was going to pass out. But Mad M tells me it's been this way since the 1990's! Playing cards are banned year round because they're afraid of Playboy bunny cards or Tarot cards being imported into Kuwait. Go figure...

Most of you will only snicker and laugh at this story, and that's what pisses me off the most. I, for one, am not taking this matter lightly at all, and I asked the company rep for a copy of the letter he got from customs and I'm going to send it to the papers and make a big noise about it!

7 comments:

  1. The paper quality we wanted isn't available here.

    Does ANYONE make playing cards without pictures? And how are playing cards with pictures حرام? Please explain

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  2. Why have pics when you can have blank cards that say:

    "I am a Queen"
    "I am a King"
    "I am a Jack"

    and leave it up to ppl's imagination..

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  3. I think this ban is due to the pokemon and the other variants that kids are playing these days. Those card games have been assocaited with jews, magic, gambling, stealing, drugs and teenage sex.

    But wait didn't they release those Saddam playing card to Kuwait public, shouldn't those be حرام as well since they have faces on them?

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  4. And therein lies the problem... there aren't any religious scholars that I trust. Not here anyway.

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  5. strange , i have ordered saddam cards and they reached here without any problem ( via normal mail ) , also i never heard that it was haram or that you can't import it , pokoman and yo-gi-oh card are every where , bookshops , muthana complex
    and everyone import it normaly

    if you ask me , the company guy just want you to rush your order

    ReplyDelete
  6. I never heard that cards Haram
    even with pictures !

    ReplyDelete

Keep it clean, people!