Fortnite Game Requires Players To Destroy Kaaba-like Buildings, Sandiaga Uno Angry: Sensitive, Broken Religious Harmony

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno instructed his staff to review and then block the Fortnite game so that it is not played by children.

One of the things that influenced the decision was that Fortnite required players to destroy a building similar to the Kaaba.

In addition, another reason is because Fortnite is directly against noble values, especially religious.

According to him, the game can trigger disrespectful behavior between religious communities, encourage acts of violence and have the potential to blaspheme religion.

"Five times a day at least we face the Kaaba, from wherever we are in the world to perform the obligatory prayers or sunnah prayers. And in this game I was told that there is an icon that is considered to be similar to the Kaaba that must be destroyed to get a new weapon and ascend to the top. next level,"

"In my opinion, this is very contrary to noble values, especially in terms of religion, including religious harmony, this is a very sensitive matter," said Minister Sandiaga in a statement quoted by Antara, Monday, July 5.

The Kaaba is a holy place for all Muslims in the world. Therefore, he admitted that he agreed with the fatwa published by the Electronic Fatwa Center of Al Azhar University in Cairo, namely a prohibition for Muslims not to play Fortnite.

The reason is because the game has injured Muslims and has the potential to affect the beliefs and mentality of young people.

"Therefore, we will instruct the team to review and immediately issue a ban. We also want to warn some game developers to be careful," said the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Digitization, including social media and digital games, is analogous to two blades.

On the one hand, digitization opens up business opportunities and employment opportunities, but on the other hand digitization can also be a detrimental threat.

"This is a potential, as well as a threat. Therefore, games are the center of our attention at this time," said Minister Sandiaga.

"We make sure that this application and game development becomes an opportunity for us to create jobs, become business fields, but not to injure the noble values of our nation," he concluded.