Prominent Bangladesh Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Facebook's Haha React Emoji, Calls It Totally Haram

A prominent Muslim cleric in Bangladesh has issued a fatwa against the Haha emoji which can be used to react to posts on Facebook, by terming it "Totally Haram" in Islam, AFP has reported.

The cleric named Ahmadullah who has over three million followers on Facebook and YouTube posted a video last Saturday (24 June) warning against the use of Haha react on Facebook to mock people.

"Nowadays we use Facebook's haha emojis to mock people. If we react with haha emojis purely out of fun and the same was intended by the person who posted the content, it's fine. But if your reaction was intended to mock or ridicule people who posted or made comments on social media, it's totally forbidden in Islam," Ahmadullah said.

Recently supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a fatwa stating that women in cartoons and animated features must be depicted wearing a hijab.

The Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh – among the largest Islamic seminaries in India – has also issued a fatwa banning Muslims from posting pictures on social media sites.