Snapchat filters ‘sinful’

JEDDAH: A member of the Council of Senior Scholars who issued a fatwa declaring the use of Snapchat filters a sin, has been criticized on Twitter by many young Saudis.

Nasser Al-Omar said on his Twitter account on May 15 that the special effects created by the Snapchat application was not permissible because it was distorting God’s creation to make people laugh, a local publication reported recently.

Although Al-Omar did not state which application he was referring to, many Tweeters agreed that he meant Snapchat. This application allows users to add effects to their photographs and has become popular among young Saudis.

The Kingdom ranks only second after Ireland in terms of the usage of the application, according to surveys conducted by Global Web Index, the British research company. It is most popular among Saudi youths aged 16 to 20 years.

Several Twitter users reportedly dug up old fatwas on similar issues, saying that this was not necessary. One user, Wajdi Mohammad, said girls looked prettier with the effects, while Khalid Hassan said the fatwa of Al-Omar does not include photographs, only changes made to original images.

Source: ArabNews

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