Fatwa bans Qur'anic verses on cellphones

Riyadh - A Saudi-based Muslim clerics' organisation has banned the use of Qur'anic verses as cellphone ringtones after a six-day meeting in the holy city of Mecca.

"It is forbidden to use verses of the Qur'an as cellphone ringtones because any such use would damage the Qur'an by their abrupt interruption of the psalm verses or by sounding in inappropriate places," said the fatwa, or religious edict, issued by the Islamic Jurisprudence Council.

About 70 Muslim clerics attended the meeting in Mecca chaired by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdelaziz Al-Sheikh.

The Saudi-owned daily Al-Hayat reported that there had been "a turbulent debate" on the issue.

In recent years many clerics, especially from Egypt, have denounced the use of Qur'anic verses in mobile telephony, believing it to be a frivolity that impinges on the sacred character of the Muslim holy book.

Advertising for downloading verses from the Qur'an has also come under fire. - Sapa-AFP