Pokémon in the Arab world
Pokémon in The Arab world | ||||
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Language | Arabic | |||
Continent | Middle East | |||
Original anime airdates | ||||
EP001 | ||||
AG001 | ||||
DP001 | ||||
BW001 | ||||
XY001 | ||||
SM001 | ||||
JN001 | ||||
HZ001 |
The Pokémon franchise first reached Arab world in late 2000, with the first broadcast of EP001 in Arabic language on MBC Channel.
The word Pokémon is written as بوكيمون in Arabic script. In Arabic, a plural form of Pokémon is بوكيمونات (Pokémonat), as used in Anime. Pokémon are always referred to as either male or female.
While all characters, Pokémon, and locations have kept their English names in the Arabic version, some objects in the franchise received Arabic names. The Poké Ball, for example, has been dubbed as كرة البوكي (Kurt Al-Poké), and the PokéFlute received the name مزمار البوكي (Mizmar Al-Poké) and so on.
Controversy
In 2001, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who is the highest religious authority is the kingdom, issued a fatwā banning the Pokémon franchise, claiming it encourages gambling and promotes Zionism. High Muslim authorities in Qatar and Egypt then joined the ban. As this happened during the second Intifada, a Jordanian newspaper printed a caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sitting in a tank and laughing at an Arab man chasing a Pokémon. This is meant to convey that Arabs are distracted from their conflict with the Israelis by popular franchises, with Pokémon as an example of such "distractions."
Despite the initial banning, which quickly wiped away Pokémon merchandise, especially the card game, from markets in Saudi Arabia, Pokémon video games quickly returned to be sold normally, but under much less demand from local consumers. Some Pokémon merchandise, such as the Expedition Base Set reappeared in certain stores a few years later, but newer sets were never brought. Generation III and Generation IV games seem completely unaffected by the ban.
Pokémon anime
Pokémon airs or has aired in the following countries:
Country | Channels aired |
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- | - |
- | - |
Dubbing
The Pokémon anime is dubbed in the Arab world firet by Venus Company (مركز الزهرة Markaz Az-Zuhra), then by Super M Productions. This anime was aired Exclusive in MBC Channel.
Cast and crew
Venus Company
Ash Ketchum was voiced by Buthaina Shia بثينة شيا, Misty was voiced by Majd Zaza مجد ظاظا and Rafat Pazo رأفت بازو provides the voice of Brock.
Super M Productions
The Pokémon franchise around the world | |
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Africa: | South Africa |
The Americas: | Brazil • Canada • Latin America • United States |
Asia: | Greater China • Indonesia • Japan • Malaysia • Philippines • Singapore • South Asia • South Korea • Thailand • Vietnam |
Europe: | Albania • Belgium • Bulgaria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Denmark • Finland • France • Germany • Greece Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Netherlands • North Macedonia • Norway • Poland Portugal • Romania • Russia • Serbia • Slovakia • Spain • Sweden • Ukraine • United Kingdom |
Middle East: | Arab world • Israel • Turkey |
Oceania: | Australia • New Zealand |
This article is part of Project Globe, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world. |