Rejecting gambling as against Islamic laws, academics at Cardiff University’s Center for the Study of Islam have joined forces with Muslim athletes fighting to stop the sale of performance data to betting industry.

Currently, personal performance data is collected under license during matches and training sessions. Yet, it is usually sold for profit which breaks existing UK data protection laws.

Protesting the selling of data, Muslim academics formed a partnership with former football manager Russell Slade’s ‘Project Red Card’.

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“Muslims take their religion seriously,” said Dr. Mansur Ali from the Centre for the Study of Islam at Cardiff University, Daily Mail reported.

“We are not in the business of telling people what to do.

“Our project will provide an evidence-based guideline for Muslim athletes to make an ethical and religiously informed decision about their data and intellectual property.”

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The cricketers’ union, the PCA, and almost two thousand professional footballers in the UK have already signed up to support of Project Red Card.

Gambling is haram or unlawful in Islam. It is an “abomination, of Satan’s handiwork”, according to God’s words in the Qur’an.

 “{They ask you concerning alcohol and gambling. Say: ‘In them is a great sin, and some benefits for men, but the sin is far greater than the benefit.’}” (Surat Al-Baqarah 2:219).

Gambling is also a violation of justice, a waste of God’s blessings. It’s addictive. It incites hatred & envy, it often goes hand-in-hand with alcohol, it leads to laziness, it feeds greed, and it makes one never satisfied with his portion in life.