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Anti-April Fools Day

Saudi Arabia's chief cleric, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, issued a fatwa decreeing that April Fool's Day was a form of organized lying practiced by unbelievers, and that Muslims therefore should not participate in the tradition. He made his comments in response to a query from the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh. Al-Sheik acknowledged that many younger Muslims were beginning to adopt the custom, but said, "It is prohibited because lying is prohibited at all times and under all conditions." He noted only three exceptions to this rule: when lying brings reconciliation between people, when it occurs during times of war, or when a husband or wife must protect the honor of the spouse.

Fred Orsinger, chairman of the Association for the Prevention of April Fool Jokes (A.F.P.O.A.F.J.), issued some guidelines to help people avoid becoming the victims of April Fool jokes. "There's no fool like an April fool. Beware," he said. "The telephone joker is the most common. I figure out he'll consume more than 8,000,000 man hours of work throughout the Nation today. There is one standard gag, though, that the association believes in looking into—the pocket book lying on the sidewalk. It's worth the look, and even if there is no money inside, you may get a good pocket book." Orsinger's regular job was Director of the National Aquarium in Washington DC. [Oakland Tribune, Apr 1, 1940.]