<p>A prominent Muslim Bangladeshi cleric with a huge online following has issued a fatwa against people using Facebook's "haha" emoji to mock people.</p>.<p>Ahmadullah, who uses one name, has more than three million followers on Facebook and YouTube. He regularly appears on television shows to discuss religious issues in the Muslim-majority country.</p>.<p>On Saturday he posted a three-minute video in which he discussed the mocking of people on Facebook and issued a fatwa, an Islamic edict, explaining how it is "totally haram (forbidden)" for Muslims.</p>.<p>"Nowadays we use Facebook's haha emojis to mock people," Ahmadullah said in the video, which has since been viewed more than two million times.</p>.<p>"If we react with haha emojis purely out of fun and the same was intended by the person who posted the content, it's fine.</p>.<p>"But if your reaction was intended to mock or ridicule people who posted or made comments on social media, it's totally forbidden in Islam," Ahmadullah added.</p>.<p>"For God's sake I request you to refrain from this act. Do not react with 'haha' to mock someone. If you hurt a Muslim he may respond with bad language that would be unexpected."</p>.<p>Thousands of followers reacted to his video, most of them positively, although several hundred made fun of it -- using the "haha" emoji.</p>.<p>Ahmadullah is among Bangladesh's new crop of internet-savvy Islamic preachers who have drawn millions of followers online.</p>.<p>Their commentaries on religious and social issues are hugely popular, drawing millions of views per video.</p>.<p>Some have earned notoriety with bizarre claims on the origin of the coronavirus. A few are accused of preaching hatred, while several have turned into celebrities for their fun-filled videos.</p>
<p>A prominent Muslim Bangladeshi cleric with a huge online following has issued a fatwa against people using Facebook's "haha" emoji to mock people.</p>.<p>Ahmadullah, who uses one name, has more than three million followers on Facebook and YouTube. He regularly appears on television shows to discuss religious issues in the Muslim-majority country.</p>.<p>On Saturday he posted a three-minute video in which he discussed the mocking of people on Facebook and issued a fatwa, an Islamic edict, explaining how it is "totally haram (forbidden)" for Muslims.</p>.<p>"Nowadays we use Facebook's haha emojis to mock people," Ahmadullah said in the video, which has since been viewed more than two million times.</p>.<p>"If we react with haha emojis purely out of fun and the same was intended by the person who posted the content, it's fine.</p>.<p>"But if your reaction was intended to mock or ridicule people who posted or made comments on social media, it's totally forbidden in Islam," Ahmadullah added.</p>.<p>"For God's sake I request you to refrain from this act. Do not react with 'haha' to mock someone. If you hurt a Muslim he may respond with bad language that would be unexpected."</p>.<p>Thousands of followers reacted to his video, most of them positively, although several hundred made fun of it -- using the "haha" emoji.</p>.<p>Ahmadullah is among Bangladesh's new crop of internet-savvy Islamic preachers who have drawn millions of followers online.</p>.<p>Their commentaries on religious and social issues are hugely popular, drawing millions of views per video.</p>.<p>Some have earned notoriety with bizarre claims on the origin of the coronavirus. A few are accused of preaching hatred, while several have turned into celebrities for their fun-filled videos.</p>