Hoax or Fatwa, you decide

The New York Times op-ed page is usually a platform for serious thought by leading American intellectuals. However a recent entry, "God is in the rules" has brought out the cynic in me. The topic is a Fatwa, or islamic ruling, on the playing of soccer. When I started laughing I realized it might be a hoax. Here are two of the rules from the Fatwa.

Do not set the time of play at 45 minutes, which is the official time of the Jews, Christians and all the heretical and atheist countries. This is the time used by teams that have strayed from the righteous path. You are obliged to distinguish yourself from the heretics and the corrupted and must not resemble them in anything. Do not play in two halves. Rather play in one half or three halves in order to completely differentiate yourselves from the heretics, the polytheists, the corrupted and the disobedient.

Wow, I thought I was math challenged. Everyone knows that one half and three halves add up to 3 and a half, don't they? Read the article. There is another good part about how playing soccer in pajamas is a good islamic practice.   [postscript 17-Oct] Here is an additional comment about why I think this Fatwa is a hoax. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan all sports were banned as un-Islamic. The Fatwa discussed here is a sort of half-way measure that would be rejected by a true fundamentalist.