Alarmed by rumors that the Pokemon video game has elements of Jewish religion and culture, a Muslim asks a rabbi from Jerusalem to find out.

According to Ben Abrahamson, founder of the Al Sadiqin Organization, a center for the study of Islamic and Jewish history, Pokemon has no meaning in Jewish culture.

"It has no meaning in our culture," explained Ben on his personal Facebook page.

"It comes from Japan and comes from Japanese video game culture, most of its symbols and writing appear in Japanese animation."

However, Ben admits that there are also many people who don't like Pokemon.

"A lot of people don't like it because it's a waste of time, it's selfish, and it makes one go astray on the internet," he replied, when told that Pokemon caused a stir among Muslims.

In the comment section, Ben also quoted verse 6, Surah Al-Hujurat from the Quran to answer the rumors posted on the internet.

The verse advises Muslims to research any news to determine its truth so that undesirable things do not befall a race and lead to regret.

According to his website, Ben and Al Sadiqin find and explain the common heritage of Islam and Judaism, and reject the notion that the two religions have been enemies since time immemorial.

For years, the rumor that Pokemon is a Jewish invention and has religious elements has been spread to Muslims through social media and the internet.

According to the baseless accusation, "Pokemon" means "I am Jewish" in Syriac, while the creature's names "Pikachu" and "Charmander" mean "be a Jew", and "God is weak".

"Pokemon" is published by the Nintendo company, and its name is an abbreviation of the word "Pocket Monsters", referring to the 722 cute creatures that players collect in the video game.

Recently, Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria has suggested that Malaysia ban the "augmented reality" game application Pokemon Go because it is considered gambling.

Pahang Mufti Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Osman also thinks it should be banned if it is proven to contain elements of gambling.