'Spying on spouse's cell phone or computer without permission can be termed as sin'

A Kuwaiti religious scholar has said that checking a spouse's cell phone or computer without his or her permission amounts to committing a sin.

Ajeel Al Nashmi, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Scholars' League, said that from the religious perspective, a spouse must not access his or her spouse's mobile phone or computer without his or her authorisation, Gulf News reported.

He added that neither the wife nor the husband may spy on each other or check each other's emails or messages without a proper permission, and whoever does it is a sinner.

The only exception is when there is strong and reasonable suspicion about unacceptable behaviour, he said.

But he asserted that even then, the purpose of checking the phone or the computer should be for the purpose of providing advice, and not to create a scandal.

The scholar's anti-spying warning is issued as companies take advantage of advanced technology and promote new smartphone applications that quietly forward locations, emails, calls and texts that can be used to spy on spouses.