A top Egyptian cleric has warned Muslims that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are forbidden under Islamic law, although he appears more concerned with protecting the power of the government rather than the souls of the pious.

This week, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam (pictured) issued an official fatwa in which he declared that “virtual currency” was an unacceptable “interface of exchange.” Allam likened cryptocurrency trading to gambling and thus is similarly forbidden under Sharia law “due to its direct responsibility in financial ruin for individuals.”

This is the third anti-crypto fatwa issued in recent months. In December, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs slammed both gambling and crypto, calling the latter a potential “means of deception” that could be used to obtain “unjustifiable and unjust enrichment.” A Saudi minister has similarly declared Bitcoin haram (forbidden) for giving “namelessness to crooks.”

These three countries share not only the Islamic faith but also intolerant authoritarian governments. While Egypt has yet to officially ban crypto usage, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority warned the public in December that it considered dabbling in cryptocurrency trading to be a “form of deception that falls under legal liability.”