The Video Game Hubbub

I wrote a while back about Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure on the Wii you can read the original post here.

Like any group of fun loving people out there, Moslems love their video games and it seems the video games industry loves us too.

LittleBigPlanet is a Sony game that got delayed, because Sony didnt want to offend Muslims. Maybe they didnt want the negative spin, since with Muslims it can get nasty- sad, but true, for a game that was, is, meant to be enjoyed by all.

I can imagine Sony not wanting negative attention. As a Muslim I apprieciate their concern. I want them to feel that there is nothing wrong with being senstive to Muslim issues that pertain to religion and practice and beliefs.

There is, however, a difference in what is legitimate concern and what is just outright over caucious paranoia. Here it is paranoia. This is why:

The Arabic, are verses of the Quran, however, they are not in its entiriety, rather just portions of the Quranic verses, and yes they are put to music and to lyrics in a West African song by a West African singer- "Tapha Niang" from the 2006 album Boulevard de l'Independance by Grammy award-winning Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté.

In all other games, like Zack and Wiki, there was a clear in appropriate use of Arabic. If an artist took Surah Fatiha and decided to sing it to an electric guitar, yes I would say that is inappropriate. But a singer using portions of verses that can basically be common day utterences like "everyone will taste death" or "everything in the world will perish" as is the case in the song, then why make a fuss over it?

At slate there is a nice discussion, you can read it here.

What I found of interest was Ahmed Rehab, (disclaimer, I work for CAIR and so does Rehab) and I took the email pasted at slate and inserted it below:

Ahmed M. Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), wrote me in an e-mail:

I fished out the song on the internet and heard it. I have no problem with it. I am a fan of Muslim West African music and art. I would have a problem if someone were to sing the lyrics of the Qur'an to some kind of tune, but this was a tasteful citation of a few words from the Qur'an -- not entire verses -- that were chanted in typical West African fashion, not sung to a melody, granted there was music in the background.

Personally, I find the song to be beautiful and touching. But I respect the views of those who have taken offense and I appreciate that Sony has as well. To be fair, I believe Sony is under no obligation to recall the game given that the song was not of their own making, but that of a devout Muslim who allowed them to use it. However, I think they made an admirable decision to respect the sensitivities of their customers who were offended, which is a wise decision from both a marketing and community relations perspective.

He added:

Keep in mind though, I reckon there is a huge market for Sony's games in Indonesia, Malaysia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East. It just may be that Sony is at the end of the day concerned about its bottom line, not so much sensitivities.

I think a total recall was not necessary, but kudos for Sony, next time they should consult with world religious organizations to get a better handle on opinions of Muslims rather then just a few concerned gamers. Also enjoy below the song in the game.

In Annapolis today...

...they should all play this game.



This video game is a role playing game where you the player are a green journalist just arrived to report on the Middle East- specifically Palestine/Israeli conflict- or like I would put it the unlawful and unjust occupation of Palestine. (I must be one biased journalist)

You can read my opinion of this "summit" on my blog. And you should check out the video game as well, in fact buy it, I think its worth while teaching tool on the issues involved in the conflict.

Video Games and Islam

I was not even aware of this, but a Capcom video game contained "Allah Akbar" repeatedly as a phrase in the game. CAIR had worked on bringing this to the companies attention after it had received complaints from numerous community members.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has announced that Capcom has removed what CAIR calls a "common Islamic phrase" from Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure on the Wii. The phrase's removal comes following complaints from CAIR and others.

I guess as a Muslim a few things come to mind that need to be asked, because I personally would not have an issue with the inclusion of the phrase "Allah Akbar" For instance:

1. Does the character say this when he accomplishes something great? Because normally this term is used when something good happens or when you find out something bad, so you say "God is Great" giving glory to God's greatness rather then to your own or lack there of.
2. Is this happening in a song or some sort of dance? If so then maybe I do have a problem with it but to be honest Allah is like God and you hear that phrase all over the place in Arabic songs.
3. What is the context? That will be critical in figuring out if I as an American Muslim have an issue with it- is it like Nike where they put the Arabic script on the shoe for the word that spelt out "God"- if its something like that then yes we have an issue.

If I could get answers to these then we can better judge the claim. But most people will feel like Muslims are the "Art police" impinging on the artists and their creation; or it could sound foreign and alien in the game and totally out of place, in that case the game maker is being assisted (played many a game where I thought that sounds/looks so incredibly cheesy)

I found this email posted on Nintendo's website that really seemed to sum up my thoughts on the issue:

As an avid Wii gamer, and point and click enthusiast, I was checking out this gametrailer vid of some of the new Zack and Wiki gameplay. Though I´m agnostic, I grew up in a Muslim family and visited Pakistan a number of times. Therefore, I can safely say that both 20 and 44 seconds into this clip, you can hear the island savages called into prayer with a sound clip of a Muslim call to prayer, “Allahou Akbar”, and then mimic the way of prayer.

Strange and slightly horrifying, I really hope that it is a temporary placeholder for an other sound. Even so, why was it there in the first place?

Then I found the video, so its time to take a look for yourself how its used:



After watching that, I am quite happy that they removed it. For the following reasons:

1. The game looks like its sucks;
2. The fact that its being used to depict something foreign and alien and when there is some sort of "Native American" rain dance- which in itself feeds off of two cultures belittling both at one time;
3. Its not even used in an appropriate manner to say that what it means in Arabic and how its being used don't even match up so it serves really no purpose except to create or further the alien-ness of the situation.

I can think of these issues, but you can probably come up with more. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For All of the Brothers Out There

Diagnosis: 'Wiiitis'

It was only a matter of time. Twenty years after the dread "Nintendo thumb" swept through a then-NES-mad nation, a term for a new game-related ailment has been coined. The June 7 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine features an article describing a condition thousands of gamers are likely suffering from.

In a letter to the editor, Dr. Julio Bonis, a self-described "healthy 29-year-old medical resident," outlines how he "awoke one Sunday morning with intense pain in the right shoulder. " The good doctor had engaged in no athletic activity during the days prior, nor had he suffered any injuries or trauma that could cause the pain. However, a rheumatologist diagnosed Bonis with "acute tendinitis isolated to the right infraspinatus."

After picking his brain, Bonis "recalled that he had bought a new Nintendo Wii...and had spent several hours playing the tennis video game." He then diagnosed himself with "acute Wiiitis," a term he coined after hearing similar complains of aches from colleagues who had played Wii Sports.

"It is probably an under diagnosed condition," Bonis told the Retuers news service. He explained that, unlike real sports, Wii players might not become fatigued before they self-inflict repetitive-motion injuries. Also, due to the fact different Wii games work different muscles, joints, and ligaments, he warned that "physicians should be aware that there may be multiple, possibly puzzling presentations of Wiiitis."