Muslim Massacre (video game)
Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide | |
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Single-player |
Part of a series on |
Islamophobia |
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Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide is a controversial 2008 amateur
Overview
Muslim Massacre was created by
Reception and controversy
Critical reaction
Controversy
The game, while being released for some time beforehand, gained controversy around the seventh anniversary of the 2001
Viewer comments on the web site of the Arabic television channel Al Arabiya were mixed; some condemned it, while others viewed it as a reaction to Islamist extremists.[1] The website was blocked in some Arab states.[1] Gulf News' Nicholas Coates erroneously suggested that the game was intentionally released to coincide with both the Islamic month of Ramadan and the attacks of September 11, 2001;[13] in fact, it was released in January earlier that year, and gained increased attention around September.[5] He criticized Vaughn for exacerbating poor Muslim relations, referencing the controversy over the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and how Vaughn was making the situation worse. He also bemoaned how ratings boards such as the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had no oversight of Internet games.[13] Arab News' Aijaz Afaqui referenced violence in American-made video games and the use of Muslim terrorists as enemies in them, citing this game as an example.[14] In the book Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God, author Craig Detweiler discussed the Under Siege series of video games, which he claims that it is both "anti-Semitic and a promotion of Muslims". He makes reference to Muslim Massacre, saying that games such as it seemed to validate the creation of games like this, suggesting that it was a role reversal in response to anti-Muslim sentiment in video games.[15]
Keyser Trad of the Islamic Friendship Association wrote to
Creator's reaction
In response to Mohammed Shafiq's assertion that, "When kids spend six hours a day on violent games they are more likely to go outside and commit violence", Eric Vaughn told Sky News: "To Mr. Mohammed Shafiq I would like to say that if a kid spends six hours a day on violent games, I think that they aren't likely to go outside at all, so he should not be worried."[16]
Regarding the game itself, Eric Vaughn called it "fun and funny" and that some players have called it a "critical commentary of U.S. foreign policy."[9] However, he noted that, as quoted by Murad Ahmed of The Times, "I think it's pretending to be legitimate commentary and I'm sure there will be lots of people who defend it on those grounds, but ultimately it's just a game where you blow the gently caress (Something Awful's forum word filter for "fuck") out of Arabs."[17] After the controversy, Vaughn took down the game, leaving an apology and a retrospective on his actions on the web site.[18] However, in response to developer of Super Columbine Massacre RPG! developer Danny Ledonne's comments on the matter, he said that his apology was fake, commenting that he was just "fucking with everyone the entire time and have had great success." Ledonne responded by hoping that he was not doing it for "the lulz" like V-Tech Rampage developer Ryan Lambourn, adding that he would define a success as "the opportunity to think more critically about the elements your game addresses." Vaughn claimed that the message was that Muslims needed to "suck it down and stop getting offended by everything", adding that "if they learnt to just ignore people, things would be better." He also noted that it was not just to Muslims, but all people, stating that "there are people all around the world who will do things that make you mad."[19] Vaughn commented that the game's depictions of Muslims was no more negative than television news, adding that he did not feel that children would be affected, and that parents were responsible for instilling positive attitudes in their children.[5]
See also
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Islamic Fun!
- Under Ash
- Under Siege
- Persecution of Muslims
- 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict in video games
References
- ^ a b c d "MIDDLE EAST: "Muslim massacre" game stirs debate". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b c d Hartley, Adam (2008-09-11). "Muslim Massacre game sparks pointless controversy". TechRadar.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ PC World. Archived from the originalon 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (2008-09-10). ""Muslim Massacre" Surprisingly Found Offensive". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b c Moore, Matthew (2008-09-10). "'Muslim Massacre' video game condemned for glamorising slaughter of Arabs". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael. ""Muslim Massacre" Surprisingly Found Offensive". Archived from the original on 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "GameSetWatch GameSetLinks: The Fall Of An Epoch". Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ "Muslim Massacre online game causes outrage". 4 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b "Muslim group decries computer game". United Press International. 2008-09-10. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ "AFP: 'Muslim Massacre' computer game blasted". 7 October 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
- ^ a b Davies, Hannah (2008-09-13). "Anti-Muslim computer game stirs wave of anger". Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ a b c "Muslim Massacre online game causes outrage". The Sydney Morning Herald. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ a b Coates, Nicholas (14 September 2008). "When a game is not 'just another game'". Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Afaqui, Aijaz (3 April 2012). "Life is not a Video Game". Arab News. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ISBN 9780664232771– via Internet Archive.
- ^ "'Muslim Massacre' Game Condemned". Muslim in Suffer. 2008-11-05. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
- ^ Ahmed, Murad (2008-09-11). "Muslim Massacre computer game condemned as tasteless by British Muslims". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Maggie Greene (9/14/08). "'Muslim Massacre' Creator Tucks Tail, Apologizes" Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Kotaku.
- ^ "Muslim Massacre Creator: My Apology Was Fake". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17.