Muslim fathers, sharpen your scimitars.
There's a new affront to your religion of peace.
It's offensive.
It's wrong.
But worst of all, it's...
Adorable.
"LittleBigPlanet", the hotly anticipated, dazzlingly reviewed, and doggonitly cute Playstation 3 game that's set to sit near the top of many a video game wish list this Christmas has been recalled due a song that plays in one of the many levels in the game. Muslim game reviewers spotted it and instantly wrote a letter to Sony demanding something be done about this grave offense.
The problem?
The song lyrics include two brief lines that just happen to be from the Qur'an.
"Oh. But they're offensive lines, right?" you're thinking. "It's that they used lines like, 'Death to infidels' and 'Allah demands a blood sacrifice' and 'Stone the man who looks at you the wrong way and throw his body from the highest height' right?"
Well, no. Nothing like that. They're pretty harmless lines, really. But that's not the problem. The problem is that they're...
...wait for it...
...set to MUSIC.
That's right! Not only is it an abomination to create a depiction of Mohammad, apparently it's ALSO an abomination to put the words of the Holy Qur'an to music.
Who knew?
Check it.
I shouldn't be too worried. I mean, after all, I've already secured my "LittleBigPlanet - Jihad Edition" print of the game from a Mom 'n' Pop video game shop in the Barrio that broke the release date (it's not supposed to be sold in stores until Monday--and now it's not supposed to be sold in stores at ALL. But more on that in a moment).
So I've got my copy. What do I care? Why write a post about something as stupid as this, especially since most of you don't play video games and probably aren't going to read this post. But I have to say--this news bugged me all day long. And now that I've actually PLAYED the game and seen just how freakin' cute the thing is, I'm even MORE annoyed. So allow me to rant a little and get this off my chest.
I'm a Christian. And as a Christian, I've come to terms with the fact that my religion will be the subject of ridicule and disdain by many many people. I've learned to tolerate things like
This.
This (which I think is pretty funny!)
And yes, even people like these who make the rest of us look like loons.
The thing is, if I can tolerate--not accept--if I can tolerate something as offensive as "Piss Christ", why the crap can't Muslims just deal with the Qur'an making a passing, POSITIVE appearance in the most adorable, harmless video game of 2008? Because it's their holy book and they don't like to see it desecrated? Okay fine. But what about all the times in movies and in life where the Bible is desecrated? What makes their holy book more holy than mine? Why is it okay to smear the Bible but the Qur'an is given a free pass? See how this works guys?
But MOST TELLING OF ALL is Sony's response!
Here's the follow up article.
Yes. The game is being delayed. Sony's biggest game of the Christmas season is being sent BACK so the song can be removed. They're bending over BACKWARDS to insure there aren't going to be any offended Muslims.
When was the last time a video game was recalled mere DAYS before its release because of content that offended a Christian?
It's the double standard here that's got my goat. I know. I KNOW. Do unto others. I should respect them the same way I would want to be respected.
But guys, the fact of the matter is, I have to tolerate "Piss Christ". Why? Because in America we're allowed to say stuff and present stuff that others might not agree with. And those of us who don't like it? Well, we can let it go or we can choose to disagree by writing blog posts about it. This is America. You're allowed (i.e. FREE) to do that.
But for some reason, when it comes to Islam, you don't mess around. You don't take the chance that you might piss some people off. No no. You don't give people that freedom. You halt the worldwide release of your smash video game and send it back to the printers. And you probably fire all the hard-working game designers who just wanted to make a fun game for the kids to play.
But then you stop and think about what started this mess. Setting two short verses from the Qur'an to music.
You've gotta be freakin' kidding me. Where do they come up with this stuff? Is there something in the Qur'an that says, "Oh, and don't you DARE make any of this into song lyrics. Or you'll pay!"
Seriously. Hasn't pop culture already covered this ground? I mean precisely the EXACT SAME GROUND? Why do I have to do a blog post about this??
On the bright side, this is boffo free publicity for the game.
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4 comments:
While I can appreciate your rage at the ludicrous double standard that we Christians have always undergone (and always will, according to the big J-man himself in John 15:18-21 & 16:33) in this supposedly "free" society, I must interject one teensy comment on behalf of our Muslim friends.
Whereas the Bible never, as far as I know, expressly forbids an indulgence in the artistic joys of music, literature, and art, the Qur'an most certainly does. Read the following explanation from the Norton Anthology of World Literature:
"Given the Koranic intolerance of fiction, which it categorized as 'lying,'...the landscape of Islamic literature lacked certain features that are commonplace in other traditions. What we would call imaginative literature was excluded from religion and religious worship. In orthodox Islam there is no equivalent to hymn singing or dramatic performance."
And then again, there's that perennial problem of using any verses from the Qur'an (especially in the original Arabic) for anything other than ritual recitation, prayer, or religious instruction:
"Because the Koran is, literally, God's word and is, like Him, miraculous and eternal, it cannot be translated. Interpretive renderings into other languages have been made and used for teaching purposes since the earliest periods of Islam, but Muslims do not accept them as the Koran in the sense that Christians accept the Bible in English, or any of the other languages into which it has been translated, as still the Bible."
So your pals over at Sony made a two-ply heretical mistake: 1) they attempted to incorporate Holy Scripture into something frivolous and fun (Allah hates fun), and 2) they did so in the original Arabic.
But all of that is really just my long-winded way of agreeing with you: the Muslims need to loosen up. But it's really hard for them to let down their hair because of their incredibly austere religious doctrine. Compared to Allah, Jehovah seems like that hippie substitute teacher who'd let you watch TV during study hall. Our God rocks!
"Compared to Allah, Jehovah seems like that hippie substitute teacher who'd let you watch TV during study hall. Our God rocks!"
I think this should be the 5th spiritual law taught to young Christian missionaries who are about to head out for the sand.
Curse you and your book smarts, Bibb Leo File! Curse you!
I still think it's dumb. The impending Muslim invasion is going to make life in this country VEEEEERY interesting.
I'm still supremely annoyed by this. SUPREMELY. It's not fair. It's not fair.
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