Muslim group disagrees with LittleBigPlanet delay decision
by Majed Athab 
{ Oct 21st 2008 at 8:45AM }
What do other Muslims think about the LittleBigPlanet delay? Not everyone agrees that the decision to postpone the game due to the inclusion of "offensive" Qur'anic text was the right one. In fact, M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., president of the non-profit American Islamic Forum for Democracy strongly opposes the complaint stating that it was counterproductive to freedom of speech. Jasser, who has also appeared on CNN and the Washington Times, spoke to Edge-Online saying "Muslims cannot benefit from freedom of expression and religion and then turn around and ask that anytime their sensibilities are offended that the freedom of others be restricted." He also argued: "The fact that the music writer is a devout Muslim should highlight that at the core of this issue is not about offending 'all Muslims,' but only about freedom of expression and the free market."
In the end, it sounds like to us that no one gained a thing from this debacle. Sony and Media Molecule take a bad rap for the delays, Muslims look ever more paranoid and distant, and everyone is left in waiting. Hopefully this series of bad decisions and wrong turns will be over soon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
lobotomies4free @ Oct 21st 2008 9:53AM
I'm just glad I managed to sneak an original copy this morning. I'm going to see for myself what all this was about, and enjoy a small "stick it to the man" moment
Hife @ Oct 21st 2008 10:06AM
Managed to get mine last night. Haven't made it to that level yet though.
Kspraydad @ Oct 21st 2008 8:58AM
SONY did the right thing. You will have dissenters (such as this group) in any religion but the majority of Muslims afaik agree that the Qur'an should not be quoted to music or used in a commercial venture like a video game.
Christian @ Oct 21st 2008 10:52AM
Majority of Muslims or majority of Wahabists? Sounds to me you are just another Wahabist pretending to represent the 'one true way'
ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 11:07AM
Forget religion! Sony did the right thing for the game itself! Someone explain to me how these lyrics benefit the game or are integral to the game in any way?
And don't you dare say that it gives a foreign vibe for the Safari level, because they could have easily plugged in a song in Swahili talking about how father hunts the antelope and mother makes the bread!
Tom @ Oct 21st 2008 12:01PM
I've heard plenty of Muslims enjoying Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bishvilak no! They'll not let the game go!
tom @ Oct 21st 2008 8:59AM
Yup, I had my doubts about the authenticity of the complaints. There was never a Muslim authority that made demands of Sony. So, MM tripped over themselves over one internet troll. It's not the fault of Muslims, the internet troll, or a Microsoft conspiracy-it's simply MM/Sony's Fault.
Replica23 @ Oct 21st 2008 9:05AM
Or this could have been an advertising stunt. I mean, it has got quite a bit of attention hasn't it?
ClarkyCat @ Oct 21st 2008 10:03AM
I agree with Replica23, the decision to delay based on a minute amount of complaints is clearly a PR stunt. The game, although popular already with gamers has gotten worldwide attention now, as mentioning the word "Muslim" usually guarantees it.
The Church of England were outraged at Manchester Cathedral being used in Resistance, what did Sony do? Nothing.
Devin @ Oct 21st 2008 12:22PM
/\ That's because the game had already been released.....plus weren't they demanding money of some sort?
tom @ Oct 21st 2008 4:00PM
Yes they wanted money. Sony said sorry, but no recall or patch. Insomniac said they want to have more churches in R2.
lorddshadow @ Oct 21st 2008 5:45PM
you bet its an attention stunt! today at my school on the news bulletin, there was a thing saying "Background music delays Playstation game." and i was like wtf?!
The_Doctor @ Oct 21st 2008 9:03AM
This has turned out to be great publicity for Sony and MM (not that it was intentional, as that's not what I'm saying). I do agree with the points Mr. Jasser makes though - and that should apply to all religions; not just Islam. You can't just pick and choose when you want to afford freedoms to someone/something and when not to. They're either there for all to enjoy or none at all. I have to agree with MM/Sony's decision though. Good move in averting a possible Fox"News" meltdown.
Cornelius @ Oct 21st 2008 10:34AM
You think foxnews would care? LBP offended muslims, not right-wing christians...
Akio @ Oct 21st 2008 4:08PM
the song was pretty good too...
Echnaton @ Oct 21st 2008 9:02AM
If you want to provoce: It's a kind of marketing...
Echnaton @ Oct 21st 2008 9:03AM
... people talk even more about the game. Especially the press!
roBBie @ Oct 21st 2008 9:47AM
i love the song...i dont care what it says...
bajanboss @ Oct 21st 2008 9:11AM
i want to find the human BEING that CAUSED THE DELAY. WHEN I FIND HIM, "yes, there will be blood"
tom @ Oct 21st 2008 11:38AM
That would be someone from MM/sony.
Kellian @ Oct 21st 2008 9:22AM
Nelson says HA HA!
ComicShaman @ Oct 21st 2008 9:50AM
Good on you, Dr. Jasser. Nice to hear a voice of reason in this whole silly debacle, even if it doesn't change the outcome.
RC @ Oct 21st 2008 9:40AM
This dead horse has been beat to death. The game is out next week. Let the damn story die.
Patrick @ Oct 21st 2008 9:40AM
Sheez...just can't satisfy them Muslims, it seems.
PSN: John-Paul-Jones @ Oct 21st 2008 9:50AM
You don't have to be an asshole about the whole ordeal, but good job, you're just promoting hate. It's not the Moslems fault that Sony delayed the game, it was their decision, although it pisses me off that Sony has double standards about these sort of issues. Do you remember that incident a few years ago when they told the Church of England to go fuck off because they used interior shots of the Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man? But maybe Sony wouldn't want to fall in that trap again since the game was already released. Back to square one, I guess.
ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 11:00AM
Actually that instance was more integrated into the game and it made sense.
When you take random lyrics and throw it onto the BGM of a side scroller, you aren't making very much sense.
Going through a church in a FPS: Awesome, real and integeral. It MAKES SENSE.
Quran lyrics on a Safari level side scroller: What? Is that even needed?
Jon @ Oct 21st 2008 9:53AM
I gained a much better chance on receiving a good grade on my paper that is due on Friday ^_^
Volomon @ Oct 21st 2008 9:52AM
I'll take my apologies by email if your to chicken to put it in a reply. Hate to say I was right, but damn it feels good to know wtf your talking about.
Didn't I say EXACTLY this?? Everyone said I was wrong and that I didn't know what I was talking about. Here comes a Ph.D saying exactly what I already said.
blahblahbloo @ Oct 21st 2008 10:00AM
He's a physician. How exactly does that give him more expertise on the matter than other people?
nakedatthecomp @ Oct 21st 2008 10:11AM
He's not a Ph.D., he's an M.D.
ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 11:09AM
whether it offends or not, it still doesn't make very much sense why it was in the game in the first place now does it?
Volomon @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:05PM
It's called Freedom, maybe you should learn something about it?
GAME-HERO @ Oct 21st 2008 9:59AM
This is a double edge sword...you just can't please everyone. Sony made the correct choice by delaying this masterpiece!
blahblahbloo @ Oct 21st 2008 9:58AM
This guy is best described as a native informant. It's no more of a surprise that he's upset at LBP being delayed than it is that a bunch of non-religious or Christian gamers are upset at it being delayed. The MCB or ISNA are more representative organizations. (Of course, it's fair to ask, representative of what? AIFD is more representative of Republican-leaning atheists from an Islamic background, perhaps. MCB and ISNA are more representative of people who actually had some chance of being offended by LBP in the first place.)
RankHypocrisy @ Oct 21st 2008 9:59AM
Somehow I doubt that the American Islamic Forum for Democracy is representative of worldwide Muslim opinion.
And as another poster noted, if this had been a complaint from Christians about perceived anti-Christian content, Sony would have told them to get bent, and every poster here would go on endlessly about the Christians' attempts at 'censorship.'
The double-standard is obvious.
blahblahbloo @ Oct 21st 2008 10:03AM
Removing a song from LBP is a much more minor change than taking that Resistance gun battle out of the church.
ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 11:15AM
yeah, the church was already approved and designed for the game post production, modelded and textured for the level.
it was too integral for the plot. besides it was just a representation of the church in an alternate sci-fi history. a slight difference there.
nakedatthecomp @ Oct 21st 2008 10:08AM
....THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!
nakedatthecomp @ Oct 21st 2008 10:09AM
I'm betting hundreds of people are already planning on this... I just wonder how long Sony and MM will take to remove 'em :(
gumbie07 @ Oct 21st 2008 10:14AM
I think everyone has become way to heated about the whole issue. The game is still coming out. We are all still alive. The world did not explode. Life goes on or in the words of ren and stimpy "Happy, happy, joy, joy"! So lets all count our blessings that the game was only delayed 1 week (for most of us) and not 1 year. It sort of reminds me of the movie "Wayne's World" when they are playing hockey in the street and a car comes by, they have to stop for just a minute, but then its...GAME ON! Most of us got to play the beta and are excited for the game, but this is just a small break, then it will be GAME ONE for us. So, for those who were lucky enough to still get a copy of the game, I'm a little jealous, but I am happy for you. Enjoy.
Goldenfir @ Oct 21st 2008 10:21AM
Look, I think we have turned into an overly "PC" environment. I would like to hear from Sony (As a devout customer) why a small group makes a fuss about a piece of music and they will delay a game instead of telling them if you don't like it don't buy it? Sony puts out games all the time that I find offensive, but I don't see them delaying that game to make me happy. So frankly I think in this case...Sony needs to grow up.
Vcize @ Oct 21st 2008 10:14AM
Ok, here's what I don't get about this, and no one has freaking explained it yet.
The issue here is that Muslims don't believe the Qu'ran should be quoted in music, commercials, etc, right?
So, WHY DID NO ONE CARE WHEN THE SONG WAS RELEASED? And then, WHY DOES NO ONE CARE THAT THE SONG IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD RIGHT NOW ON ITUNES AND AMAZON?
I'm sorry, but this whole thing doesn't make any freaking sense. If a religious group was going to take offense to a song, don't you think they would've done it when the song was made and posted on just about every mp3 website in existence? I mean, the artist is a grammy award winning artist, it's not like this thing has been flying under the radar. If someone was going to get upset about it, wouldn't they have done it by now?
What exactly is it about LittleBigPlanet that's going to suddenly make everyone care about the lyrics to a song that no one has taken offense to?
blahblahbloo @ Oct 21st 2008 12:19PM
"WHY DID NO ONE CARE WHEN THE SONG WAS RELEASED?"
Because no one had heard of it, and it wasn't being used in a game they might want to let their children play, or play themselves.
"WHY DOES NO ONE CARE THAT THE SONG IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD RIGHT NOW ON ITUNES AND AMAZON?"
It's easy enough to simply not download the song. Going without LBP is a different matter.
William @ Oct 21st 2008 10:23AM
The original Muslim group that contacted the developers did NOT ask the game be delayed. They only asked for a patch, and that all new copies of the disk be updated.
Sony made the decision to go 1 step further and do the 'right thing' by them.
They haven't dealt a blow to 'free speech' in any way shape or form. They haven't enacted any laws, or demanded anything. They simply asked to have their views honored.
As for him being a 'devout' Muslim... Obviously not, since he doesn't believe the way the majority of them do.
cartman58 @ Oct 21st 2008 1:40PM
@William
So, someone can't be a believer of a faith if they don't believe what the majority think? Fallacious logic to the rescue!
Cornelius @ Oct 21st 2008 10:38AM
I honestly doubt the majority of muslims really care about this. Islam is like any other religion out there- I know quite a few, and while they are defensive about their faith (naturally), they don't get offended by every little thing. The biggest difference between Islam and any other mainstream religion is their extremists, while rare, are VERY vocal and violent.
Mr. Joe @ Oct 21st 2008 12:21PM
i think cornelius needs to look up the history of other mainstream religions. you never heard of the crusades?
and william, it is disrespectful to deny someone the right to call themselves devout. he is a devout muslim, but rallies behind freedom of speech. i agree with your post except that last line. the majority of any religion changes by location and individuality. a methodist in los angeles is going to differ from a catholic in rome. but you can't say one is a more devout christian than the other.
Farid @ Oct 21st 2008 11:16AM
As stated earlier, Jasser doesn't really represent Muslims with these unorthodox views of his. His main argument is that Muslims should allow criticism since the Prophet (pbuh) has allowed it. However, what he isn't aware of is the fine line between what qualifies as criticism and what qualifies as an insult.
Muslims took this offensively because they saw it as an insult and not just criticism.
Lard @ Oct 21st 2008 11:05AM
"This has turned out to be great publicity for Sony and MM "
Are you insane? This has turned out to be a clusterf*** of giant proportions, with all sides being angry. Muslims feel angry about getting blame for something yet again, some people (like myself) are pissed off about the censorship and that Sony and MM are pandering to religious extremists, and other people are just plain pissed off about the game getting delayed so close to launch.
It's been lose-lose for everyone involved.
Including me, because now I have no intention of buying LBP when it's censored.
Mr. Joe @ Oct 21st 2008 12:41PM
i just want to point out that the game is family oriented. both sony and mm want everyone to be happy with it. in a way, yes, it is censored. but only because they really want everyone to enjoy. it's not like they took out a nude scene (GTA: San Andreas), removed blood (Resistance (Japanese release)), or removed drug use (Fallout 3). these were ADULT games that got censored, so removing a bgm from a FAMILY game seems legit to me.
oh and another game that removed religion Final Fantasy IV. and if you haven't played any (i'd argue ALL) of these games, then you don't deserve to be on a fanboy site!