'Muslim Massacre' video game condemned for glamorising slaughter of Arabs
A computer game in which players control an American soldier sent to “wipe out the Muslim race” has been condemned as offensive and tasteless by British Muslim groups.
The goal of Muslim Massacre, which can be downloaded for free on the internet, is to “ensure that no Muslim man or woman is left alive”, according to the game’s creator.
Players control an “American Hero” armed with a machine gun and rocket launcher who is parachuted into the Middle East.
By slaughtering all the Arabs that appear on screen – some dressed as terrorists, some apparently civilians - players progress to later levels where they take on Osama bin Laden, Mohammed and finally Allah.
The game’s creator, a freelance programmer known as Sigvatr, described the game as “fun and funny” and some players have interpreted the game as a critical commentary - albeit a crude one - of US foreign policy.
But Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of The Ramadhan Foundation, Britain’s leading Muslim youth organisation, said that the game glamorised violence against Muslims whether or not it was satirical.
“Encouraging children and young people in a game to kill Muslims is unacceptable, tasteless and deeply offensive,” he said.
“There is an increase in violence in this country and some of it comes from video games. When kids spend six hours a day on violent games they are more likely to go outside and commit violence.
“If it was the other way around, with a game featuring Muslims killing Israelis or Americans, there would be uproar and rightly so.
“We would urge ISPs to take action against sites like this.”
The game was first released in January this year, but has become more popular in recent days after being linked to by several prominent blogs.
Sigvatr, an American based in Brisbane, Australia whose real name is Eric Vaughn, has not responded to attempts to contact him. But on an internet message board discussion of the game he appeared to distance himself from the view that it was a parody of American jingoism, and acknowledge that many players would enjoy the game for the chance to shoot virtual Muslims.
“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 out of arabs,” he wrote. "Gently caress" is internet slang for a common swear word.
“Anyone is free to believe whatever they won't (sic) though, because I don't even know how to interpret it myself anymore. The bottom line is that I enjoyed making it and it's fun to play,” he added.
In a later post he said: “The Muslims represented in the game aren't meant to be based on actual Muslims.
“If I was to try and come up with a meaning for the game at this moment, it would probably be something along the lines of metaphorically destroying the stereotypical depiction of a Muslim.”
Most of the commenters on the SomethingAwful.com forum where the game was first released seemed to agree with his amoral stance. "I personally do not care who I'm murdering, as long as it's fun," wrote one.
But others attacked the game for setting out to appeal to xenophobes.
"There's little to no merit in making a game where you are edgy and racist just for the hell of it," wrote Kauka. "Is there really any humour to it? No, there isn't."
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