Muslim Complaints Get Modern Warfare 2 Map Pulled

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Muslims are truly the silliest people on the face of the Earth.

This has officially proved it.

I mean, I'm of the opinion that anyone who is offended by something in a game is a bit odd, but this is a whole new level.

A quote. On a picture frame.

I would like to say so much more about the religion, the people who believe in it and the reaction by Activision, but I'd like to stay un-permabanned for a bit longer.

 

[cerebus23]

Hang on a second, what about sacrilegious Christian imagery in games? Doom, Quake, Silent Hill? Images potentially offensive to Christians (Inverted crosses, satanic symbols desecration of churches etc.) has been happening for ages.

If you want to live in a society of free speech and free expression then you have to take the rough with the smooth. You're not going to like everything that gets made/said - I don't think it is appropriate to go crying to the game company just because something offends you and expect them to change it for you; the easier solution is to make good on the threat of just not playing the game.

... luckily we do live in a society where free speech is allowed so although I don't agree with it, I accept that the maker of the video has the right to make this complaint - Unfortunately I don't believe that this kind of incident portrays the Muslim community in a good light.

well if christians get back to their middle ages genocidal raping, murder and pillaging, then i am sure people will start bending over backwards to not piss you all off.

Really what does this say for the free world when we are held hostage to even the idea that something as insignificant as this will piss some ahole off that we have nothing at all to do with.

Really if your muslim and you make a game with stuff or start badmouthing islam in general then muslims got every right to excommunicate them shout them down, etc, short of stoning them to death or killing a shitload of innocent people you know do what everyone other religion does and tell them to gtfo and that is it.

If we are not muslim then quit trying to tell me and the rest of the world what to think and that we deserve death because we do not believe in your version of god, or in treating women like property to be used.

I dont often support trolling on utube but f it we been getting trolled by one specific religion for decades now.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Why was this even in the game in the first place? I don't see the point in taking the time to make that in a bathroom wall.

'zactly, sort of seems like it would have been put in with the same understanding as one of those chinese tattoos.

Then again, I suppose a few christians have pictures of Jesus hanging in the bathroom, maybe someone thought the same thing would apply elsewhere.

Also, isn't Favela supposed to be in Brazil?
Would seem quite specific to have an Islamic phrase, written in arabic, in Brazil?

I'm just going to apply my personal go-to theory for religion: no one does anything in the name of religion without self-interest behind it; just another case of someone being a **** (and apparently working quite hard to find it, and being somewhat tardy to the pardy) because they think they can get away with it.

This is just someone looking for another reason to condemn the 'decadent west' or whatever.

 

[Tiamat666]

It's time we grew some balls and stood up for the values we believe in instead of caving in to some extremist bullies. We should be proud of our western culture which emphasizes freedom of thought, speech and expression. We should be proud of the Age of Enlightenment our civilization went through and by which we managed to free our minds from the oppression of the clergy and the nobility. Our ancestors fought and died for these freedoms, yet we let all of this crumble because some backwards idiots with violent tendencies feel "offended".

So what. If you don't like it, stop playing the game. Assholes.

 

[thiosk]

Good lord how can any muslim, let alone nonmuslims, keep all the damn rules straight?
Everything is an affront, I get the impression that one cannot do anything without insulting "the whole religion."

 

[bafrali]

It's time we grew some balls and stood up for the values we believe in instead of caving in to some extremist bullies. We should be proud of our western culture which emphasizes freedom of thought, speech and expression. We should be proud of the Age of Enlightenment our civilization went through and by which we managed to free our minds from the oppression of the clergy and the nobility. Our ancestors fought and died for these freedoms, yet we let all of this crumble because some backwards idiots with violent tendencies feel "offended".

So what. If you don't like it, stop playing the game. Assholes.

This is gold right there.

Muslims are truly the silliest people on the face of the Earth.

This has officially proved it.

I mean, I'm of the opinion that anyone who is offended by something in a game is a bit odd, but this is a whole new level.

A quote. On a picture frame.

I would like to say so much more about the religion, the people who believe in it and the reaction by Activision, but I'd like to stay un-permabanned for a bit longer.

Do i even have to make fun of you?

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

Generalizations as far as the eye can see. As I always say in these situations the extremely vocal and extremist Muslims give others a bad name. Yes Activison were quick to pull the map because Islam was in question but that isn't because 1.57 billion people wanted this image removed, it because of the ultra reactive minority who fire death threats left right and center at the slightest provocation. It's pure ignorance to insult the entire religion just because you think it's "bullshit". I am agnostic personally but I get pissed off when people dismiss religion as stupid. I know some extremely open minded Muslims who would think nothing of this, and think the protestors to a tiny image in MW2 as ridiculous.

 

[GonzoGamer]

At least nobody is over-reacting, right?...
right? hehe, hmmm

 

[loudestmute]

Oh goody. Just when the "______ R Steelin R Vidjagaims!" rants stopped filling the blanks with feminists, the internet has decided to instead replace it with Muslims.

To the YouTube author: Thank you for keeping things civil. You chose your words and your actions carefully, and you clearly intended this to be corrected rather than redacted. It was and still is your right to voice your concerns, just as much as it is the company's right to respond in whatever way they see fit.

To most of the people offended by Activision/IW's response: Please stop. If the success of this quiet little petition can teach us anything, it's that throwing obscene amounts of bile is the quickest way for your views to be ignored, no matter how valid you think they are. Name-calling to get your way no longer works as a viable tactic once you get out of elementary school. More importantly, the map is only on temporary blockade until the textures are fixed, with an estimated "repair" time of under one week. There are other maps in the game, and those of you raising the most ire have probably bought an expansion pack or two. You have options. This is not the big fight you want this to be.

 

[DarthSka]

This guy had every right to be offended and every right to ask for the texture to be removed. It was not his right to have his way automatically granted. However, this is not the case. The developers had the right to refuse or meet his terms. They went with the latter. If there is anyone to be upset with about this, it's the game's developers. All the other guy did was bring up an issue he had. Just like people on this site complain about female portrayal in games, friendzoning, Bronies, Nintendo, etc. You can't force someone to change something, but you can bring up concerns. Then again, this is The Escapist. Just wouldn't be the same without all the, "herp derp, religion's stupid and religious people are stupid."

 

[HigherTomorrow]

Let me play the Devil's Advocate here. A lot of people are missing the main complaint--that the picture frame is in the bathroom. In the Islamic faith, the act of going to the bathroom is restricted by multiple religious rituals and rules. Won't go into details, but the act is seen as an expelling of evil and sin. The bathroom, therefore, is a place of evil and sin. The video (I assume most people here didn't watch it) itself mentions that the picture frame being above the toilet is what's offensive.

Now, I'm not trying to say that he was right to complain, I'm just trying to say why he complained. And personally, since it's just a small little texture that was obviously just put there because it looked nice, is it really an "attack on artistic integrity"? It's a quick fix, stop acting like Muslims have ruined the gaming industry forever.

 

[ElPatron]

In Call of Duty you kill hundreds of people, sometimes in the most sadistic ways.

I don't remember a lot of sadistic ways you could kill in the CoD franchise.

And people say Muslims are bad. Just look at this thread and the youtube page. You ask your self why religious people get offended when you write all the shit about their God?

Uh, people will insult you whatever you do. If you eat meat, if you eat vegan, if you like blondes, if you're an Atheist.

Also, getting angry because of religion is sort of disrespecting your own religion.

Also, Islam getting a special treatment? And Christianity not? Last time I checked, gay marriage didn't get legalized in a lot of Christian countries because of Christians. Last time I checked, the church didn't have to pay any taxes.

Every religion is getting special treatment. Not just Islam.

The thing is that I could make anti-Christian remarks in movies, books, games, music and no matter how offended, their rage wouldn't accomplish anything. In fact, you can see that many times people love bashing Christianity and make those songs, books and films.

If you make the same thing but for Islam (even if accidentally, like in this case), your publisher will force you to correct your mistake.

 

[ElPatron]

Let me play the Devil's Advocate here. A lot of people are missing the main complaint--that the picture frame is in the bathroom. In the Islamic faith, the act of going to the bathroom is restricted by multiple religious rituals and rules. Won't go into details, but the act is seen as an expelling of evil and sin.

But that can be turned into slippery slope. In some places thumbs up are offensive, in some places eating with your left hand is offensive. If they changed it for the Muslims, why isn't everything being changed so that I can be released worldwide without offending anyone?

Also, it's not an attack on artistic integrity, but I definitely think it's against freedom of expression.

Oh goody. Just when the "______ R Steelin R Vidjagaims!" rants stopped filling the blanks with feminists, the internet has decided to instead replace it with Muslims.

I'm not surprised that the most unreasonable comment so far includes the term "feminist".

You people make this seem like a conspiracy and that everyone is against you. We aren't. Get over it, nobody here needs to be played victim.

 

[Zen Toombs]

P.S. Friendly advice- don't read Koran, unless you are of strong mind, otherwise you'll get indoctrinated. I'm not kidding, even translated version is set in such way that it will change the way you are thinking, unless you keep your guard up.

In the Islamic faith, the act of going to the bathroom is restricted by multiple religious rituals and rules. Won't go into details, but the act is seen as an expelling of evil and sin. The bathroom, therefore, is a place of evil and sin.

This reminds me of a story....

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OT: This is, in short, an overreaction by all sides. Muslum Videomakers: It's not that huge of a deal, and mostly an accident. Activision: if you wish to respond to the complaints just remove the problem, not the whole map. Call of Duty Players: Chill out, it's just a map!

 

[LysanderNemoinis]

Does anyone think that the Muslims may get a degree of special treatment when it comes to things that offend them, due to the riots and such which were sparked off by that stupid video a few weeks back? And I'm not suggesting that Muslims are generally violent, just commenting on what the public perception may be for a while.

To illustrate my point, I can't see Smite getting altered to fit the demands of the Hindus, simply because I doubt there's a perception of the Hindus doing anything but complaining about it (which they have every right to do). However I doubt any publisher would dare create a game depicting Muhammad in the same light as the Hindu deities are in Smite.

Likewise, the tiny mistake of putting that picture in the wrong spot on that map, has prompted Activision to pull the map until the patch is out. Think about it... they haven't just said 'We'll make a patch and remove the texture', they've actually gone to the extent of pulling the map 'till the patch is ready.

It's almost like people are getting scared of offending the Muslims.

Um...duh? The 'religion of peace' is not adverse to threatening harm and actually killing anyone who they perceive as saying that they're violent. No other religion blows up innocent people and start riots because someone made a cartoon of a religious figure. I never heard of Christians rioting when some 'artist' in New York a while back put a crucifix in a pickle jar filled with his own urine. But maybe that's the answer, for every religious and interest group to go nuts the moment anyone says anything, then everything will always be nice and peaceful...right?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

They are so easily offended. It would be cute if it wasn't dangerous. The civilized world shouldn't cave to their demands. The only way to cure them of their sensitivity to religious criticism is to criticize them and offend them until they stop caring.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Hang on a second, what about sacrilegious Christian imagery in games? Doom, Quake, Silent Hill? Images potentially offensive to Christians (Inverted crosses, satanic symbols desecration of churches etc.) has been happening for ages.

Actually, the inverted cross IS a Christian symbol. It's called a Petrine Cross (cross of Saint Peter), and it represents the fact that Peter felt himself unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus, and was crucified upside down.

Source: Wikipedia, and I used to be Catholic.

OT: I fail to see the point of trying not to offend anyone. If you go around watching every word you say, eventually, you won't be saying anything at all.

 

[Legion]

OT: I fail to see the point of trying not to offend anyone. If you go around watching every word you say, eventually, you won't be saying anything at all.

In the UK this is very much becoming an issue. People are getting arrested over twitter comments. Granted these people were being malicious, but it's still absolutely ridiculous, and what's worse is that nobody seems to really care.

 

[Legion]

Why don't any of the big corporations have the spines to tell them to fuck off and act like grown ass men instead of crying when their feelings get hurt.

Two words: Share Holders.

If they say anything that can tarnish the companies reputation in any way then they start to get nervous, and when they get nervous, they start to pull away from the company.

There is also the fact that people in the business of selling are very careful to avoid offending anybody normally. Each person is a potential customer, or somebody who could spread the word that the company has a problem, which could affect potential sales if enough people get annoyed.

In short, they don't have the guts to say it because it might lose them some money. They know the fans will whine, but still play, so they'd rather appease the complainers.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

For a country that champions freedom of speech, Americans seem to have a proficient censorship campaign. And one that picks favourites at that. So Ann Coultor/Bill O'Reilly/Glenn Beck can straight up slander Muslims, but a video game can't have a verbatim quote written on a digital bathroom wall?