Let’s start by setting the record straight. I’m a Muslim. I’m not a Terrorist nor do I have any criminal record of any kind. I believe that the events of September 11th, 2001 were horrible and I do not support their perpetrators in any which way. I love Canada and plan on living here for the rest of my life if I can help it.

It might also be good to point out that I’m a big fan of the multi-player part of Call of Duty 4. I’ve played it for 50+ hours and have already unlocked all of the challenges and all the weapons (and am now just trying to max-out head-shots for the golden weapons). I’ve played many First Person Shooters and have to admit that Call of Duty 4 offers enough innovation to keep me interested and coming back for more.

I hadn’t even tried the single-player mode up until today. I’ve seen preview videos of Call of Duty 4 and came to my own conclusions about it before I even played the game. I was born in Iraq and much of my family still lives there. Call of Duty 4 partially takes place in an un-named Islamic state that bears more than a passing resemblance to modern-day Iraq. Also, the subtitle “Modern Warfare” is a clue in itself to the location of the action.

My family and I were never supporters of Saddam Hussein. Quite the contrary, I have family members who were executed by him for being part of the Iraqi resistance. We were very happy to see him deposed and executed. But we’d be even happier now if the Americans left Iraq. As much as the mainstream media is trying to convince the world to the contrary, there is no civil war brewing in Iraq. Shias and Sunnis in Iraq have been living in peace, and repeatedly inter-marrying, for centuries. My extended family is predominantly Shia even though I personally am not.

It is common knowledge now that there never were any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and nor has there ever been. The majority of the world deemed the invasion illegal and groundless. As I understand it, the majority of Americans want an end to the war as well.

That said, I cannot support a war in Iraq in any way. And no, I do not support the American, British, and Canadian troops who are there. How can I support an army waging a war I oppose? The thought it ludicrous. I don’t wish death on them, I just want them to peacefully go (and come) home.

Call of Duty 4 has you fight “the good fight” as an American Marine or a British SAS agent in circumstances that resemble the current war too closely. I felt sick to the stomach shooting down digital representations of Muslims fighting in their own streets with inferior weaponry. I couldn’t get past the first desert map and I don’t intend to try again, my heart still hurts from when I tried the first time.

I felt almost the same way but, regrettably, not as intensely when I played Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Avanced Warfighter I & II. They pit you, American Special Forces, against Latin-American revolutionaries of all people! I felt sick to the stomach then, but kept playing. Why is it that Vietnamese are never depicted as the bad guys in video games? Because that was a war the world would rather forget. If Infinity Ward had more foresight they would have seen that the Iraqi War will undoubtedly fall into this category in the future.

It’s really a shame because the multi-player part of the game is solid. I’ll continue to play that but will leave the single-player to both those with a stronger heart, and to the heartless….