Mon 27 Oct 2008
Little Big Planet Delay : A Muslim Point of View
Posted by Osama under Gaming , Life , Politics[11] Comments
As most of you have undoubtedly already known for a week now, my most anticipated game of this year has been delayed 1 week due to a couple of Qur’anic verses found within one of its songs. Being a Muslim who has been absorbing every little bit of information about Little Big Planet since its announcement, the delay was almost surreal to me.
The one game I was truly excited about this year is unintentionally going to hurt Islam’s image. No, Islam’s image isn’t going to be hurt because of the inclusion of the verses, it’s hurt by the removal of said lyrics by Sony.
Now, before I open up that can of worms, I would like to start by thanking Sony and Media Molecule for their immediate action in this situation. It shows a deep sensitivity to other cultures and religions and they should be commended for it.
That said, I also believe they over-reacted. A simple patch could have accomplished almost the same results without aggravating many and depriving me from my game for a week. In the end, it’s true that it is forbidden in Islam to sing the words of the Qur’an in a song, but this is neither unprecedented nor a major issue in and of itself, especially when said quotes are not taken out of context or used in a negative light. Still, better safe than sorry is a good motto to follow and Sony should not be rebuked for that.
What I find totally unacceptable is how a delay of a measly week (and less in most cases) could cause so many people to cry foul and curse Islam until their fingers got blisters. This isn’t the first time this happens and won’t be the last but I find it sad that Sony has given Muslim-haters yet another baseless argument, even though they did act in good faith and did so unintentionally.
In the end Little Big Planet was released, the song was edited in the new shipped disks and by a patch, the game is a true masterpiece, all those Muslim-haters are still out there hating, and I’m here left wondering when I’m going to see a story related to Islam that isn’t going to make me cringe…
Related posts:
- SOCOM: Two weeks later…
- Call of Duty 4: A Muslim Point of View.
- The Iron Man Movie: A Muslim point of view.
- Little Mario Planet, Beaten to the Chase!
- Little Big Planet: Mario Style?
October 27th, 2008 at 22:03
Why should non-muslims have to follow a rule that muslims made up? It’s like basketball players not being able to use their hands because soccer players can’t.
October 27th, 2008 at 23:54
First of all great job Osama, you wrote a fine article. Henry, read the article once again, it was more of a over-reaction by SONY still it was a commendable. Plus, its not following a rule, its respecting others beliefs, and by your comment I am sure you don’t respect anyone but yourself!
October 28th, 2008 at 19:13
It was only 1 week delay, why did people get so mad anyway?
October 29th, 2008 at 11:08
Although I’m not religious at all, I try to be respectful of everyone’s beliefs. I’m not getting LBP simply cause I don’t have the time.
It is indeed silly that anyone would curse Islam because of actions taken by Sony – it’s not like religious leaders petitioned or sued Sony for the content removal. And while releasing the game with the Qur’anic verses certainly wouldn’t have been illegal, it might have offended people. I wish that instead, they’d released the game on time and quietly removed the verses with a patch. Less media attention would have helped, and while it’s true that some people may be playing without an internet connection, I imagine that percentage is low. Combine that with the percentage of Muslim players, which I imagine is low (this being a western game) and the percentage of Muslim players who also don’t have their PS3 connected online should be very low.
Of course, we live in an age and in a culture where people seem to like being offended by video games, be it the Hot Coffee scandal, the alteration of “Fahrenheit” to “Indigo Prophecy” or the totally ridiculous re-rating of Oblivion due to a user mod. It’s the times we live in, brother. Good article, Osama.
November 3rd, 2008 at 22:51
Great article, Osama! Once again you use intellect to bring your point across.
There is the sensitivity issue that always seems to come up when religious beliefs affect other people. You hear it all the time, people saying “Everyone needs to stop being so sensitive” or “Those damn [insert religion]s need to stop shoving their beliefs down our throats.”
But what if the shoe was in the other foot? What if someone told you to change what you believe in? Most people would not hesitate to put foot-to-ass in order to stand for what they believe in.
People need to commend Sony for handling the issue with the respect it deserved. Sure, it was a mistake. But unless you are Muslim, it wasn’t common knowledge. Sony approach this the best way possible, even if their pockets took a hit.
This a fun, cuddly game in which gamers minds can finally be put to work. It doesn’t need to be tainted by some juvenile, insensitive people. Besides, one week never hurt anybody.
November 16th, 2008 at 00:37
Henry is obviously 12. Don’t waste any time answering him.
November 21st, 2008 at 16:51
to Greg:
You have no idea about the percentage of muslims that play ps3….
December 17th, 2008 at 22:36
so no onw answears…….no one …that horseshit muslims all have mangines
January 5th, 2009 at 10:43
i cant believe all the muslims went is a pissy mood because it had a couple of words out of the karan… i mean christians wouldnt go ape shit if a game have words from the bible in…. being a non religious person myself i believe that religious people are all wasting their time on nothing
January 5th, 2009 at 12:56
What are you talking about Davy? No Muslims went crazy at all, Sony was just afraid some might and ordered the recall. In fact, most Muslims have no idea what Little Big Planet even is
November 19th, 2009 at 08:03
i dont know what you think little big planet has against muslims…but that game is nothing against them or anything,christians wouldnt be upset if the people who created the game,if they were to use words from the bible in the game. itt would actually be pretty cool. im a christian myself. i have played little big planet and i freaken love that game. its really fun. well i just felt like putting my opinion in. have fun reading it.=)