The dreadful Organisation of the Islamic Conference – campaigners for an international blasphemy law – have released a statement about the “Faith Fighter” computer game which has led to its removal from the Molleindustria website.

When his attention was brought to an internet report posted by metro.co.uk on an online game depicting holy figures such as Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad (PBUT) fighting each other to the death, a spokesman of the OIC Islamophobia Observatory in Jeddah today expressed his concern stating that the computer game was incendiary in its content and offensive to Muslims and Christians. He said that the game would serve no other purpose than to incite intolerance. He called on the Internet service providers who are hosting the game to take immediate action by withdrawing it from the web.

The anonymous spokesman was correct when he said it would incite intolerance – the intolerance of rabid Muslims, intolerant of anyone who doesn’t take them as seriously as they take themselves. But that’s probably not what he meant.

Fortunately, the game is still available to play here and here.



UPDATE: (22:40) A rather silly addendum to Molleindustria’s statement about the withdrawal:

In few hours this statement generated a way more heated reactions than the release of the game. We are not “bowing to the foundamentalists”, we have no sympathy for any religion but we are aware that muslims are victim of widespread racism in the western world. This islamofobia is functional to the imperial interests in Middle East and all over the world. We just want to make clear that the game was not intended to contribute to the media-assisted narrative “islamic world vs freedom of speech”.

Sigh. Islam is not a race. “Islamophobia” is an artificial construct designed to discourage criticism of Islam by equating such criticism with racism. And the “islamic world vs freedom of speech” narrative is assisted not so much by the media as by the Islamic world itself, which in the shape of the OIC is campaigning vigorously for an international law forbidding defamation of religion. That would make games such as this one illegal.

The makers of the game have confirmed to MWW that the withdrawal was a “media tactic” to encourage further discussion of the issue in the press. But withdrawing it immediately the OIC release a statement only gives that organisation encouragement, and confirms its already over-inflated sense of self-importance.

Bad move.