I ran across this article:

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle4730864.ece

Now, I think this game is in really bad taste, and if I were a muslim I would without doubt be offended by it.

But, I think the game and its implications are less important than the responses to the article that people are putting up. Ban it, prosecute the developer, and otherwise suppress free speech.

Also shock - SHOCK, I say - at the possibility that some people would (gasp!) defend a game like this.

It is sad. Granting that this article and the responses are in Britain and not the US, it does seem that the US is following in British footsteps with regard to political correctness and the suppression of speech and ideas.

http://www.muslimmassacre.com/

Gotta love this guy =))

The game is still in really really bad taste, but the web page is pretty funny.

...but it does run fine in Wine...

Judging from world events, that kinda goes with the territory.

Funny how the United States claims to have "freedom of religion" but yet all the right winged conservative nuts are trying to declare us a Christian nation.. that can't be held up in a country where freedom of religion is practiced and if the United States became a Nation of Christianity, we're then no better than those nations that shove religion down their citizens throats...

I'm sure this guy who created this game also has the bumper sticker.. "Kick their Ass and Steal their Gas!" on the back of his pickup truck. Otherwise known as a moronic redneck.

This game is nothing but racism, there's really nothing funny about it, not even the website.

Ah, the first fish takes the bait.

The author is an Aussie. =))

And that, I think, is a big part of the point, though I don't pretend to know what the author intended.

So far this thread looks reasonably productive (in so far as General goes). Specifically, discussion regarding the attitude behind the game and those for/against it. That being said, I can see the potential for this thread to take a turn for the worse, so let me just remind everyone of a few things. LQ Rules prohibit posts that are hateful, obscene, personal attacks or flame wars. I will be keeping an eye on this thread and will close/moderate it as necessary.

Thing to remember about the game creator - he regularly posts to a forum that revels in bad taste. He did it and they popularised it. Lest we forget, GTA IV had far worse things in it, particularly since it is slightly reality based (gang warfare, etc). This is a game in poor taste that would have gone unnoticed if the media were more proactive about filling their pages.

Yeah.

But what do you think of the game?

edit: Quite obviously, I have a point to make. I do believe you already get the point.

Well, if it was ChristianMassacre it would have already been taken down, the guy jailed or killed. Hell, most conservative Christians try to boycott Harry Potter... which is just stupid!

Sounds like you know more about this than I do. What is GTA IV ?

Actually, what I am really wondering is how long it will take some Mad Mullah to issue a fatwah, stating that it is Allah's will that the author be killed.

Certainly wouldn't be the first time...

Grand Theft Auto IV and the resulting publicity. I doubt that anyone will really care enough to issue a fatwah.

No, I think it is quite clear that it wouldn't have been taken down if it was christianmassacre. I also think that, though the christian community would have quite obviously been offended, there would have been no broad base of support for suppressing it, very few calls to do so, and no calls at all to do so from the Left. And the idea that he would be killed for it...is simply absurd and supported by no record at all anyplace in the modern world.

I remind you of certain widely viewed "art" exhibits - notably the "piss christ" exhibit of a decade ago. It provoked a lot of outrage both over its theme and over the fact that the so-called artist obtained funding from the national endowment for the arts. Few called for its censorship, though many called for a review of the national endowment for the arts.

And, while fundamentalist christians do indeed boycott harry potter and similar things, they do not take any particular action to try to prevent you or me from seeing or reading harry potter. They are perfectly free to express their opinions, and they do. They are equally free to live their lives as they choose, and they do. But only the extreme fringe of modern christianity espouses any right to control what you or I do.

Contrast this to what seems to be fairly widely held views in Islam.

Also contrast the response of the Left to this game, to how the Left would undoubtedly respond it it were indeed "christianmassacre".

Would you advocate censoring it if it were christianmassacre? Why, or why not?

I don't believe in censoring but anyone who thinks it's funny, supports it, plays it is just promoting hate and racism. I'm an atheist who thinks all religions are wrong but it's also their right to believe in whatever they want. I just hate this type of crap that promotes such things. I can see some 10 year old playing this game and just from the content of it now hates Muslims and thinks they should all be killed. But then again, we can blame the parents for not monitoring their child's behavior or what they're doing, playing, etc.

GTA is on a different level I think and it's not as personal to most. Someone who steals and kills anyone walking the street, just targeting them because they were at the wrong place and wrong time is a whole other debate really. I'm sure if GTA was a game that targeted a particular religion, it wouldn't be on the store shelves for purchase.