LittleBigControversy: Qur'an lyrics debated on BBC

by Ross Miller on Oct 21st 2008 9:30AM

This week's BBC News at Ten featured a discussion on the LittleBigControversy, in which the game was delayed at the eleventh hour due to a song, featuring lyrics taken from the Qur'an, by Grammy award-winning artist Toumani Diabaté. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the program had Diabaté on to discuss, as well as Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain.

"It's quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammed," said Diabaté, himself a Muslim. "It's my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam." Mogra provided the counterpoint, saying that "Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the actual word of god and give it utmost respect" and its use in a commercial title would "upset and cause offence and hurt to many, many Muslims."

LittleBigPlanet is expected to arrive next week for North America and "no later than the week of November 3" for Europe.

Source

Tags: controversy, diabate, littlebigplanet, PS3, quran, sony, toumani-diabate

Reader Comments (99)

what a shame..they just had to do a patch thats all...
and the patch usually forces itself so if you have internet connection it will make you download patch to patch the game.

meh...I'm still debating whether i should get this game or not...am i gonna play it once and forget about it?

No you won't. One of the best games of the year.

All this free publicity nearly makes you wonder...

That would be an excellent point were it not for the fact that the recall has

a) created millions of useless units that have to be taken back, new ones printed and shipped out.

b) interfered with their release schedule, causing possible conflicts with Resistance 2's release

c) interfered with their advertising strategy. They probably booked the advertising space on TV and billboards months in advance and can't advertise it properly in the run up to its release now.

Yep, a quiet patch on day one would have avoided this entire fiasco.

And what of the people who don't connect their PS3s? Not everyone has all their devices connected to the internet (I personally would hook up my toaster if I could though).

@haggard:True they could save money by doing this and most people who would buy this game would connect to the internet and be forced to patch

@Infernus this game is all about online capabilities, i guess a few people may not go online and hear the song or w/e, but LBP developers would have done their job if they released a patch and it wouldn't matter anymore

"am i gonna play it once and forget about it?"

I doubt it seriously. I picked up my copy of LBP last night at WallyWorld and played it until the wee hours of the morning. It's really awesome. I'm even considering getting an Eye so I can have pics of my nephews and family members in the game.

Easily one of the best games out there today. Now I gotta get BioShock for PS3. Been waiting a while for that one, as well.

Don't worry infernus, soon you'll be able to.

@Hirsbunner: Yeah but i don't know if that sort of game will appeal to me I'm glad you like it... but Im defintely gonna try it out before i decide, cause i am looking forward to a few other games in the coming weeks other than this..

Nobody will pay $460 + to play this title without access to the internet, nobody.

Sorry Sabi, I was referring to Eggy's point about it being free publicity.

@haggard: hehe..well then if i could EDIT i would put fail next to my name on that post...

No, because then you run into the whole "hot coffee" issue, though that was a much more explicit "mod", the fact was that it was on the disc but "taken out" of the game, in a sense. The same thing would happen here, though on a much smaller scale since it's just a song (that was written two years ago). What they should have done is just left the song on the disc, provided a day one patch that issued a disclaimer stating what the offending material is and that you could select if you wanted the song taken out or not. Still remains that this should have never happened to this game considering it's not Sony's fault some d-bag finds it offensive when that guy should have contacted the artist about his problem with this music.

Well a week isn't too bad, I can wait a single week longer :)

I could have too...if it wasn't now releasing alongside Fallout 3.

Oops.

yeah; because gamers can't cope with having more than one good game at a time. i mean: who's gonna play Fallout 3 after Nov. 7th?

*sarcasm*

@atrimus:

It's not that people can't cope with more than one game at a time, but, at least to me, when Fallout 3 comes out, I'll be pretty much playing that one exclusively.

Of course, this is all my decision, and I can just as well put Fallout 3 down for a time and play LBP with some friends....which I will. Might not be easy, however, since Bethesda games are like crack to me :(.

Listen I got the game a few days back and I heard the song in question. I had no effin idea what the guy was even saying.

After playing the game for a few days I can say that this was a huge PR blunder to let this go by this close to launch. The game is amazing and is a shoe in for GOTY and IMO its the best game evAr.

I hope everyone still gives the game a chance because it isthe most fun, wymiscal, magic and innovative title ever created.

Sacboy is to the Playstation what mario is to Nintendo, Master chief is to Xbox and what sonic is to sega.

Aww, wish I'd watched this.

iplayer?

:O Genius!

Great. Got a solution for us colonists?

This article, and many other like it, seem to attract people that want to blame/kill Muslims for the delay.

I encourage the following replies to steer clear of that.

I think we should blame/kill Muslims for the delay.

Richard I of England !!!

I think it's fair to blame Muslims.

I also think it's fair to kill Muslims.

I don't care anymore. Just let me have a copy!

Even the American Islamic Forum for Democracy think this is lame. To quote:

'M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D, director of the AIFD, said that, “Muslims cannot benefit from freedom of expression and religion and then turn around and ask that anytime their sensibilities are offended that the freedom of others be restricted."'

No shit.

Ok, except no one sued Sony to try to legally force them to take the song out. They did it on their own. Therefore talking about "freedom of speech" in this situation is silly.

I think the difference between Christians (I'm one) and Muslims is that Christian extremists just whine on AM radio programs when they're offended. Muslim extremists set off carside bombs when they're offended. Basically, all this is telling those extremists is that the way to get what you want is to threaten to hurt people, because we don't have the balls to stand up to their bullying. Another victory for free speech, eh?

Oh, and the great thing about Christian fundamentalists and diehard atheists is that they're exactly the same. Sure, they may not believe the same things, but heaven forbid they accept that intelligent people on the other side of the aisle from them have different opinions!

JCD - I guess you've forgotten about the Crusades?

The crusades were an awful long time ago to be an even remotely compelling argument about . . . well, anything.

@JCD Yes, because there is no such thing as Christian Terrorism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_terrorism

It's just that most Christians don't acknowledge these actions as being associated with "their" Christianity or claim that the perpetrators of the crimes were just using religion as a shield or an excuse. I know that's a rather blanket statement, but it's the reaction I've always personally witnessed when bringing this subject up.

As for diehard atheists, most of the ones I know are fascinated by religion and more than willing to thoughtfully discuss various opinions regarding religion and belief. I include myself in that crowd. We become fanatical in our opposition of religion when others try to impose their religion on others through law. Again, just my personal experiences.

Christian terrorism's even scarier than regular terrorism!

LittleBigAnnoyingStory already. It was a harmless mistake, fix it and get it out so the peeps that want it can create! Sheesh!

As a Christian, I've learned to pretty much ignore anything that is offensive to my religion. It's all you can do. There don't seem to be many organizations too concerned about the feelings of Christian believers. We can't mention Jesus in schools, yet we can have Muslim day. We can't have Christian professors in schools, yet we can have professors that praise the 911 attacks, and instead of being fired they are hailed as visionaries and excellent teachers. So if there was something offensive to Christians in LittleBig Planet, I can almost guarantee that postponing the release of the game wouldn't happen.

So as a Christian talking to other religions, I would have to just say deal with it. I see far more offensive things everyday in television that deals with Christianity. We're just talking about a song here that has some words from the Qu'ran. Get over it. You can't expect everyone in the world to be understanding of your views. I've learned to accept that, and I think it's darn time that other religions accept it too.

I really wish more people thought like you.

If you're getting offended as a religious person, you almost always have an agenda to push.

Ahem, not teaching evolution in schools, opal ring crusade etc etc

These things sound absurd to people not from the USA.

Are you saying that evolution isn't taught in US schools?

It's taught in most, but a fair number in the south say "here's the theory of evolution, now here's the correct theory: creationism!"

And there's also just as many who say that the theory of evolution is correct, while those dumb Christians believe in a fake God.

You can't prove either one. There's nothing wrong with schools teaching the THEORY of evolution. But I also think they should teach the THEORY of creationism. Teach both, make it clear that neither have never been proven, and let the students decide.

Um, I'm pretty sure that there's PLENTY of scientific FACTS to back up evolution.

Creationism...not so much.

offday

Evolution is a fact. Its been studied, controlled and manipulated with basic cause and effect understanding.

Creationism is not a fact, it is a very old theory, created by men in power use to manipulate poor people/slaves. To be honest, that invisible man in the sky dictating everything might just be highly evolved being using us as an experiement to investigate how society and life works.

But, anyways good luck with that invisible man belief.

Scientific theory is different than just your average, ordinary theory thrown around by nutcases.

Yeah. We know evolution takes place, thank you mr. scientist.

We're talking about human evolution which, as much as you might believe it, is still just a theory. So unless there was some scientific breakthrough which I somehow missed on last night's news, then the facts just aren't there.

It's amazing how so many people hate the idea of a God, that even when I, a believer of God, suggest that evolution should be taught, people still get so pissed just because I put the theory word in front of it.

Bottom line: believe what you want. My original post was to all religions, and telling them to stop being so offended by people not understanding their religions. Obviously the same can be said for people who have no religion at all. I don't believe that we evolved from monkeys, and I don't believe in the big bang theory. Get over it.

You don't see me out protesting Spore. I think the game sucks, but that's for other reasons.

@offday: Creationism = based on religion. Teaching it in schools (that and the hokey Intelligent Design) is a violation of the 1st Amendment which requires separation of church and state.

Our forefathers were wise enough to realize that politics shouldn't mix with religion. It caused much grief for Europeans running from the oppressive Church of England and other repressive regimes.

@haggard: I think you've been watching too much Family Guy. Public schools in the south do not teach creationism. That's private schools, and that can be (and is) anywhere in the U.S. I would know, I'm from Texas and went to public school, and my parents were teachers.

"We're talking about human evolution which, as much as you might believe it, is still just a theory"

I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me

@haggard:

I think you've been watching too much Family Guy. Public schools in the south do not teach creationism. That's private schools, and that can be (and is) anywhere in the U.S. I would know, I'm from Texas and went to public school, and my parents were teachers.

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LittleBigControversy: Qur'an lyrics debated on BBC

Reader Comments (99)

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:38AM Saturdays said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:40AM GenGrievous said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:43AM Haggard said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:18AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:05AM infernus said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:59AM Saturdays said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 2:06PM Hirsbrunner said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 2:07PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 3:03PM Saturdays said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 4:04PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 7:42PM Haggard said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:15PM Saturdays said

Posted: Oct 22nd 2008 10:23PM kevin949 said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:39AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:32AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:05AM atrimus said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:54AM frenzy said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 1:07PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:40AM Haggard said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:54AM RobLink said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:06AM Haggard said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:36AM John Z said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:40AM Wiizer said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:15AM JACKOFNOTRADES85 said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:56AM NightElve said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:09AM Chibi Chaingun said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 1:18PM Tiptup300 said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 9:53AM SoulBlade said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:07AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 11:36AM JCDoe said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 2:44PM hey buddy said

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Posted: Oct 22nd 2008 1:15AM Courtney said

Posted: Oct 26th 2008 2:40AM (Unverified) said

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Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:02AM anoffday said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:03AM Vandell said

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Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:24AM Haggard said

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Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:39AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:40AM JACKOFNOTRADES85 said

Posted: Oct 21st 2008 10:41AM (Unverified) said

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