Is Islam the light for DS Baby Pals? [update]
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jan 28th 2009 at 5:58PM } 
Last fall, controversy about Fisher-Price's Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo doll rocked the local news circuit, when the doll was discovered to utter some kind of gibberish that sounded kind of like "Islam is the Light" if you were listening hard enough for things to be outraged about. The odd sound sample has been found once again by a concerned parent, this time in Crave's Nintendo DS game Baby Pals, previously known only for being kind of creepy-looking. In a fairly hilarious coincidence, Rachel Jones of Indiana found the offending utterance first in the doll, then later in a copy of Baby Pals she had purchased for her daughter. Baby Pals came out in October 2007, a year before the row about the doll.
"Not just my daughters' toys, but we have a son too," Jones told Terre Haute's WTHI News 10. "Now I feel like I need to listen to all of his little toys to make sure they're not saying it." Check out the news footage after the break, and watch as the virtual baby intones the phrase in question over and over again while being bathed. Of course, the ability of fake babies to exert absolute influence on real children through nonsensical endorsements of religion is well-known. Everybody knows that.
If you listen to what is supposedly the original MP3 (provided by Fisher-Price, link goes straight to .mp3), it sounds much more like nonsense and less like some random attempt at indoctrination. We've contacted Crave to try to find out where it got the sample and hopefully solve this quirky mystery.
[Update: In case you haven't seen our more recent post about this, Crave has issued a response explaining the origin of the sound file.]
Gallery: Baby Pals
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jerk Face @ Jan 28th 2009 6:01PM
I love how now the mom is so paranoid she feels like she'll have to listen to all of the toys to hear it. What a delight!
Killjebus @ Jan 28th 2009 6:55PM
Oh no, my child might start beLIEving in the WRONG Invisible Man in the Sky
As an Atheist, I find this funny. Oh nooooes, my child has been exposed. Jebus! Jebus....SAVE my child.
All religion and ALL doG's are MANMADE. Everything we know about every single doG or doG's have been told to us by other HUMANS.
Someday, the world will wake up and realize that we live on a "pale, blue dot" in a sea of blackness and fighting over who's doG is better than another's doG is useless and a waste of time.
Except of course the ONE TRUE OMNIPOTENT ONE....His Noodlyness the
Flying Spaghetti Monster. HE is the one, the only TRUE GOD, and your only hope of salvation!!!
Come brothers and sisters, be touched by his Noodly Appendage and find peace with fellow Pastafarians at the base of the Beer Volcano next to the Stripper Factory.
RAmen
Jerk Face @ Jan 28th 2009 7:36PM
Heh. Word, brother. Bad, Bad Religion.
r-deezy @ Jan 28th 2009 7:56PM
RAmen brother.
Erik Stroud @ Jan 28th 2009 8:25PM
I know, though, it didn't really sound like Islam any ways. Sounded more like numsnum is daight.
BadassSailor @ Jan 29th 2009 4:09AM
Please killjeebus don't go on one of on one of your Christians are stupid tangents, I really don't feel in the mood today.
ZeroCorpse @ Jan 29th 2009 11:04AM
This has been around for a while.
http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/dolltalk.asp
She's hearing things. There's no "S" in there at all. There's a hard, guttural "K" or "G" sound near the beginning, too. It's just babble.
Or maybe it's "Iklam eh delight" -- That's as close to the phrase as you can get. It's already been slowed down, analyzed and picked apart by people in other forums. Joystiq is actually pretty late to the party on this one. There are whole websites dedicated to this, YouTube videos debating it, and so on...
The end determination? The xenophobic kinds of Christians and paranoid people will hear "Islam is the Light" and most everybody else will hear "ehGaam-ehh-Dlyte" along with some gurgling and cooing.
Seriously. This is no big deal. There's no conspiracy. And even if it were really saying what they think it's saying, how would that be bad? I thought Christians were supposed to be overjoyed by public displays of religion... Unless, of course, they only want such a freedom for themselves and wish to deny it to others?
But that's not the issue here. The issue is NIL. There are no words there.
BananaBoat @ Jan 29th 2009 11:31AM
@jeebus
Ugg, this is the reason I don't read comments on Digg anymore. Don't try to ruin Joystiq too.
Matt @ Jan 28th 2009 6:05PM
More retardation from a religious nutjob with too much time on her hands. What's next? Filing down her dog's teeth so they don't look so "satanic?"
Xta Large (Formerly Fatass) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:05PM
Unbelievable.
Seriously?
So, lemme get this straight. This chick is getting up in arms about a stock sound byte that bears a tiny bit of similarity to an inoffensive message that would leave absolutely no lasting impact on her child even if her child were able to decipher it?
...seriously?
slycooper_rocker [psn:slycooper_rocker] @ Jan 28th 2009 6:10PM
you got it! +1
Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, Ultrastiq Revolutionary) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:24PM
I'd hate to see what would happen if she checked the Virtual Console and saw Cho Aniki. She'd probably try to sue Nintendo for "rying to turn her children gay. The funny thing, she looks like a liberal to me. Just throwing that out there....
Mr Khan @ Jan 28th 2009 7:53PM
No less outrageous than the people who got up in arms when they thought a Rashiki toy (remember the blue baboon from The Lion King) was saying "Squashed banana up your ass"
Jeramy @ Jan 28th 2009 6:06PM
this is ridiculous. if the baby said "Jesus is my savior" everybody would be ecstatic.
jmarto @ Jan 29th 2009 4:09PM
This is just way too true, and sad.
Knight Marquise @ Jan 28th 2009 6:17PM
"if the baby said "Jesus is my savior" everybody would be ecstatic."
Bullshit. If it said that, you'd have the ACLU and every anti-religious nut job demanding action to get it removed, not to mention the lawsuits that would follow.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:29PM
And yet my sisters children have no problem owning these apparently highly controversial religious phrase saying dolls. And these Christian Book Stores, well fuck man. They wish they could get even remotely some of the peace the abortion clinics enjoy.
Seriously, dawg. 40% of this country is christian. Majority of those in power are christian. How in the hell are christians picked on in this country?
J @ Jan 28th 2009 8:27PM
the extremists among them are the lunies with the persecution complex. Because people of other faiths and non believers want an equal voice in this country, it suddenly means Christmas will be taken away from them.
Seeing how defensive he just got, sounds like Knight is one of them.
Mazrael @ Jan 29th 2009 12:10AM
true..
I can't hear the word 'islam' in there at all.. I only catch the '..ight' at the end..
but I have to wonder if some of us are only hearing the phase because we're told it could be that phrase.. it could be 'hey mom, goodnight', 'are you up for a fight'..
we had a car playset over here in the UK, Micromachines I think it was.. it was made it Spain, & on the inner sticker set was a swear word..
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/10577553/detail.html is simular story..
Nick8708 @ Jan 29th 2009 6:52AM
That's not necessarily true. This woman might be okay with it if it said something about Jesus, but any Muslim parent who bought the doll for their kids, thinking it didn't have any affiliation with a religion, would likely be upset. There are plenty of toys manufactured that are targeted toward different religions, so even if this were one, if it said right on the box that it was "baby Islam" or however you'd like to phrase it, then I doubt this woman, or anyone, would care since they wouldn't have gotten it in the first place. They're mostly upset about not being aware of it before giving it to their kids, even if they can't quite figure out how to say it, and even if they could have taken a couple minutes to play with it to make sure it didn't say offensive things, or spit razor blades at their kids after the third phrase, etc...
That being said, it's likely just a crappy audio file and people are hearing what they want to hear. I think there is some undiagnosed psychological disorder that causes people to seek reasons to be offended.
BananaBoat @ Jan 29th 2009 12:07PM
@J
Nutjobs have already gotten Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentines Day (yup...valentines day) taken out of schools here. Now there is a winter party, a spring party, a harvest party, and valentines day just isn't celebrated period. When I was still in school (non-uni school), we had Christmas Parties, Easter Parties, Halloween parties (complete with dressing up and going to school to exchange candy), and Valentines parties complete with candy and valentines card exchanging. I should also mention that this was a private Catholic school, and that it was a rogue Jevovah's Witness (a parent of a kid) that made the stink and got everything pulled. It's pretty sad when a Catholic school can't even have a Christmas celebration anymore because people are so damn over sensitive to everything. Not that the public schools around here don't have the same problems with nutjob parents (they don't get parties anymore either).
So yeah, you may not think that religion is under attack, but it all depends on your point of view. I'm just glad I got to experience the fun of school parties, since children aren't going to be allowed anymore.
Lars @ Jan 28th 2009 6:09PM
next week's headline: "DS Baby Pals patched, Satan worshipers rejoice"
Honestly, why is she so offended by it?
DBuck_Eye @ Jan 28th 2009 8:24PM
I think that the more important question is why anyone should care that she is offended by it.
Kyattsuai @ Jan 28th 2009 6:13PM
First WarioWare DS grants kids to hell, now this?!
Al2x @ Jan 28th 2009 6:13PM
I'm sorry, but there's no way I'd be able to pick out "islam is the light" if I didn't already hear this story in that sound clip.
Haggard @ Jan 28th 2009 6:55PM
"It's fun to smoke marijuana, It's fun to smoke marijuana."
Hmm, maybe playing Queen was inappropriate, how about some Led Zep?
"Oh here's to my sweet Satan.
The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan.
He will give those with him 666.
There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan."
meatee @ Jan 28th 2009 6:56PM
That is a good point, and one that was addressed in a psychology class I took in college. The power of suggestion is pretty strong, your brain will work hard to hear the phrase after you've been told that's what you're supposed to hear. In the class we listened to supposedly hidden messages by playing songs backwards, but this is basically the same idea.
slycooper_rocker [psn:slycooper_rocker] @ Jan 28th 2009 7:16PM
oh haggard, that was a cheap shot. bringing up stairway to heaven in this. but you make a good point along with meatee. it really is just a nutjob trying to find something "wrong" with something for a bit of attention. who would seriously play stairway backwards for that long? it comes in like halfway through. there's no way that guy just "stumbled upon it". same with this. would you hear it if you weren't looking for it? i doubt it. and considering her record, it's not hard to believe it's just for attention at all. especially considering it's the EXACT SAME PHRASE.
Haggard @ Jan 29th 2009 11:51AM
I know, it's all bullshit. I mean you wouldn't even be able to pick out "It's fun to smoke marijuana" if you hadn't been told beforehand to look out for it.
More like "Snez nub za znub znazzawawa"
BananaBoat @ Jan 29th 2009 12:20PM
My favorite is the controversy over "For the benefit of Mr.Kite". Play that crap backwards, and it doesn't sound like anything, yet people have interpreted a long and glowing hailing of lucifer.
There are real honest to goodness whack jobs living among us.
Shagittarius @ Jan 28th 2009 6:14PM
I think its totally awesome that she found both samples herself thus reinforcing her belief that there is a vast conspiracy out there to manipulate the young christian children.
I look forward to her locking herself into examinations with toys for days on end in an effort to find more evidence of this Islamic conspiracy.
I also look forward to her findings.
Foetoid @ Jan 28th 2009 6:17PM
LOL +1
Obie @ Jan 28th 2009 6:16PM
Give me a fucking break. Now if the game was called "Dora the Exploder"...maybe.
danny. @ Jan 28th 2009 6:16PM
i'd hit it.
Foetoid @ Jan 28th 2009 6:27PM
Not cool. -1
Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, Ultrastiq Revolutionary) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:17PM
God damnit. I hate mainstream "media".
1. Baby Pals is not a "Nintendo Game". Its a "Crave game". If you're going to call Nintendo in this, the least you can say is "Nintendo DS game"
2. Thanks for explaining the ESRB. Keep in mind what each rating means the next time you call up your pal Jack Thompson to talk about how GTA is teaching little Johnny how to kill hookers.
3. "The packaging clearly states the game is licensed by Nintendo" Time for a history lesson: The Nintendo Seal of Quality has nothing to do with whether a game is good or not. I was put in place to stop companies like Tengen or Bible Tree from running rampant with games that tried to work around Nintendo's "Five games a year" limit. They still keep it around to stop cheap knockoffs from gaining market space.
4."You can decide whether or not to buy this toy for your child" REALLY? You go through all that trouble demonizing the game and now you're telling us to decide whether or not this is controversial? Fucking cop out
LAZoftheTamarinds @ Jan 28th 2009 6:38PM
Moptimus, that was brilliant. 1+ for you.
Jacksons @ Jan 28th 2009 8:47PM
Er, they're upset that Nintendo allowed them to publish the game with that soundclip in it, not whether or not it's "good."
But really, this whole thing is asinine.
Mal F4cti0n @ Jan 28th 2009 10:32PM
Yeah, call the game developer and producer, not the owner of the system that it is played on.
It would be like calling iTunes for the music you downloaded through their service. Or calling Microsoft because of the porn on the internet you can access using internet explorer. Stupid reporters. CALL THE GAME MAKER, not NINTENDO.
And then they had the audacity to make it sound like Nintendo is trying to deny any wrongdoing because it is clearly labeled as licensed for the Nintendo DS. Well yeah, dumbass, you can't play a DS cartridge on a PSP, now can you?
Churchy @ Jan 28th 2009 6:18PM
I'm kind of disgusted with how that stationed covered this "story". They apparently contacted Nintendo only to find out that was the wrong corporation to contact and just said screw it, were not looking up who we really should talk to.
Obviously it's just a stock gobbaldy gook noise.
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:19PM
Admittedly it does sound like Islam is the light although it might be a backronym syndrome. I can hear it because somebody told me it says that, so I'm actively listening for it.
Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, Ultrastiq Revolutionary) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:26PM
so, its like listening to Stairway to Heaven backwards or listening to a Beatles song and hearing "Paul is dead"?
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jan 28th 2009 6:30PM
Exactly. They even did a scientific experiment on this. Group that was told about the satanistic words in Stairway and in which part of the song they can be found all claimed to have heard it, the 'placebo' group that wasn't told that couldn't hear shit.
meatee @ Jan 28th 2009 7:02PM
I mentioned this in an earlier comment, but my psychology class in college actually did this experiment. You hear it because that's what your brain wants to hear after you've been told what its supposed to sound like.
J.Goodwin @ Jan 28th 2009 6:34PM
Where the hell did some whitebread midwestern unwed teen mother learn Arabic?
J @ Jan 28th 2009 6:45PM
Her Easy-Bake oven when she was growing up?
Douche Bigalow @ Jan 28th 2009 6:35PM
Couldn't this be solved if we were told what it's supposed to be saying, if it isn't "Islam is the light"?
The reality is that if it said "Jesus is our savior" all you people calling this crazy would be giving your stock Daily-Show-esque rants against religion. Is it cowardice that makes you attack the fake target rather than the real target?
JC Fletcher @ Jan 28th 2009 6:37PM
The official line from the toy company is that it's just gibberish, which is basically what the MP3 sounds like.
ill trooper is the light @ Jan 28th 2009 7:14PM
So, douche, instead we have to hear YOUR 'Limbaugh-esque' rant about some hypothetical situation? "Fake Target, real target, cowardice" "Daily-Show-esque rants..." "The reality is..." Where did all that come from?
You're making things up dude, and I have to blow the whistle.
Douche Bigalow @ Jan 28th 2009 9:14PM
Ah, so this was a hypothetical instance of what sounds like religious propaganda being voiced by two kid-oriented objects? I thought it really occurred. Those virtual reality simulators are getting good!
Your relativism will kill you.