Sony delays sales of game software over Koran phrase usage

Wednesday 22nd October, 07:10 AM JST

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skipthesong at 11:22 AM JST - 22nd October

I wonder if there are people who are doing this on purpose and thus it is not an accident. check this out too: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20156048&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=597380&rfi=6

So, Sony pulls a game due to a song, but stores in America are selling dolls with religious messages and that is not offensive?
rjd_jr at 11:36 AM JST - 22nd October

Apparently according to gaming websites the issue originated within an Arab gaming community where the lyrics were picked up and an online gamer wrote to Sony and asked that the offending portions be removed as it could offend Muslims. Look at what has happened in the past, a simple misunderstanding and whatnot results in riots and deaths. Again in this case one can never be too careful.
Samuraiiki at 12:10 PM JST - 22nd October

By their fruits you will know them...
nandakandamanda at 02:23 PM JST - 22nd October

Phew, that was lucky then! We might have actually heard a couple real phrases from the Koran! Very dangerous, that. Must not allow anyone to be converted to Islam, right?

I have a Koran beside my bed which I sometimes dip into, but perhaps I had better stop immediately, in case it offends someone.

What a silly, pathetic world we are creating.
buttan at 02:51 PM JST - 22nd October

What happens if you talk about Jesus in a song? Do people get angry and start blowing themselves up?

Yeah... that sure would happen! lol Christians are well known for their "till the death" devotion to the cause... (Of course i'm kidding!) I'm christian (although not practicing at all!) and imo, if some things were to be said about Jesus etc... I wouldn't give a damn! You have to be completely uptight to get upset at the point to blow shit up for some crap in a song! come on, get a life!!! ... could happen though, as we unfortunately know.)

What a silly, pathetic world we are creating.

totally agreed!!!
tzvete at 03:09 PM JST - 22nd October

Think before acting. Even having the game delayed,"the evil" is done.I hope there won't be any strong reactions from muslims.
ca1ic0cat at 09:05 PM JST - 22nd October

If there are "strong reactions" from anybody they are just proving themselves to be lunatics. This kind of fanaticism just shows how indefensible the "cause" really is.

"What a silly, pathetic world we are creating."

Yes, exactly. Time to stop cowering under the bed and stand up to these religious nazis.
EurajReturns at 11:41 PM JST - 22nd October

It's sad that all this caution they're taking actually makes sense.
namidub at 07:27 AM JST - 23rd October

i'm a muslim anyway, it's fine if you read Qur'an, but using the texts from Holy Qur'an as song lyrics is not allowed. what sony has done is right :-)
nandakandamanda at 02:12 PM JST - 23rd October

Thank you for the clarification, Namibub. The article above does not really make this clear.

So, the first problem is that the Malian musician, Toumani Diabate, despite being a devout Muslim according to rjd_jr, has used quotations from the Qu'ran in his song, and this is not permitted, right?

The second problem is that Sony used this song as background music for their new game... OK?

Has this song been a problem for Muslims already, then, previously?
Kukai at 10:40 PM JST - 23rd October

See this story for the answer: Musician defends Sony game song http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7686590.stm

As I suspected, Diabate is from a more moderate, West-African Muslim tradition, where singing about the Koran is acceptable.

The Muslim game-tester who alerted Sony was most likely either A) from a more fundamentalist region such as the Middle-East, or B) from a western country and therefore infected with Political Correctness and the idea that "you must not ever say anything that could possibly offend anyone anywhere," even if their reasons for being offended are, well, unreasonable. Unfortunately, most modern corporations also subscribe to that belief.

Although, I suppose Manzoor Moghal, of the Muslim Forum think-tank, is doctrinally correct, when he said that "words from the Quran should not be set to music because the words are seen to have come directly from God." Although, I haven't read the Koran to see if it explicitly forbids singing words from the Koran.

Any Islamic scholars care to way in?
nandakandamanda at 12:03 AM JST - 24th October

Ah, now that is a very good link, Kukai, thanks for that.

This is really an internal Muslim problem between the interpreters and the people. Sony is only on the periphery.

Good post, Kukai.
MissWorldTravel at 09:51 AM JST - 24th October

Actually when reading Koran correctly follwing all the timing rules. One would realise that one is actually singing it. Have anyone read a Koran properly read before? I think in this case it was not the case that the Koran verses was used in a song, because there are many songs in muslim community using verses from Koran. Rather it is probably the context of the song. And using the holy words for something as trivial as gaming is degrading the words from god.
Kukai at 05:54 PM JST - 24th October

If that is the case, why did the Muslims who opposed this game say "words from the Quran should not be set to music."

Are you saying all Muslims everywhere would accept using verses from the Koran set to music, as long as the context is respectful, ie not a popular video game?

You are correct that there are many religious songs in the Muslim community, but I contend that they exist only in more moderate, heterodox regions of he Muslim world, such as Africa and parts of Central Asia. I do not agree that conservative Muslims in the middle east, or South Asia, would accept the use of the Koran with music in ANY context.
nandakandamanda at 06:04 PM JST - 24th October

"Using the holy words for something as trivial as gaming..." carries a strong value judgement. Yet it was a Muslim playing it who discovered the song and the words.