A video recorded in-game, uploaded on September 27 shows a picture with a quote, attributed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), saying ‘Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty’ in Arabic, according to a translation by Islam Today. The quote is inscribed on a picture frame and can only be read once players zoom into it through scoped weapons available in the game. The frame is hung over a toilet in the map.
Activision has removed the map from rotation, saying that the map would be made available once the offending textures are removed from the map.
An Activision representative provided IGN with the following statement:
“We apologise to anyone who found this image offensive. Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries. We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favela multiplayer map from online rotation. Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players. We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention.”
A specific date for Modern Warfare’s Title Updates has not been revealed yet.
This isn’t the first time religious content has been removed from a game. The release of Sony PlayStation’s original Little Big Planet was delayed in 2008 since it contained song lyrics with quotes from the Quran, an issue that has caused continued debates about censorship in the industry of late.
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