Al-Quraysh and other Islamic Games

Submitted by zach on Sun, 06/04/2006 - 22:04

Last week I blogged on a so far unreleased and unnamed video game that pits Americans versus Iranians in which American soldiers kidnap an Iranian nuclear engineer. Today, the Christian Science Monitor reports on Al-Quraysh--a strategy game which seeks to tell the story of the first 100 years of Islam--and provides a nice overview of a few other Islamic games as well.

The game designers' goals are interesting and admirable. From the article:

Quote:

It's just one of several new games produced in the Middle East with the idea that video games, like other media, play a role in shaping young minds and impacting self-esteem. The makers hope "Al-Quraysh," named after the prophet Muhammad's tribe, will help to correct the image of Islam, alleviate tensions with the West, and stoke pride among young Muslims.

"Al-Quraysh is going to help people in the West better understand the people who are living in the East," says Radwan Kasmiya, an avid gamer and the executive manager of Afkar Media. "We want to show that this civilization was a sort of practical and almost heavenly civilization."

I'm struck particularly by the mentions of pride and self-esteem. Clearly this game is meant to impart positive values at the same time that it communicates information.

Of course, the fact that it's a strategy game portraying some aspect of religious conflict immediately calls to mind the recently controversial Left Behind game. Just based on the statements of each games' creators, is it possible that promoting national/religious pride through a game always raises controversy in some respect?

We don't yet know what reaction conservative Muslims (which Al-Quraysh's creator makes sure to distance himself from) will have to the game, but since Left Behind is being promoted by the religious right-wing in America, it's already promoting the kind of hard line theology Radwan Kasmiya talks about discouraging by creating a game.

I'm not sure what to think, but there are certainly some important issues at hand (for one, what role can theology play in the mechanisms of simulation) and I'll keep an eye on this game. At any rate, I'm impressed by the CS Monitor's reporting on this game.

This sounds like a very

Submitted by Laurie on Sun, 06/04/2006 - 22:51.

This sounds like a very important game. We definitely need more religious diversity in games, especially games that approach diversity in open-minded or friendly manners.

Games already teach different religions collaterally through their narratives. Many games incorporate spiritual elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Feng Shui (as geomancy), and Christianity, and then there are the games that explicitly teach religious ideas, like the Left Behind games you mention. Despite the many games that implicitly and explicitly include religion, there seems to be a noticable lack of games that deal with Islam and Judaism. Games that promote understanding, education, and discussion are always needed and this game is especially relevant given the current social climate.

Left Behind video game promotes Christian supremacy

Submitted by Jonathan Hutson (not verified) on Fri, 06/09/2006 - 12:42.

Laurie: "This sounds like a very important game."

It is.

Laurie: "We definitely need more religious diversity in games, especially games that approach diversity in open-minded or friendly manners."

Left Behind: Eternal Forces indoctrinates children in Christian supremacy and rehearses mass killing in the name of Christ, or the AntiChrist (children's choice).

Laurie: "Games already teach different religions collaterally through their narratives. Many games incorporate spiritual elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Feng Shui (as geomancy), and Christianity, and then there are the games that explicitly teach religious ideas, like the Left Behind games you mention. Despite the many games that implicitly and explicitly include religion, there seems to be a noticable lack of games that deal with Islam and Judaism."

Religious diversity in video games is a good thing. Christian supremacy is a bad thing. The Left Behind video game does deal with Islam and Judaism -- by converting or killing New Yorkers.

Hi

Submitted by zach on Fri, 06/09/2006 - 13:10.

You wrote the original article that got this Left Behind ball rolling again, didn't you? Good stuff.

It seems that one aspect that has to be considered is the nature of play encouraged or allowed within the game. I mean, Left Behind: Eternal Forces has a problem because it's built on a Good vs. Evil or Us. vs. Them equation in which if you're not Us, you're Evil. I'd argue that while that kind of conflict isn't unusual in games, the real reason it strikes a nerve is that it is based on and resonates with that same attitude from the "real world." As you know, there are particular individuals and movements within the Evangelical movement that base their whole ministry on that kind of militaristic logic, so what I think strikes a nerve is the fact that people see it represented so clearly and blatantly in the game.

Of course, we're also talking about culture here, so while a pro-Islam educational game may be implicitly Arab-centric, it doesn't necessarily have to promote supremacy. That's why I think this Al-Quraysh game is so interesting. At least as its described in the CSM article, it's not adversarial at all, and any impression that it is might be due to its conflation with other alleged jihadist games that have been floating around the media lately.

I think there's some

Submitted by Laurie on Mon, 06/12/2006 - 00:17.

I think there's some indefinite pronoun confusion. My positive comments were in relation to Al-Quraysh, not Left Behind as it seems like they may have been read. The Left Behind games are indeed a major problem, and one that the Al-Quraysh game could help to correct.