ON Friday the front page of Arab News carried an article condemning the computer game, “Muslim Massacre.” The game has been taken down and at its former website, www.muslimmassacre.com, the game’s creator, Australian Eric Vaughn, known online as “Sigvatr,” has posted an apology:
“I would like to make a public apology for any offense that I might have caused through releasing this game, and to Muslims in particular. My intentions when releasing this project were to mock the foreign policy of the United States and the commonly held belief in the United States that Muslims are a hostile people to be held with suspicion...”
So Muslim Massacre is gone, but there are plenty of other websites spewing hatred against Muslims and Arabs. Take for instance the Zionist Organization of America (www.zoa.org) which claims to “fight for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.” According to its website, among its activities the ZOA’s campaigns have repeatedly led to the defeat of hostile critics of Israel who were nominated for important US government positions. The ZOA has played a key role in the US Congress in keeping Jerusalem unified under Israeli sovereignty and working on the imposition of sanctions on Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Then there’s the website of political commentator Daniel Pipes (www.danielpipes.org). The President of the Arab American Institute, Dr. James Zogby has stated that Pipes possesses an “obsessive hatred of all things Muslim.” Despite this, Pipes, as director of the Middle East Forum, has been a frequent “talking head” on radio and TV news programs and was even an adviser to Rudolph Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign. His website is currently highlighting an update to his blog titled “Strange Sex Stories from the Muslim World.”
If Pipes’ and the ZOA’s serious approach to Arab and Muslim hatred is too heavy handed, then consider the offerings from National Banana (www.nationalbanana.com). In addition to “Sands of Passion,” the supposed comedy-video site has created “Nozzle Rage: Attack of the Pump” (www.nozzlerage.com). In the Nozzle Rage video, an American driver approaches a gas pump branded OPEC. The three gas nozzles at the pump are “attired” in Arab head dresses. At the pump, the driver must select a terrorist group to finance with his gas purchase — Taliban, Hamas or Al-Qaeda. When the gas pump starts racking up an astronomical sale, the driver attempts to remove the gas nozzle from the car, which eventually results in the nozzle inserting itself into one of the driver’s orifices. The site’s message is: “Let’s Break OPEC’s Monopoly” and resources are provided to supposedly help US consumers reduce Middle East oil dependency.
Another tasteless, supposedly humorous resource on Arabs and Muslims is at www.wikiality.com/Arab and www.wikiality.com/Muslim.
These pages are not to be confused with the resources at Wikipedia. The pages claim to have a foundation in the satirical comedy of The Colbert Report in which Stephen Colbert defined wikiality as “truth by consensus,” rather than fact. A note on the wikiality Muslim page reads:
“There are some people who believe that every fractoid on this page is false and perhaps hateful. If you believe this, then you are most likely a Muslim. So please see the page on Jews.
It is not Wikiality.com’s intention to spread lies or perpetuate hate; we merely provide the highest level of truth on every subject.”
There’s a big difference between true satire or dark humor and hate. The New York Arab American Comedy Festival and the Axis of Evil comedy tour have both promoted comedians who can somehow find laughter in the Arab and Muslim experience of a post 9/11 world.
Check out the latest hilarious videos from Axis of Evil stars Ahmed Ahmed (ahmed-ahmed.com), Aron Kader (aronkader.com) and Maz Jobrani (mazjobrani.com). Don’t miss Maysoon Zayid’s (maysoon.com) humor with a feminine twist. And Dean Obeidallah (deanofcomedy.com) has a new program on Comedy Central, “The Watch List” (myspace.com/thewatchlist).
