Little big planet

All jokeing aside Sony was right to pull the game

I'm as anti-PC as anyone, but I don't agree with your analogy at all. If the lyrics had been in English then I doubt any problem would exist, however as they are in Arabic it makes them a direct quote from the Koran.

What this boils down to is a fundamentally different approach to religious scripture. Christianity is one of the few religions in which the 'holy books' have changed language and even meaning (the oldest bible bears little resemblance to the modern bible in many, many places), as such we are quite culturally neutral in it being quoted and changed.

Just about every other religion on Earth maintains 'holy books' in the original language and finds placing them out of context to be very offensive (Islam is certainly not alone in this way of thinking).

Try thinking about it this way, Islam treats the 'words' in very much the same way as Christians treat the 'image' of Jesus, now do you think people would be right to demand a recall of the product if it had an image mocking Jesus contained within it? That's a better analogy to work with, because that's a pretty close match in terms of how its seen.


Regards

Scaff

now do you think people would be right to demand a recall of the product if it had an image mocking Jesus contained within it?

Now, the invention of the scientific method and science is, I'm sure we'll all agree, the most powerful intellectual idea, the most powerful framework for thinking and investigating and understanding and challenging the world around us that there is, and that it rests on the premise that any idea is there to be attacked and if it withstands the attack then it lives to fight another day and if it doesn't withstand the attack then down it goes. Religion doesn't seem to work like that; it has certain ideas at the heart of it which we call sacred or holy or whatever. That's an idea we're so familiar with, whether we subscribe to it or not, that it's kind of odd to think what it actually means, because really what it means is 'Here is an idea or a notion that you're not allowed to say anything bad about; you're just not. Why not? - because you're not!' If somebody votes for a party that you don't agree with, you're free to argue about it as much as you like; everybody will have an argument but nobody feels aggrieved by it. If somebody thinks taxes should go up or down you are free to have an argument about it, but on the other hand if somebody says 'I mustn't move a light switch on a Saturday', you say, 'Fine, I respect that'. The odd thing is, even as I am saying that I am thinking 'Is there an Orthodox Jew here who is going to be offended by the fact that I just said that?' but I wouldn't have thought 'Maybe there's somebody from the left wing or somebody from the right wing or somebody who subscribes to this view or the other in economics' when I was making the other points. I just think 'Fine, we have different opinions'. But, the moment I say something that has something to do with somebody's (I'm going to stick my neck out here and say irrational) beliefs, then we all become terribly protective and terribly defensive and say 'No, we don't attack that; that's an irrational belief but no, we respect it'.

Negative publicity is the last thing Sony wants

'No God' slogans for city's buses

Buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London.

The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins.

The BHA planned only to raise £5,500, which was to be matched by Professor Dawkins, but it has now raised more than £12,500 of its own accord.

It aims to have two sets of 30 buses carrying the signs for four weeks.

As the campaign has raised more than anticipated, it will also have posters on the inside of buses as well. The BHA is also considering extending the campaign.

The complete slogan reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Professor Dawkins said: "Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride - automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children.

"Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side.

"This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion."

Hanne Stinson, Chief Executive of the BHA, said: "We see so many posters advertising salvation through Jesus or threatening us with eternal damnation, that I feel sure that a bus advert like this will be welcomed as a breath of fresh air.

"If it raises a smile as well as making people think, so much the better."

The buses will run in Westminster from January.