A free online game wherein a player has to kill as many Muslims as possible has sparked an uproar in Australia
MELBOURNE: A free online game wherein a player has to kill as many Muslims as possible has sparked an uproar in Australia, with members of the community accusing the government and police of double standards in their efforts to stop the game.
Islamic Friendship Association's president Keysar Trad wrote to the Attorney-General Robert McClelland expressing outrage over the game -- 'Muslim Massacre'-- saying it teaches young people to "further hate Muslims" and encourages them to carry out "acts of discrimination, vilification or outright violence against Australian Muslims".
Trad, in his letter, said he believed the game was a breach of the sedition provisions of counter terrorism laws and laws that prevent the incitement of violence against sections of Australian society.
He cited the case of Belal Saadallah Khazaal (38) from Lakemba who was found guilty in September of making a "do it yourself terrorism guide" knowing it could be used to assist a terrorist act.
Khazaal had compiled the online manual, which included an assassination hit list of prominent political figures, based on information sourced from the internet.
However, response to Trad from the Attorney-General's department was little more than a two-page explanation of Australia's content classification and racial discrimination laws and the government bodies tasked with administering them.
The response noted that the game's creator "has voluntarily taken the game down from the internet" despite the fact that the game was still freely available to download.
Trad said the letter looked like a standardised form response and accused the Government and police of selectively applying counter-terrorism laws.
"I could imagine what would have occurred if the game had been developed, God forbid, by a Muslim with Western people as the targets. The people would have been immediately subjected to criminal prosecution," Trad said.
The Attorney-General's Department said it was up to the Australian Federal Police to investigate whether the game breached sedition laws.
Trad said he received a response from the federal police "telling me that I can complain to the Australian Communications and Media Authority if I wished".
But it is unlikely ACMA can do anything to have the game removed from the net as it is not hosted on Australian servers.
Trad said he felt he was being "palmed off" to bodies such as the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, which took years to investigate claims.
"I do not have faith in ACMA. You may note that even though they found a certain radio station to be in breach of the code prior to the Cronulla riots, all they did was ask them to get some cultural training," he said.
British Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation has also called for the game to be banned, saying it was "unacceptable, tasteless and deeply offensive".
"When kids spend six hours a day on violent games, they are more likely to go outside and commit violence," the group's chief executive Mohammed Shafiq said.
The game, launched as a free download on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, invites players to take control of an American "hero" and wipe out the a particular race with an arsenal of the world's most destructive weapons.
It was created by a 22-year-old programmer going by the online handle Sigvatr, who said on his website that he is from Brisbane and works part-time as a service station attendant.
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