Muslim Massacre

When the media took notice of the game in mid-September 2008, the creator eventually took the game offline from the official website and issued the following two statements:

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. I would like to make it clear that I have never shared such a belief and my intention was to mock those who actually do believe these things.

It quickly became obvious to me that releasing this game did not achieve its intended effect and instead only caused hurt to hospitable, innocent people. I believe removing this game and website will do much more to attain my desired effect than leaving it on the internet, so I am doing just that.

I would like to ask for the forgiveness of Muslims around the world and to make it clear that I did not release this game with ill intent. So without further ado, I would like to say that I am truly apologetic for what I have done and will take full responsibility for all offense that has been caused. I can only hope that any further misgivings can be laid to rest.

Sincerely,

• Sigvatr

In Retrospect

As a game player, game designer and as a person with an admitedly bizarre sense of humor, I believe this game's messages could only be interpretted as it was intended by dedicated gamers and people who share my tendency to find humor where you would least expect it. I at no point stated my intentions for the game either personally or in the game itself in a way which the population at large could probably understand, so I will admit that my biggest mistake was an inability to make clear what I was trying to convey through the game to people who had no interest in experiencing it themselves.

What brought me to create this game in the first place was my frusteration at the lack of distinction in our society between Muslims in general and bad people who are Muslims. I have never been able to rationally equate Islam or its followers with violence and the infliction of suffering and I believe that people who do think these things is where the limelight should be shining at this point in history.

Muslims around the world are suffering because others want them to feel bad about themselves, and those others do not want to listen to Muslims when they try to defend themselves. If any good is going to come to light because of this international scandal that I have caused, then I hope it is that people will begin to listen to Muslims because there is a lot they have to say at this point. They are not doing anything wrong, we are simply not listening to them, and because of this they are suffering.

The media only listens to the shocking and offensive Muslims and then conveys the story to people in such a way that those Muslims become definitive of the religion in general. If you are going to start listening to what genuine Muslims have to say, then you are going to need to open up to them when you see them in the store, on the bus or at work, because that is where you will find eachother. Genuine Muslims don't come out of the TV set or the newspaper, only exciting and infuriating news stories.

That is my two cents.