Muslim Massacre online game causes outrage

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Religious leaders are calling for the banning on an internet game that invites players to kill Muslims

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The Australian Muslim community has accused the Federal Government and police of double standards over their treatment of a free online game in which the aim is to kill as many Muslims as possible.

Keysar Trad, president of the Islamic Friendship Association, 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".

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 Muslim 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 says on his website that he is from Brisbane and works part-time as a service station attendant.

Sigvatr, who claims the game is "fun and funny", is also responsible for the website spreekillers.org, which ranks real-world killing sprees based on the number of victims.

In an email interview, Sigvatr, whose real name is Eric Vaughan, said he had not been contacted by anyone in police or Government over the game, which had been downloaded "over a hundred thousand times".

"People will think I am a terrible person, but I believe that Muslims' regard in society is now just that little bit more accepting because of what I have done," Vaughan said.

In his letter, Trad said he believed Muslim Massacre 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.

But the 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".

Trad said the letter looked like a standardised form response and accused the Government and police of selectively applying counter-terrorism laws. He said the Khazaal case had set a precedent that should be applied to Muslim Massacre and its creator.

"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.

In September, Queensland Police Minister Judy Spence said police were investigating the game to see whether it breached any legislation. No announcements relating to the case have been made since then.

A Queensland Police spokesman said the game had been examined and "no offence was detected", but police had referred the matter to Canadian authorities as this is where the game is being hosted.

In 2006, the Government was powerless to remove from the internet a racist board game based on the Cronulla riots. It was eventually removed by the US-based web host, Angelfire, following extensive lobbying by anti-racism groups.

Similarly, in 2007 a game based on the Virginia Tech massacre, developed by a Sydney man, was removed by its web hosting service after the Federal Government failed to come up with a way of using its powers to have the game blocked.

However, this sort of content could be blocked in future if the Government proceeds with its controversial plans for mandatory ISP-level filters of "illegal" material.

- © Fairfax NZ News