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Muslims complain over Modern Warfare 2 map
Tue, 9th Oct 2012
FYI, this story is more than a year old

A Modern Warfare 2 map has been removed from the game following complaints from the Muslim community.

A video uploaded on September 27 shows picture frames in one of the buildings on the Favela map, which when viewed through a scope contain a quote from the Prophet Muhammad.

The quotes translate to “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty,” but it is the location of the words that is causing uproar – the paintings are in a second floor bathroom, some of them hanging directly above a toilet.

While the content is removed, Activision has removed the map from the game and an official statement has been released.

“We apologise to anyone who found this image offensive.

"Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries.

"We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favela multiplayer map from online rotation.

"Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players.

"We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention.

Religion has been a contentious issue for gaming in the past, as the original song for LittleBigPlanet was delayed in 2008 when it became clear the song contained lyrics taken from the Qur'an.