Muslim advocacy group calls on platform holders to not sell Six Days in Fallujah
CAIR asked Sony, Microsoft, and Valve to not distribute "an Arab murder simulator that will only normalize violence against Muslims in America and around the world"
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on platform holders Microsoft and Sony, as well as Steam's parent company Valve, to refrain from hosting or distributing Six Days in Fallujah.
In a release shared on its website yesterday, CAIR said that Highwire Games and Victura's title is an "Arab murder simulator that glorifies violence that took the lives of over 800 Iraqi civilians, justifies the illegal invasion of Iraq and reinforces Islamophobic narratives."
CAIR research and advocacy coordinator Huzaifa Shahbaz said in a statement: "We call on Microsoft, Sony and Valve to ban their platforms from hosting Six Days in Fallujah, an Arab murder simulator that will only normalize violence against Muslims in America and around the world.
"The gaming industry must stop dehumanizing Muslims. Video games like Six Days in Fallujah only serve to glorify violence that took the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians, justify the Iraq War, and reinforce anti-Muslim sentiment at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry continues to threaten human life."
Six Days in Fallujah is a first-person shooter attempting to portray the events of the Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War, largely from the perspective of US forces. It was first announced in 2009 and faced significant backlash as it ignored the wider context of US forces invading Iraq on false pretense, as well as the war crimes that were committed there, for instance the use of white phosphorus. The actions of American forces in Iraq still have consequences to this day on babies born in the country.
Faced with backlash against the original announcement of Six Days in Fallujah, Konami quickly dropped the title. It reemerged in February and is set for release later this year.
