A right-wing Austrian political partyâs published a flash game in which the countryside is overrun with minarets and mosques and players must stop their construction. Because nationalism and xenophobiaâs so much more fun when itâs in the German language!
Moschee Baba (âBye-Bye Mosqueâ) is a minute-long, shooting-gallery type game in which a stop sign is clicked on a minaret, mosque, or muezzin (the guys who sound the morning calls to prayer). Itâs a political ad for the Freedom Party in the Styrian province; regional elections are coming at the end of the month.
No oneâs killed and nothingâs destroyed in the game, but its tone is pretty hateful and paranoid and itâs pissed off political opponents but good. Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Muslim community have demanded the gameâs removal and an investigation for âincitement.â
The game is, of course, a gross caricature of the reality of the situation in Austria. Only four mosques with a visible minaret exist in the country. None are in Styria, whose population is 1.2 percent Muslim.
After the game ends, it serves players with a push poll, asking if there should be a ban on minaret construction, wearing of burqas, niqabs or other Islamic garments, and if Muslims should sign some oath accepting Austrian lawâs primacy over the Koran. Fun stuff.
Far-Right Anti-Mosque Video Game Triggers Outrage In Austria [Reuters]
