Six Days in Fallujah was so controversial that it was originally canceled. Now the game is back and set to release soon. If the Council of American-Islamic Relations has anything to say about it though... the realistic war shooter might get canceled again.
So first things first, you should know that the Council on American-Islamic Relations is the largest Muslim civil rights charity in the US. They also have a large name, so we will call them by their abbreviation: CAIR. They have now issued a press release and are calling for Six Days in Fallujah to be canceled.
Why Does CAIR Want Six Days in Fallujah Canceled?
According to CAIR, Six Days in Fallujah is an "Arab murder simulator" and "reveals the gaming industry's Islamophobia problem." They are worried that the game will cause problems and "normalize violence against Muslims."
Quite the heavy words and we do wonder: Couldn't a lot of this be said about a number of war shooters? Real life wars have been the somber inspiration for many violent video games, so these arguments could be echoed in various shooter-game debates.
To be fair though, there are few shooters that are more realistic than Six Days in Fallujah:
"The gaming industry must stop dehumanising 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."
Certainly, CAIR are not the first to be worried about Six Days in Fallujah: The game was originally canceled after huge backlash and only now re-appeared.
Why Is Six Days in Fallujah so Controversial?
Six Days in Fallujah aims to realistically depict the conflict in Fallujah. To that end, they are re-modeling real soldiers in the game and staging real events within a digital, playable world. Civilians and their families – kids and wives – will be within your crosshairs as you re-live the horrors of a real war. The level of realism Six Days in Fallujah aims to deliver is eerie, and it is not at all surprising to hear CAIR make these demands.
Still, the developers liken the game to a shooter with "documentary elements". Can a shooter be labeled as such, when, ultimately, the players' trigger finger decides over the life and death of digital civilians? Is this any different from any other shooter? Is Six Days in Fallujah taking things too far or are CAIR exaggerating this issue? These are tough questions to answer, but CAIR are very clear in their stance:
"We call on Microsoft, Sony and Valve to ban their platforms from hosting Six Days in Fallujah."
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