Moschee Ba Ba! or Bye, Bye Mosque is the name of a new internet game in which one may - if so inclined - fire to your heart’s desire at mosques, minarets and muezzins. It’s not the design of some embittered individual or marginalised minority group. Rather, it’s part of a political campaign for Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), ahead of regional elections on 26 September.
If you surf to the site**, minarets and mosques start shooting up like Austrian mountains, followed by cartoon muezzins chanting calls to prayer – all against an Alpine backdrop. Players of this ‘game’ are invited to collect points by shooting down as many minarets and muezzins as possible to stop them ‘spreading’. If they fail, the game ends with the following message: “Styria is full of minarets and mosques! If you want this to stop, vote for Dr Gerhard Kurzmann of the FPÖ on 26 September.”
Parallel with Switzerland
Unlike the Dutch Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, the Austrian far-right isn’t doing so well in the polls. In a bid to gain more support in the coming elections, the FPÖ has placed this game on its homepage. Alexander Segert – the Swiss man who designed anti-Islamic posters for last year’s campaign to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland - was called on to create the internet game.
Mr Segert’s explicit graphic work in 2009 had the desired effect: 57 percent of the Swiss electorate voted in favour of the minaret ban. His latest internet creation, carrying the same message, has predictably met with criticism from leftwing political circles and the Islamic community.
Austria’s opposition Green Party has filed a complaint on the grounds of incitement to hatred and insulting a religion. “Tasteless and contemptuous” is how Anas Schakfeh, the leader of the Islamic community in Austria described the game.
The Roman Catholic church has also voiced its disapproval: “Not only is this [game] a provocation against Muslims in its most primitive form, but it also sows the seeds of violence in our society,” a spokesman said.
Four mosques
Just as in Switzerland, the Austrian people are not in favour of mosques being built in their country. Five percent of the population is Muslim, yet there are only four mosques with minarets in the country. Most Muslims have to congregate in rudimentary prayer rooms in basements and garages.
It remains to be seen whether the FPÖ’s campaign will strike a chord with the Austrian voters who, while not embracing Muslims with open arms, are not inclined to stoke unrest. And the FPÖ has been struggling to survive for quite a while now. It could be that Bye, Bye Mosque ends up backfiring on the party it’s been designed to promote.
** Update, September 2010 **
The site was shut down by the Austrian legal authorities as of September 26.
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@Dan Taanasa
What? How about you do a little research before commenting on something you know little about. Churches are not banned at all in Iran. In fact in Iran, you'll find some of the most beautiful churches located in the Middle east. Here's a link if you're interested in seeing for yourself: http://www.iranchamber.com/monuments/historical_churches_iran.php
Even Synagogues can be found there with worshippers free to congregate as they please.
So that silly argument of yours holds no credibility at all my friend.
Yes the Mosques should all be banned in Europe while Churches are banned in Islamic Terror states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
In Switzerland the "People's Party" have included such charming bits of racism as a logo that showed a white sheep kicking a black one "off the flag".
During the 2007 election, I visited their site, which featured a little game where you could be a swiss white goat butting blacks over the border.
I played the game a bit. I butted white sheep leaping over the fence with ever-increasing swiftness. I even butted busloads of black sheep crashing the boarder, er, fence.
But then I tried butting a WHITE sheep, which was also leaping the fence, the game ended.
Thanks for the compliment, Hiram, but my track record is certainly inversely better than what you claim it to be!!
Come now, Hiram, Geert and his gang are leagally known as a political party as they are registered, but as fun loving buddies, this project is really up their alley. Too bad Geert and the gang can't draw royalties from copyrights, then they could have made legally declarable money.
I guess you are right, this time!
I dont dislike muslims at all - but too much muslims in a european country - that does not work !
What do you think with this kind of acts you the muslim no you can,t
but God can see you what you have done and what you are doing
first I pray to God that to bring you to right path
to leav this evil act
Oh my god!! Don't offend a muslim! Let them get over it or move back to where they belong. I'm so sick of hearing about these losers.
"The Roman Catholic church has also voiced its disapproval: “Not only is this [game] a provocation against Muslims in its most primitive form, but it also sows the seeds of violence in our society,” a spokesman said."........Why doesn't the Catholic church voice it's disapproval of Islam sowing the seeds of violence around the world? The Catholic church has no right to preach about others sowing the seeds of violence especially when it has and continues to be just as evil as it's counterpart, Islam. Both are dangerous. Both want to control the masses and both have used deadly force to control the masses!
I just love it! I don't want any more racist Muslims here. Unfortunately, they are not content to live in our culture and separate themselves from the rest of the community.
The platform of these far-right parties lies not in opposition to imaginary threats, not real ones. That's why they need to speak so loudly (and perhaps peroxide their hair).
The underlying truths are as follows:
Neither Europe nor the Netherlands is bristling with minarets.
Islamic culture is not becoming dominant.
Some people are xenophobes, and look for an outlet for this condition.
A video game such as that above should be viewed in the same manner as Wilders. Racist, immature, and contrary to a society of tolerance and intelligence.
You use inaccurate and childish name calling to address Mr. Wilders, then accuse him of immaturity? Really?
"A video game such as that above should be viewed in the same manner as Wilders. Racist, immature, and contrary to a society of tolerance and intelligence.".......A tolerant society allows this kind of expression; whereas, intolerant societies in Islamic countries do not allow such tolerance. JW, you tagged Wilders as racist and "immature" but he is not. He sees and perceives a threat, he reports it, and those who disagree with him tag him as a racist in order to transfer the blame and justify his /her own biases.
Why didn't Geert and his gang think of and implement this idea first?!!
"Why didn't Geert and his gang think of and implement this idea first?!!"........You did mean party and not "gang", right?
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