Video games with haram characteristics

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Video games with haram characteristics
proudtobemuslim
08/31/01 at 09:02:30
Assalam-u-Alaikum,

I was wondering what you guys think about certain video games in the market that have certain parts of the storyline (or otherwise) which are against the teachings of Islam e.g. fairies, ghosts and spirits, magic, etc.

Examples of such games could be the Castlevania series in which you play a Dracula-hunter and therefore use items like Holy Water and the cross to "ward off" vampires.  These clearly have Chrisitian origin.  Another example could Deus Ex... which in fact does not seem to have absolutely anything at all against the teachings of Islam until you translate the title which attributes to Allah (AWJ) something false and which is not attributable to Him AT ALL.

So what are your opinions with regards to playing such games considering the likelihood of you being influenced by them is next to nil (you being mature and of understanding mind rather than a child of course.  Children should NOT be allowed to play these kind of games under any circumstances).  My take on the matter is that I try to stay away as much as possible from these games.  Obviously I wouldn't play games that insult me personally.  And since Allah (AWJ) is far more worthy of respect than I (grammatically correct?), I try not to allow myself or my siblings to play games that insult Allah (AWJ).

It would be interesting to see what you all may have to say.

Wassalam-u-Alaikum,
Uzer
Re: Video games with haram characteristics
*sofia*
09/08/01 at 05:45:56
Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Sorry to go off a bit on a tangent, and although I honestly don't have very much experience with video games, I imagine they'd be a big waste of time.  Not that everything I do as an alternative to playing video games is any better time spent, but there's just too much evidence to show just the violence content alone in most video games (let alone other content aspects) may be enough to push a kid over the edge.  I mean, how is it that a child can shoot humans with such accuracy, in some cases, even higher accuracy than their adult counterparts?  Probably because it's not the first time they've used a gun; ie, these types of weapons are similated in video games.   A recent JAMA article pretty much outright stated that children's exposure to media violence, drug abuse, sexual content, etc is a public health concern.  Hello, took them til 2001 to publish this?

Anyways, back to your question, for whatever it's worth, I personally don't feel that playing games in which reward is given for injuring, destroying or killing humans/animals/even objects for no good reason could be good.  Insulting God or a religion is definitely not good.  And apparently, there are more and more games in which you get points for killing/injuring women and the elderly?  
In terms of the "magic"/fantasy content, another waste of time.  I'm sure there are some good, educational video games out there, I'm just not aware of what those would be, nor would I advocate them over other children/adult activities.  Btw, some studies also show no affect of age in determining if a player is affected by video content.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now, sorry if I didn't directly answer your questions or insulted anyone in any way, was not my intention.


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