Goad of War

Being a keen obsessesed gamer, some months ago I set out to find a copy of the PS2 smash hit game, God of War 2.

 Suprisingly, even though it was a super smash hit title, it wasn’t available in any of the stores. Hushed tones denied having the game in every store I walked into(even the ones selling original games). Since it was a hard title to download, I got more and more impatient and aggravated until finally I demanded to know why such a perfect creation wasn’t available anywhere.

I was even more surprised when the shopowner hushed me down and took me into a corner and whispered, “Not allowed in Kuwait! They censor because they use God in game!” It finally dawned upon me exactly what the problem was.

 In Islam, it is the greatest sin to attribute any partners to God. It is the first pillar of Islam, and this game was defying the basic tenets of the religion. However, Kuwait allowed room for different cultures in it folds. Wouldn’t this game be a part of the fold? Also, it was, at the end of the day, a mere game.  I couldn’t see how it would cause a religious upheaval in any way possible. On the other side of the coin, being a muslim ,  I can see how this would be a source of concern for the strict censors in Kuwait.

 I went home and downloaded it.