Outrage over 'Muslim Massacre' computer game

Muslim Massacre involves taking control of an gung-ho 'American Hero' armed with a machine gun and a rocket launcher.

He is parachuted into a Middle Eastern country with the aim of 'leaving no Muslim man or woman alive'.

Players progress through the levels, targeting characters dressed as terrorists and civilians, before taking on Osama bin Laden, Mohammed and finally Allah.

A scene from Muslim Massacre: The game involves wiping out all Arabs, including Osama Bin Laden

But the game, which is available for free online, has been attacked by Muslim groups for glamorising violence against Islam.

British Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation expressed its 'deep condemnation and anger' at the game.

The group said: 'This game is glorifying the killing of Muslims in the Middle East and we urge ISP providers to take action to remove this site from their services as it incites violence towards Muslims and is trying to justify the killing of innocent Muslims.

'We have written to the British Government to urge an inquiry into this game and take action to shut down the site.

'This is not satire but a deliberate attempt to demonise Muslims.'

Total slaughter: Players are told to leave no Muslim alive

The group's chief executive, Mohammed Shafiq, said: 'Encouraging children and young people in a game to kill Muslims is unacceptable, tasteless and deeply offensive.

'There is an increase in violence in this country and some of it comes from video games.

'When kids spend six hours a day on violent games they are more likely to go outside and commit violence.

'If it was the other way around, with a game featuring Muslims killing Israelis or Americans, there would be uproar - and rightly so.

'We would urge ISPs to take action against sites like this.'

The games creator, a freelance programmer who uses the name Sigvatr, described his product as 'fun and funny'.

There has also been some suggestion that it may be a satire of American foreign policy.

Sigvatr, whose real name is Eric Vaughn, was unavailable for comment.

But in an internet discussion of Muslim Massacre, he seemed to indicate that the game was not a parody.

'I think it's pretending to be legitimate commentary and I'm sure there will be lots of people who defend it on those grounds, but ultimately it's just a game where you blow the gently caress (slang for a common swear word) out of arabs,'  he wrote.

'Anyone is free to believe whatever they won't (sic) though, because I don't even know how to interpret it myself anymore. The bottom line is that I enjoyed making it and it's fun to play.'

Later, he added: 'The Muslims represented in the game aren't meant to be based on actual Muslims.

'If I was to try and come up with a meaning for the game at this moment, it would probably be something along the lines of metaphorically destroying the stereotypical depiction of a Muslim.'