Muslim Representation in Video Games

    Ramadan has come and gone. I had some great times during that month, but it's another 300 and some odd days before I can experience it again. Though I did do a lot of spiritual reflection, I did still manage to sneak in some video game time. One of the biggest questions on my mind was what game in recent memory starred a Muslim protagonist?

    I did a bit of research and I don't think Islam was ever touched upon by video game developers in a meaningful or thoughtful way. I understand though religion is a  very sensitive topic. I just don't see how video games can't help educate people about a certain religion or point of view. People don't necessarily have to agree or convert to the perspective, it's better just to know the more accurate truth. In times like these, where Islam is under the microscope, I think it's crucial that the principles of Islam should be clarified through all forms of media. The problem is how we communicate those principles. Most Islamic perspectives in media are either political only or very...ambiguous...and neither give the viewer a good grasp on what Islam is and what it means to the people who follow it for personal guidance. 

     I think everyone has seen or at least heard of Slumdog Millionaire. It's a very clever film that I think executes the love story motif beautifully. But did you know that the main character and his brother are Muslim in the movie? It doesn't show it very often but when it does, it doesn't do it very well. The only person who ever does anything religious is the main character's brother (who is presumably a misguided character through the whole movie). He ends up praying before picking up a gun to try and shoot somebody. The pairing of religion and violence left me in an awkward state and I felt that it misrepresented Islam.

He's apparently the "unlike-able" character in the movie. That's just great...

     Not to mention all the war movies, soldier movies, and superhero movies (Iron Man in particular), where the bad guys are all Muslim Terrorists or from a predominantly Muslim country. Hollywood, aside from news networks, had a big hand in shaping how the West views Islam. Think about every image you see about Islam, most of them are probably about angry looking bearded dudes engaging in some kind of violence. All of these "perspectives" have sort of hijacked the religion from a lot of normal American Muslims who just want to live their everyday lives. I mean I try to practice my religion as well as the next guy, but I never encounter the people on TV. I found that most people who don't personally know a Muslim, probably have the wrong impression of Islam. They fear the idea only because they are not educated about it.

Ugh...I can't believe people think of something like this when they hear the word Islam...

     So instead of going through the long lists of military shooters and espionage games that demonizee the Muslim population. Let's take a look at the many games where you actually control a Muslim protagonist!

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     Hm...doesn't seem to be any.

Despite the time frame, there is no information on Islam in the game

    Oh wait! One mainstream/popular game I was able to locate was Assassin's Creed. In the first Assassin's Creed, you play as Altair Ibn La'Ahad (Flyer/Bird son of No One) a devout follower of the the Assassin sect. The real history of the Assassin's sect comes from a deviant branch of Islam. Without getting into too much details, Assassin's were out of the fold of Islam right from the start and were actually used to to try assassinate leaders of the Muslim empire during the Crusades. So technically, Altair doesn't count as a Muslim protagonist. Assassins were a hidden third party during the Crusades and mainly acted as mercenaries for hire to the Europeans against the Arabs. Something particularly eerie about the group is that some assassins would be sent to spend years and years as double agents. They would serve or befreind their targets for years until the time was right to kill them.
     The mantra used in the game: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted" is pretty much in complete contradiction of the Islamic faith. The game neither tries to use faith in the game at all. The faith is only inferred through the time period of the game. I doubt many people would use Assassin's Creed as a religious textbook, but that's not what I am trying to get at. I just feel like there needs to be some characteristics of the main character that shows that he or she are guided by faith. But it doesn't have to and shouldn't beat the player over the head with a smorgasbord of Islamic literature.

It was still an awesome game though

     The other series that caught my eye was the Prince of Persia series. There are many implications that the main character was Muslim, but the game was always about getting revenge against some king/sultan who usurped the throne. It never really talked about Islam, and actually the word "Allah" was omitted from the series altogether. In 2008, the series was re-booted and instead of a more Muslim background the game took Zoroastrian mythology to the forefront.
     It's not that too big of a deal, but what really irks me is that they take the time to explain the stories and iconography of the religion. This makes it easier for people to understand the mythos of where the characters are. In the past Prince of Persia games, the only things reminiscent of Islam is the architecture and the clothing which I might add is more Byzantine and Arab rather than Islamic.

     I'm just confident that there is a need for a strong-willed Muslim protagonist in the gaming industry. We have games on pretty much everything else, why not something more relevant to our everyday lives? Most "Muslim" video games I have come across on my search were because of political issues or global conflicts. And to add to that constraint, they were not really done very well. While Islam does deal with politics and social issues, it puts personal faith first before anything else.

     So basically, I pose the question: Can we have a Muslim protagonist be popular in the video game industry? I think it's possible. I think we just need to take violence out and focus on an extremely personal story. After playing The Last of Us, I know it's possible to flesh out a dramatic story while keeping the player based engaged. After playing Journey, Portal, and others, I know that a non-combat game is definitely possible. I think like any game, if it's made well people will like it and relate to it. And that is all I really ask for.