‘Call of Duty’ Map Pulled Over Religious Reference

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s “Favela” multiplayer map has been removed from the game over references to Islam.

The reference in question comes in the form of a painting. The painting in the map features a quote from holy scripture on the frame. The text reportedly reads, “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.” 
This in and of itself might not have been an issue, however the digital painting is found in a bathroom in part of the map. This is, according to Youtube user “KhaleDQ84EveR,” “a disrespectful place,” for the quote to be featured.

Activition, the publisher behind the “Call of Duty” franchise, has responded by temporarily pulling the map from regular online rotation as they prepare a title update to remove it from the game entirely. They stated, “We apologize to anyone who found this image offensive. Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries.”

The company issued a statement to Kotaku, which was later reprinted on their website.

It stated, “We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favela multiplayer map from online rotation.”

They continued, saying, “Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players. We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention.”

While the petition against the placement of the texture only pertained to Modern Warfare 2, Activision’s statement seems to imply that it is also featured in Modern Warfare 3.

For context, Modern Warfare 2 was released nearly three years ago in November of 2009. The fact that this is only now becoming an issue could insinuate that this is only an isolated incident concerning a single fan or a small, vocal contingent of players upset over the issue, as that’s how these things tend to start. It’s entirely possible that the majority of Muslim Call of Duty fans aren’t upset by the placement of the texture.

However, given Activision’s history of controversy concerning Modern Warfare 2, it’s understandable that they would want to keep the issue contained.