One of my favorite games is Command and Conquer Generals with the Zero Hour expansion pack. This game is really fun for those that love strategy and blowing things up.
But as a Muslim, I have some issues with this game. Let me give you the rundown.
Command and Conquer Generals came out way back in 2003. Here’s the premise of the game.
There are three teams: USA, China, and the Global Liberation Army (GLA).
You choose to be the general of one of these teams and battle the other two teams across the globe.
The USA is the noble team with fancy jets, helicopters, laser weapons, special forces, and satellites.
The Chinese are also the “good guys.” They don’t have the fancy toys the USA has (almost all of the Chinese weapons are plain green), but they still have a pretty good array of munitions.
The GLA are the bad guys. They are against both the USA and the Chinese. The GLA is not a real army, doesn’t belong to any country and don’t even have their own weapons.
Instead, most of their tanks are old Soviet clunkers and refitted scooters. They don’t even have planes.
You can imagine who the GLA are supposed to represent. Islamic/Muslim terrorists.
Of course the game doesn’t specify that they’re Muslim. There’s no Quran or Arabic words used in any part of the game. Even the names of the GLA generals are not true Arabic or Islamic names.
But most of the fighting in this video game takes place in various Muslim countries. And you can even fight in and blow up mosques. And when the shooting starts you see women in burkas and men in thowbs start running away.
The GLA utilizes suicide bombers, demo traps (aka IED’s or improvised explosive devices), hijackers, biochemical weapons, and snipers.
Now I wouldn’t discourage anyone from playing Command and Conquer Generals.
But don’t be fooled.
I am an American Muslim. I was born Muslim, but both of my parents were born Christian. I grew up mostly in Brooklyn, New York. Let me first tell you that I love Islam. I have studied Islam in West Africa and Darul Uloom...
