A hard-headed decision
It must have been a surprise for Mali-born kora player Toumani Diabate to discover that one of his songs has forced corporate giant Sony Computer Entertainment to tear up the timetable for the launch of its newest video game.
Toumani is a devout Muslim with a prayer room next to his office. He describes his songs as "my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam". But such is the fear of causing offence that Sony has withdrawn all copies of its LittleBigPlanet game after discovering a background music track by the Grammy-award winning world musician includes two lines from the Koran.
Political correctness gone mad or refreshing corporate sensitivity? Probably neither. This is almost certainly a hard-headed business decision. Sony don't want to take unnecessary risks with a product seen as vital in reversing the flagging fortunes of its PlayStation console.
It will cost millions to recall but billions are at stake. And the last thing Sony needs right now is for the product to be labelled 'offensive to Muslims'.
However, I note that the same company did not withdraw the ultra-violent game 'Resistance: The Fall of Man' last year despite Christian church leaders objection to the use of Manchester Cathedral as the setting.
The difference in attitude seems telling. Sony took a corporate risk to ride out any offence they might cause to Christians in juxtaposing a holy site with acts of extreme violence.
But before a single Muslim has even complained, the company tears up its launch timetable, recalls and destroys all copies of a game frankly dripping in syrupy family values.
Can we imagine Sony executives giving the green light to a shoot-em-up set in a mosque?
In a global market it makes sense not to alienate great chunks of your market by offending their religious beliefs. This is particularly true if the offence might trigger an angry global response.
Are there double standards here? Offending a religious group is fine so long as you can be confident they won't burn your corporate flag?
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