Toumani Diabaté, the Malian musician whose song, Tapha Niang, has been removed from the video game Little BigPlanet after a tester reported it contained two phrases from the Koran, has defended the song.
He told the BBC:
"In my family there are only two things we know – the Koran and the kora." The kora is a 21-string harp used in West Africa, and Diabaté is acknowledged as one of its greatest exponents. The song first appeared on his 2006 album Boulevard De L’Independence, which was released in 2006 to no protests.
Diabaté, a Muslim, added:
"I’m really sad and I’m disappointed. I don’t want anybody to joke with Islam and to not respect Islam."
The game maker, Media Molecule, was alerted to the possible problem by a Muslim gamer, who said the mix of music and holy text might offend. Sony decided on the recall so that there would be "no possible way anyone may be offended by the music in the game."
