Parents Hear the Darndest Things...

Now before I mention anything I want you to listen to this short clip carefully. I mean get out a pen and paper and write down what you hear in this short audio clip.


So you got it. Listen to it one more time.



What did you hear? Did you hear any recognizable words? Now if all you heard was a baby cooing then don't worry your hearing is just fine.


The audio clip you just heard is coming from Fisher-Price's "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll" that coos, babbles, and giggles like a real baby. A regular doll you would give to any child until our wonderful little ears start picking up on certain words. In October some parents of children who owned the doll reported they heard odd statements coming from the doll. The doll is charged with saying "Islam is the Light" and "Satan is King".



Now I personally could not pick out "Satan is king" but I did hear "Islam is the Light" AFTER reading the various articles (that's why I had you listen to it first) that mentioned the phrase. So does it really say that or did I fall under the power of suggestion?

[Excerpt taken from About.com: Urban Legends by David Emery]

Another question that needs asking is why on earth a major toy company would insert any kind of religious message into a mass-market talking doll, let alone a message as controversial (in parts of the United States, at any rate) as an affirmation of Islam. It simply isn't plausible. And according to Mattel spokesperson Sara Rosales, it simply isn't true. The Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll only has one scripted word, "Mama," Rosales told Newsday earlier today. The rest of the recording is gibberish, including the final syllable which, as heard over the doll's cheap speaker, "may resemble something close to the word 'night,' 'right' or 'light,'" Rosales said (read full statement).

Our ears hear what they expect to see hear. If we were looking up at clouds and I point out that a certain cloud resembles a dog you would probably see it right away. But would you have seen it without my suggestion? Since 9/11 the U.S. has feared that another attack is imminent. In fact a a bipartisan commission reported that a biological attack is likely by 2013. But until then there is also the fear that our enemy will slowly and secretly take over over culture. Dolls that say "Islam is the light" is used to justify that fear. Just Google "Muslim take over America" and you get plenty of results that relate to Muslims taking over America, Europe, and the World. If you have a basic understanding of Islam then you would know that this is not the case nor their objective. Their objective, similar to Christianity, is to spread the word of Allah (Arabic for "God") and even then they're not as (that I'm aware of) aggressively pursing new members as their Christian counterpart.

What would happen if the doll sounded like it said "Jesus is the light" instead of "Islam is the light"? Would it still be considered spreading a message of hate (as this story suggests) if it had a message related to Christianity? It would be praised in churches and bought in record numbers and some would even say "this is exactly the kind of toy children need not only for Christmas but year round". Until the Atheist complain that is.





I don't believe any company would risk offending any religious group by secretly or publicly releasing a product with a suggestive message. So what's the moral of this story: calm down it's just a doll.