Dec 4, 2008 7:06 pm US/Eastern
Controversy: Talking Doll Blurts Pro-Islam Babble?
Fisher-Price 'Little Mommy' Doll Supposed To Make Cooing Sounds, But Many Hear 'Islam Is The Light'
HARRIMAN, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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The Fisher-Price 'Little Mommy Real' doll has been stirring up controversy over what some believe to be pro-Islam babble coming from it.
Fisher-Price
Chatty Kathy never said these words.
There is controversy over a children's doll that possibly utters phrases about Islam. Is it garbled baby babble or a subliminal message?
In the babble of the toy doll that's made in China, JoAnn Andersen hears a hidden a message. Andersen bought the "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo Doll" at the Target in Harriman. The package says the doll makes baby noises and says "Mama."
But Andersen hears something else.
"The doll started to talk and it says 'Islam is the light,'" says Andersen. "I looked on the back and it was only supposed to say 'Mama.'"
Andersen says she's not offended but thinks the recorded message is inappropriate.
Across the country, many other parents have complained after hearing the doll say "Islam is the light."
CBS 2 sampled some Target shoppers.
Jeanine Kearny said she just heard cooing at first. But when we told her to listen for "Islam is the light," she had a different reaction.
"Now that you say it, I'm hearing it but when I was listening at first I did not hear that," says Kearny, a Highland Mills resident.
So we gave the power of suggestion a different try.
When we suggested to shopper Hughie Hagan to listen for "Mommy's my delight," that was what he heard.
Yet when Hagan's wife joined in, she heard the controversial line.
"I clearly heard Islam is the light," she says. And she admits she offended the doll is being sold.
Around the country a couple of retailers have actually taken the toys off the shelves, but a manager at the Target says an e-mail from corporate told him to keep selling the dolls. The doll's manufacturer, Fisher-Price, insists the doll speaks unstructured baby babble, but says in a statement: "To avoid any potential misrepresentation, we have eliminated that segment of the sound file from future production."
An Islamic advocacy group dismisses the controversy, saying, "it would not make sense" for a mainstream toy company to sell a doll promoting Islam.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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