This episode of Gaming Islam consists of eight videos in which the presenters talk about "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" (Infinity Ward 2019) - how it mixes the real with the fictional, its language and gender politics, and its depiction of empire and the morality of war. This episode is also available on YouTube.

Video 1: Introduction. We introduce Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, its relationship to the U.S.-led "Global War on Terror," and how the game tries to take a nuanced perspective on events in the Middle East but ends up with some of the same old American clichés about the region and its people.

Video 2: Language Politics. Why do the citizens of the fictional country of Urzikstan speak the real language of Arabic? And do they all speak it equally well? If so, why did "Haidar" misspell his name as "Hadir"?

Video 3: On Flags. Which real-world country's national emblem inspired the flag of Urzikstan? Is al-Qatala's flag modeled after Hezbollah, or ISIS? Is Urzikstan a narco-state?

Video 4: Gender Politics. A lot of women carry guns in this game, but which ones are on "the good side"? Does the game give us any hints based on their style of dress? We try to find out who Call of Duty thinks are the good Muslim women and who are the bad ones.

Video 5: Imperialism. It's true that Russia is an imperialist power. But Call of Duty makes Russians into such extreme cartoon villains that it obscures how the United States is a much bigger imperialist power. Also, why does the game displace American crimes onto Russia? Watch the segment to hear us speak about water boarding and the so-called Highway of Death.

Here are some links on the Highway of Death controversy:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Highway of Death controversy, explained (Polygon)
• 'Modern Warfare,' The Highway of Death, and Call of Duty's Exploitation of the Past (Vice)

Video 6: A Spectrum of Morality. There are no pacifists in Modern Warfare. But some groups are justified in their violence, while others are not. Which combatants kill for good, sensible reasons? And which ones kill merely to cause chaos and irrational destruction? Where does each group stand on the spectrum of morality?

Video 7: Martyrs & White Saviors. What does Alex the rogue CIA agent have in common with Jake Sully from Avatar? Watch as we explore the topic of martyrdom and Hollywood's white savior complex.

Video 8: Undying Heroes. As an Arabic saying goes, "the hero never dies." What does that have to do with U.S. military recruitment? Watch as we draw some final conclusions about Modern Warfare and its ties with the US Army.

Gaming Islam is:

• written and presented by Alireza Doostdar and Ghenwa Hayek
• produced and mographed by elfrzdq
• filmed by Thomas Maguire
• with generous support from the Martin Marty Center for the Public of Understanding of Religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School https://martycenter.org/