MAMA
Moms Ask Mattel for AccountabilityFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:COVER-UP OR RETREAT?
Mattel Inc. Pulls ALL Statements About "Islam is the Light" Doll from Corporate WebsiteDecember 8, 2008 - Washington, DC: In what may be a cover-up or a retreat, Mattel Inc. has removed from their corporate "Investors and Media" website ALL statements about the controversial "Little Mommy" doll. Parents nationwide have complained for months to Mattel that the doll says "Islam is the Light" without any notification label for consumers that the doll is advocating Islam. Between October 13 and December 4 - for FIFTY-TWO DAYS - Mattel had prominently posted, as the feature story at their corporate website Investors page, a media advisory statement that the doll only makes "cooing" sounds, and an audio file they alleged was the doll's soundtrack.
BREAKING: Denise Lee from MAMA will discuss the Mattel Inc. controversy TODAY, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8 on the Tammy Bruce radio show, 1:30 p.m. PST - listen live on the internet athttp://www.talkradionetwork.
com/tammylive#play MATTEL'S DISAPPEARING ACT
On December 2, MAMA posted our November 28 formal complaint letters to the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, written on behalf of America's parents. That same day we launched our campaign to ask retailers to pull the doll off their shelves - or label it to inform consumers about the "Islam is the Light" soundtrack. Just THREE DAYS LATER, on December 5, EVERY DOCUMENT posted by Mattel on their website about the "Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo Doll" had been removed.
WITHOUT A TRACE...
Even more disturbing, given the serious issues raised in MAMA's formal complaint letters to the FTC and SEC, Mattel has also removed previous statements about the doll from the Mattel press release archives. The controversial "Islam is the Light" Media Advisory had been THE FEATURE PRESS STORY for Mattel's Investors and Media corporate website - for the previous FIFTY-TWO DAYS. And then it disappeared - WITHOUT A TRACE.
MAMA also alerted the SEC and the public about a significant difference in appearance of the waveform of the posted Mattel audio file, and the waveform of an audio file recorded from an actual doll. THAT AUDIO FILE HAS ALSO BEEN REMOVED FROM THE MATTEL SITE - WITHOUT A TRACE.
MAMA KEEPS MATTEL ACCOUNTABLE.
Luckily for parents and media, MAMA kept a screenshot of the October 13 Mattel media advisory Investors page (below), a copy of the Mattel Media Statement and the Mattel audio file:
MOST PARENTS SAY THEY HEAR DOLL SAY "ISLAM IS THE LIGHT" - ABC-TV AND CBS-TV COVERAGE
Since the December 2 campaign launch by parents to remove or label the doll, we have received dozens of email queries and volunteer offers to visit stores, from across America and even Canada. TV and talkradio news stories have kept the controversy before the public, as more parents do their Christmas shopping, hear the doll at the stores, and contact their local media to express their concern and anger at Mattel.
ABC-TV SAYS 75% VOTE YES - DOLL IS SAYING "ISLAM IS THE LIGHT"
ABC-News Channel 6 (WJBF-TV) poll, shown here as of December 7 , SHOWED OVER 75% OF PARENTS SAY THE DOLL IS SAYING "ISLAM IS THE LIGHT." The ABC News poll asked "You Decide: Does Little Mommy Doll really say Islam is the Light?"
CBS-TV SAYS MANY HEAR 'ISLAM IS THE LIGHT'
CBS News Channel 2 in New York also reported on December 4 that many parents are hearing the "Islam is the Light" phrase: "Controversy: Talking Doll Blurts Pro-Islam Babble? Fisher-Price 'Little Mommy' Doll Supposed To Make Cooing Sounds, But Many Hear 'Islam Is The Light'" - see thevideo here. According to CBS, "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.' "
BUT - MAMA notes unfortunately this very statement is the one Mattel removed from their corporate website, so it is no longer clear that Mattel will stand by its commitment to eliminate "that segment of the sound file from future production."
MAMA spokeperson Denise Lee said, "If Mattel won't tell parents about the doll, we ask the media and the public to help inform parents. If you've already bought the doll, connect the doll's audio and listen for yourself. If you think you were misinformed by Mattel's decision not to put a notice on the doll's package or to recall it, consider returning it to the store and asking for your money back."
About the Moms Ask Mattel for Accountability (MAMA) Campaign
The MAMA campaign asks store managers either to remove the doll from the shelves, or to label it with MAMA’s neutral labels stating “Notice: This doll says ‘Islam is the Light,’ an invitation to your child to join Islam.” Until store managers remove the doll or label it, uninformed parents may continue to purchase the doll with no knowledge that it will tell their child “Islam is the light.” A small number of newer dolls do not state the phrase, but most dolls on store shelves appear to be equipped with the “Islam is the Light” audio soundtrack.
The MAMA letter to the Federal Trade Commission stated in part:
"We suggest that the omission of notice to parents that the doll makes the statement “Islam is the light” is indeed likely to “affect the consumers conduct or decision with regard to a product…” on at least two important areas that are materially important: 1. First, because the Islamic law of Shariah is so injurious and discriminatory for girls, it is materially important to parents if a doll invites their little girl to join Islam. 2. Second, it is materially important to any post-9/11 American consumer to know if a doll is proselytizing for Islam, especially to young children, especially without notice to parents when they expose the child to the doll’s statements."
The MAMA campaign website also calls for support from Muslim parents who oppose Shariah as a political-legal doctrine. Many Muslims came to the United States specifically to escape Shariah, and understand the problems posed by Shariah to civil liberties especially for girls and women. The“Contact” page states, “We hope that they agree with us that using an unlabeled doll to perform “Dawa” (calling children to join Islam), with no notice to parents that the toy performs this function, is highly inappropriate and offensive. We also encourage Muslim parents to join our efforts to get the doll recalled by Mattel or at least labeled before being put on shelves.”
The MAMA campaign will continue through the Christmas and Hanukkah holiday season, and into 2009 as needed.
For more information, contact:Denise Lee or Christine Brim:
labelthatdoll@gmail.com
www.labelthatdoll.com
Technorati Tag: Mattel and Islam Is The Light.
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