Islam Denounces Barbie, Pokemon

Spokesmen for Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia recently reiterated the 10-year old ban on Barbie dolls.

According to the Committee, Barbie was based on an actual woman who was of Jewish descent. In actuality, the Barbie doll was based on a short-lived German doll named Lilli which was based on a sequential art comic strip that ran as filler for the German tabloid, Bild-Zeitung. Lilli's exploits were often political or sexual in nature and aimed primarily at adults. When the doll was fashioned, it held three patents and was largely considered inappropriate for children. Mattel bought the rights and patents to the doll in 1964 and production ceased; the name of the new doll was Barbie, and was aimed at children.

While the actual model (if there even was one) for either doll is unknown, Lilli was popular enough to spawn a motion picture, in which she was portrayed by a Danish actress. As the story goes, the woman who "invented" Barbie actually used Lilli as the model from which she worked, so no actual living model (excepting Ann Smyrner, who appeared as Lilli in the 1958 film) ever existed.

The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia also denounced the popular Pokemon trading card game (CCG: Collectible Card Games) as a Jewish conspiracy to introduce children to gambling and other vices.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008