Controversial news from the New York Times, without the news part. A new video game release has been delayed because:

the game’s developers discovered that “one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found” in the Koran, which some people may find offensive.

So, what are the quotes?

This can be read a couple of different ways: 1. that Muslims might be offended by the use of a Koran quote in a video game; 2. the quote itself might be offensive to people. Which is it? You won’t know from reading the New York Times. The Australian and Taiwanese press have more:

Sony was allegedly reacting to a letter, published on gaming website Kotaku, saying Muslim gamers found the combination of music and words from the Koran “deeply disturbing”.
The letter translated the offending lyrics as “Every soul shall have the taste of death” and “All that is on earth will perish”.
However the song, from the album Boulevarde de L’independence, may not have been intended to offend anyone.
It was released two years ago by Diabaté – who is also a devout Muslim, according to the Taipei Times. The African musician has never previously been associated with religious controversies.

But some religious sensitivities are holier than others:

Sony may have wished to avoid another religious debacle after a notorious run-in with the Church of England last year.
In June 2007, the Church of England was considering legal action over the use of the sacred Manchester Cathedral as a setting for a shootout in blockbuster video game Resistance: Fall of Man.
The church said Sony’s production was “insensitive” given the rate of gun crime in Manchester, and rebuked Sony’s claims it had sought permission to re-create the cathedral.

Of course, “considering legal action” doesn’t have quite the bite that one associates with wounded Muslim sensibilities. Which is why Sony basically told the Church of England to go jump in a natatorium but is withdrawing “Little Big Planet,” a “G-rated game that lets players guide a character named Sackboy through a series of levels which can also be created and shared amongst users.”