Jack Devlin saw some employees passing around a doll while shopping recently. He decided to see what the fuss was about, and when he listened in, he couldn’t believe what he heard.
Devlin, who lives in Dalton, says Mattel’s Little Mommy Cuddle ‘n Coo doll says “Islam is the light.”
“Being a Christian, this goes against my religion, the message they are sending,” he said. “When you look around, this jihad thing in the Middle East, they’ve been on their way for 40 years, spreading all through Europe and America.”
“When I hear this, I can see little children, 3- and 4-years old, slowly but surely being indoctrinated,” he said.
Devlin says he wants others to know about the doll and the message he says it promotes.
A Web search uncovered dozens of stories about the doll from across the United States. Some people claim to have heard the message Devlin hears. Others claim to hear the doll say “Satan is king.”
Mattel issued a press release on Oct. 13 saying the only word the doll says is “mama.” The rest, the company says, is “baby babble” and giggling. But it says it has changed the sound track on new versions of the doll to avoid any confusion.
When the doll’s sounds were played for several people at The Daily Citizen offices, some said they could hear the doll say “Islam is the light.” Others heard only baby gibberish.
“Some do (hear it). Some don’t,” said Devlin.
According to the Web site snopes.com, which investigates urban legends, several talking toys have prompted similar concerns. In 2006, Snopes reports, the talking book “Potty Time with Elmo” contained a sentence that the manufacturer said was “Uh, oh! Who has to go?” But some people insisted it actually said, “Uh, oh! Who wants to die?”
---------------
For more information on the Cuddle ‘n Coo doll and other Mattel toys, contact Mattel’s customer relations at 800-524-8697.
The Mattel press release on the doll can be found on the Web at http://www.shareholder.com/mattel/downloads/10-09-08_Media_Statement_re_Cuddle_and_Coo_Dolls.pdf.
The snopes.com article on the Cuddle ‘n Coo controversy can be found on the Web at http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/dolltalk.asp. An audio file of the sounds is available there.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Welcome to our online comments feature. To join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address. Once you do, your comments will post automatically. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
November 14, 2008
Man claims doll is pro-Islam
- Local News
-
-
Police seek suspect in massage parlor armed robbery
A man who held the employees of a massage parlor at gunpoint and bound and gagged them while robbing them late Tuesday night is being sought by the Dalton Police Department.
Continued ... - Chamber breakfast focus on education
- Deal expected in town for Unity Dinner
- Novelist to speak at the Dalton-Whitfield Public Library Sept. 21
- Dalton State announces Fall Fine Arts and Lecture Series events
- DSC to host domestic violence conference
- City trims property tax rate
- County expects to keep property tax rate the same
- Dalton’s future will be topic of college class
- Man accused of child molestation found not guilty
- ‘Neer building opens to 760
- 'Best practices' to be showcased during Shaw/Commerce Dept. event
- Murray charging inspection fee on mobile homes
- County gets $800,000 community development block grant
- Sep 7, 2010
- Military Academy Day Saturday in Dahlonega
-
