Sometimes you wonder if a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there were such things as racism. We all know it is still alive and well on this planet and in this time frame. Inadvertently, it appears LEGO may have done just so.
The recently released Jabba’s Palace playset has drawn the ire of the Turkish Cultural Community of Austria (TCCA). The TCAA believes the playset and the 2 pieces assembled within it to be scale representations of the Hagia Sophia, a 1,600-year-old former basilica and mosque in Istanbul, and Jami’ al-Kabir, a mosque from the 7th century in Beirut, two places with unfriendly pasts.
A quote from their website details some of their indignation and how they believe the scene is playing off of perceived stereotyping of their culture.
“It is clear that the figure of the ugly villain Jabba and the whole scene [exemplifies] racial prejudice and vulgar insinuations against … Orientals and Asians as sneaky and criminal personalities (slaveholders, leaders of criminal organizations, terrorists, criminals, murderers, human sacrifice)…,”
