Jabba Mosque: LEGO gives in under pressure

And it's not April Fool's Day.

Following the complaint of the Turkish cultural community in Austria led by its president Birol Killic regarding the set 9516 Jabba's Palace released in 2012 (see these two articles: LEGO sued for incitement to hatred et 9516 Jabba's Palace and Istanbul Mosque: LEGO officially reacts), LEGO first reacted officially to accusations of equating Jabba Palace with a reproduction of a mosque by relying on Star Wars mythology and its fictional character.

But this was apparently an official response meant to appease the spirits while allowing LEGO not to follow through on the Turkish Cultural Association's fanciful requests.

In the background, it seems that the representatives of LEGO somehow gave in under the pressure during a meeting with the representatives of the Turkish community in Munich after which Birol Killic declared himself satisfied that LEGO had agreed to stop the production of the set 9516 Jabba's Palace 2014 soon.

LEGO would have in any case stopped the production of this set by 2014, that is to say after two years of marketing, and this "agreement" which seems to satisfy the complainant does not require LEGO to really call into question its commercial policy.

That being said, the set 9516 Jabba's Palace won't make old bones in the manufacturer's catalog and if you want to get it at a reasonable price, don't wait until next year ...

This set, whose retail price is € 144.99, is currently sold for less than € 100 on amazon.de for example. You will find all the offers offered by the various European Amazon sites on pricevortex.com.

source: The racist threat? Muslims declare victory in fight over 'anti-Islamic' Lego (The Independent)