Lego to stop producing 'anti-Muslim' Jabba the Hutt's palace [UPDATED]

You can call Jabba the Hutt a lot of things (gross, lazy, terrible to sit next to on an airplane), but calling him racist might be a stretch. Austria's Turkish community wants an apology from Lego, accusing the company of using Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia mosque as a model for Jabba's Palace in one of its Star Wars-themed sets. The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria referred to Jabba himself as a "terrorist" and complained that "the whole scene smacks of racial prejudice and vulgar insinuations against Asians and Orientals as people with … criminal personalities." A Lego spokesperson politely reminded them that the set was based solely on the "fictional content of the Star Wars saga." [Source]

Update: Lego says it will halt production of the Jabba's Palace play set at the end of 2013, stating that Jabba's Palace was planned to only be in production until the end of 2013. Company reps also met with Muslim community leaders in Munich this weekend to address the controversy, but that's probably just a coincidence. [Source]

Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.