Opera withdrawn over Islamist threat

[The Straight Story]

Opera withdrawn over Islamist threat

By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin

Published: September 26 2006 17:44 | Last updated: September 26 2006 17:44

Indignation erupted across Germany’s political spectrum on Tuesday after a renowned opera house said it had dropped a controversial production of Mozart’s Idomeneo from its programme because it feared becoming a target of Islamist extremists.

Wolfgang Schäuble, interior minister, attacked the decision by Berlin’s Deutsche Oper not to show the 200-year-old work as “crazy”, “ridiculous” and “unacceptable”.

Bernd Neumann, culture minister, said it showed “the democratic culture of free speech is in danger”.

The uproar threatens to dominate the government’s first conference on Islam, which Mr Schäuble opens on Thursday. Berlin wants the gathering of politicians and community leaders to develop into a permanent advisory body on Christian-Muslim relations.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8e25081c-4d7b-11db-8704-0000779e2340.html

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Can we finally all agree

that censorship by religious fanatics -of ANY stripe- sucks?

[The Straight Story]

3. Censorship by ANYONE sucks, including political hacks

like bush and hit little buddies in the msm.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Yeah, I'll agree to that, too. nt

[Rex]

2. Dammit! They have such cool names!

I wish I would have been named Wolfgang! Had to end up with Rex. :(

[question everything]

21. LOL. You can always change it

Cassius Clay did..

[maxsolomon]

4. had they not mentioned it it likely would have passed unnoticed

how come islam gets an exemption from ridicule? because they can't handle it?

i humbly suggest they get out of the kitchen.

[The Straight Story]

6. Squeaky wheel and all that I think

Some people get offended at things, but don't say much because they have more open minds.

[hogwyld]

10. So, why does Islam get singled out for ridicule???

If the whole world picked on you constantly, I imagine you would get tired of it too. DISCLAIMER: (Not picking on you, just a hypothetical "you" as a generalization)

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Oh jesus fucking christ on a wubber cwutch.

One thing I just can't fathom is why some so-called "liberals" feel the need to reflexively defend the nuttiest, most obnoxious, oppressive and ignorant shit... as long as its obstensibly done in the the name of "Islam".

:eyes:

Fundamentalist assholes are fundamentalist assholes, and there are a lot of them on this planet.

[hogwyld]

13. And what give the western world

The right to dictate and impose it's views on a religion it knows nothing about? The muslims have no problem if you critisize their governments, but for them, their religion is the "third rail" for non-believers.

[genie_weenie]

14. That's right some ideas are sacrosanct

and should be forever made impenetrable to ridicule and/or criticism...

For example, Authority figures like the President should never be criticized because as we all well know some great men have held the Office of the President and to criticize those who are President today would be to cast the shadow of suspicion on those great men of the past who have been mythologized and must forever be immune to inspection...

[hogwyld]

15. That's completely different

Because criticizing the president is politics, not religion. I just find it humourous that so many feel the need to ridicule a religion that they in all honesty know nothing about, except what the M$M tells them.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. I don't see anybody ridiculing any religion.

I see people criticizing obsessive fundamentalists who feel the need to threaten and commit acts of VIOLENCE against people and ideas they deem offensive.

[genie_weenie]

20. No I'm right. My ideas about politics are sacrosanct.

Therefore you can not criticize them, without fear of reprisal from me. And I just find it humourous that so many feel they need to ridicule a president the in all honesty know nothing about, except what the M$M tells them.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. How is criticism "imposing views"? That's the problem with fundys and

control freaks of all stripes. Rather than ignoring media or opinions which offend them, they feel the need to censor the entire universe to fit their particular sensibilities.

Well, too bad. The world is not here to be censored to fit everybody and his bastard brother's personal obsessions.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. It isn't singled out

Deutsche Oper’s production ends with Cretan king Idomeneo carrying the severed heads of Neptune, Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed.

The scene, added to the script by director Hans Neuenfels, is meant to symbolise the king’s estrangement from religion after he reneges on a vow to the gods, and was roundly booed at its Berlin premiere in 2003.

So Islam is treated the same, roughly, as Christianity, Buddhism and Roman pagan religion. But it would seem to be some Muslim extremists who have made the threats.

Interesting, though, that the scene is a recent addition; I wonder if the boos were from Muslims or other members of the religions concerned, or if they were because it was thought a scene that shouldn't be there from an artistic point of view, and was just sensationalism.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. So they didn't want to go through with it...

and then the source blames a hypothetical "islamist" threat?

[Behind the Aegis]

8. What are you talking about?

This play has been in production for three years.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Behold, the power of the Media.

:eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. Yes, grasshopper.

And no "islamist" complained about it.

[genie_weenie]

11. As Voltaire would know this has never happened before

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06065/666058.stm

When Voltaire wrote the play in 1741, Roman Catholic clergymen denounced it as a thinly veiled anti-Christian tract. Their protests forced the cancellation of a staging in Paris after three performances -- and hardened Voltaire's distaste for religion.

Of course things have not changed and those who would look and find offence will not be mollified no matter what is censored.