Posted on 09/26/2006 9:26:54 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
Mozart Opera Canceled for Muhammad Scene
A leading opera house in Berlin, Germany canceled a 3-year-old production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" that included a scene showing the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, unleashing a furious debate over free speech.
In a statement late Monday, the Deutsche Oper said it decided "with great regret" to cancel the production of the 225-year-old opera after Berlin security officials warned of an "incalculable risk" stemming from the scene.
After its premiere in 2003, the production by Hans Neuenfels drew widespread criticism over the scene in which King Idomeneo presents the severed heads not only of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, but also of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha.
"We know the consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures," the statement said. "We believe that needs to be taken very seriously and hope for your support."
Kirsten Harms, director of the Deutsche Oper, told the Berliner Morgenpost on Tuesday that Berlin state police had warned of a possible - but not certain - threat, and she decided it would be in the best interest of the safety of the opera house, its employees and patrons to cancel the production.
While the head of Germany's leading Muslim council and Berlin's police chief said the decision was understandable, a broad spectrum of politicians opposed it.
Ali Kizilkaya, the leader of Germany's Islamic Council, welcomed the decision, saying a depiction of Muhammad with a severed head "could certainly offend Muslims."
"Nevertheless, of course I think it is horrible that one has to be afraid," he told Berlin's Radio Multikulti. "That is not the right way to open dialogue."
Police chief Dieter Glietsch said on rbb radio that "one can find nothing wrong if, in a climate that's already tense between Islam and the Western world, people avoid heating up the situation further through a scene that can - and perhaps even must - be taken as provocative by pious Muslims."
Many others, including Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, condemned the decision, which came ahead of a conference on Islam planned for Wednesday.
"That is crazy," Schaeuble told reporters in Washington, where he was holding meetings with U.S. officials. "This is unacceptable."
Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said that "with all understanding for the concern about the security of spectators and performers, I consider the decision of the director to be wrong."
"Our ideas about openness, tolerance and freedom must be lived on the offensive. Voluntary self-limitation gives those who fight against our values a confirmation in advance that we will not stand behind them."
Bernd Neumann, the federal government's top cultural official, said that "problems cannot be solved by keeping silent."
"When the concern over possible protests leads to self-censorship, then the democratic culture of free speech becomes endangered."
The decision comes after the German-born Pope Benedict XVI infuriated Muslims by characterizing some of the teachings of Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."
Earlier this year, furious protests erupted after a Danish newspaper published 12 cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Those caricatures were then reprinted by dozens of newspapers and Web sites in Europe and elsewhere, often in the name of freedom of expression.
Islamic law is interpreted to forbid any depiction of Muhammad for fear it could lead to idolatry.
The leader of Germany's Turkish Community said that while he could understand how the production could be seen as offensive, he also encouraged Muslims living in the West to accept certain elements of the traditions here, noting an opera production is not equivalent to a political point of view.
"I would recommend Muslims learn to accept certain things," Kenan Kolat told the online Netzeitung newspaper. "Art must remain free."
So, Germany has succumbed to Sharia?
Guess I better buy a CD of Stravinsky's "Petrushka" while I still can...
"showing the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad"
"While the head of Germany's leading Muslim council... "
Looks like the only Muslim heads in Germany are fictional ones and figurative ones.
But the interesting thing is that Muslims can cut off the head of the infidel--literally--and there is cheering in the Arab street. Cut off Mohammed's head in a fictional opera, though, and there will be rioting.
Good dhimmi.
The floodgates have opened. This happened much sooner than what I thought.
| German opera house cancels provocative Mohammed staging |
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| Posted by Rutles4Ever On 09/25/2006 5:21:07 PM CDT · 12 replies · 153+ views BreitBart ^ | 9/25/2006 Berlin's Deutsche Oper has removed the provocative staging of a Mozart opera from its schedule for fear of enraging Muslims, the opera house said in a statement. One of three opera houses in the German capital, it cancelled director Hans Neuenfels's production of "Idomeneo", a 1781 drama set in ancient Crete, because authorities warned it could present an "incalculable security risk". In the staging, which sparked audience protests during its premiere in December 2003, King Idomeneo presents the lopped-off heads of Poseidon, Jesus, Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed and displays them on four chairs. German critics saw the show at... |
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Artistic expression parallels the energy of a civilization. When a nation is on the skids the production of art falls to zilch.
The Muslim outrage is winning, and we are letting it.
They've already started altering world literature in Turkey to 'conform'.
The Pope has been threatened and condemned for quoting an Emperor from centuries ago.
Is Western civilization so weak that is it cowering in fear at offending Muslims over such minutia?
I's probably already been renamed "Katyusha"
What happens if the Muslims get upset that Vienna didn't get taken over back in 1683? Are the Germans going to give it to Turkey?
More Jamming by radical moslems and leftist useful idiots.
The depiction of the Moor I would guess.
So, they feared retribution from the Greeks?
Or was it threats from the Buddhists that scared them into closing the show?
Perhaps radical Christians had intimidated them?
Closing an opera because of fear of Muslim violence is terrible. But it must be said that this staging of the opera seems to be yet another meaningless modernist distortion of a classical work, some decadent director who couldn't resist tampering with the original for no reason than that he could.
The severed heads of Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammed were presumably added for the same reason that Piss Christ won government support: because certain artists can't resist provocation for provocation's sake, and are especially proud of offenses against religion.
Why didn't they just quietly go back to the original of the opera, and cut out all the nonsense? It sounds like more Weimar decadence. But now it's become yet another retreat in the face of Muslim threats, making it doubly unfortunate.
Everytime we blink, islam grows bolder. Everytime we give in, islam gets stronger. This is what terror does to people, this is how islam spread itself througout the middle east, north africa, indonesia, the balkans, etc. It is a bloody cult that terrorizes people into submission.
It's time for the West to stop playing little games with "terrorists" and fight back against this growing evil called islam. The Pope has led the way with his statements about how islam spreads by the sword, and how they oppress Christians in their lands but demand freedom for muslims in our lands. Islam's plans for world domination through terror are clear, and the Pope was trying to wake up the sleeping giant in the West. Now all we need are some leaders who command armies to follow through and deal directly with the problem.
The work in Iraq is finished. We need to stop playing God by destroying and rebuilding nations at will. God can do this effortlessly, but it is too costly for us. Let islam in Iraq reap its natural rewards, civil war and destruction. It's on to Iran and Syria, where the real problems lie. These are the nerve centers for islamic terror, Pakistan too. Once Iran falls the others will wilt quickly, they will not desire a similar fate as Iraq and Iran. If only the West could rediscover its own God, and its spine, this job could be done now and create some peace for our children and grandchildren.
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