Mozart Concert Cancellation sparks debate

[HOZ]

Fear of offending Islam spurs hot debate in Europe

Four canceled performances of a Mozart opera have reignited an anxious and heated debate in Europe over free speech, self-censorship and Islam.
By canning its production of "Idomeneo", fearful of security threats because of a scene that might offend Muslims, Berlin's Deutsche Oper provoked front-page headlines across the continent and found itself fending off charges of cowardice.

[Cheese]

Saw this yesterday....

A Mozart play that has been around for centuries is being stopped now for fear of offending Muslims? Which Muslims? The radicals that are offended by any western culture? The Muslims that think anything that comes from North America and Europe must end? Is this to appease ALL Muslims?
Id like to hear from some of CPs Muslims...is this something that would offend you?
Is the next step banning plays that show anything Christian in a negative vein...according to the Christians?

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by Cheese

Saw this yesterday....

A Mozart play that has been around for centuries is being stopped now for fear of offending Muslims? Which Muslims? The radicals that are offended by any western culture? The Muslims that think anything that comes from North America and Europe must end? Is this to appease ALL Muslims?
Id like to hear from some of CPs Muslims...is this something that would offend you?
Is the next step banning plays that show anything Christian in a negative vein...according to the Christians?

Well we were supposed to boycott the Davinci Code....

[Bobblehead]

Sept 23-30 is the 25th Anniversary of banned books week.
Google - Celebrate your freedom to read
American Library Association

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Well we were supposed to boycott the Davinci Code....

Oh, yeah. But I thought we were doing that because it was TERRIBLE, not because it was offensive. My mistake, I guess.



Ordinarily, I'm all for being nice and building bridges rather than making people angry unnecesasarily. But this is the kind of thing that begs the question of where the line gets drawn. Do we stop showing Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" because it's offensive to Jewish people? Probably not--and the reason is that in that situation there's less risk of rioting and violence. But if that's the reason, then we've really lost our way--we can't start banning otherwise good works of art because we're afraid of violent repercussions elsewhere in the world. Art HAS to trump violence, or we're moving backward as a society, not forward.

[redforever]

Ordinarily, I'm all for being nice and building bridges rather than making people angry unnecesasarily. But this is the kind of thing that begs the question of where the line gets drawn. Do we stop showing Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" because it's offensive to Jewish people? Probably not--and the reason is that in that situation there's less risk of rioting and violence. But if that's the reason, then we've really lost our way--we can't start banning otherwise good works of art because we're afraid of violent repercussions elsewhere in the world. Art HAS to trump violence, or we're moving backward as a society, not forward.

You hit the nail rite on the head!!!

[Flashpoint]

Guns don't kill people.

Mozart Opera kills people.

Pretty stupid to start listening to what religious fanatics want just because the backwards Middle East tells you to.

Any place where an cultural norm is that women don't have equal rights to men is so far out to lunch that it is pointless to even consider respecting their beliefs. Sorry, it's a clash of cultures, and although our culture isn't perfect, it is most certainly better than theirs.

[Dirty Mr. Clean]

Wikipedia has good information on everything including the Cancellation.

Click Here

[Igottago]

The "Idomeneo" production, directed by Hans Neuenfels, shows King Idomeneo staggering on stage carrying the decapitated heads of Neptune, Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad;

Well I suppose that would be offensive to Muslims..and buddhists, and christians, and ancient greeks. It says a lot that the main security concern is because of Muslims though. Like I've said before, the Islamic religion has a lot of cleaning up to do in its own back yard.

[Jayems]

I had a feeling that once they got their way and saw that people would back down from free-speech for fear of "angering" some groups, they would either take advantage of this, or, as is this case, cause people to needlessly cancel programs.

whats next? Islam in schools to promote an understanding of their religion to better prepare our youth on how not to offend them?

I have a feeling thats exactly what they want.

[longsuffering]

So the Opera was cancelled although no one had complained about it and it still the fault of the the Muslim community?!?!

How do you figure that?

[White Doors]

Did you read the article?

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by White Doors

Did you read the article?

Yes I did. Did you?

The decision to cancel the production even before any protests had materialized was singled out for criticism.

And did you bother to check out the Wikipedia article?

It makes no sense to retreat. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble after a government-sponsered conference with Muslim representatives held independent of the incident told reporters that "[t]o send a signal, we could all go to the performance together," and the Muslim representatives agreed that the performance should not be cancelled

Have you got an intelligent point to make?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by longsuffering

Yes I did. Did you?


And did you bother to check out the Wikipedia article?


Have you got an intelligent point to make?

After the way the Muslims reacted to the Pope's speech and the cartoons....I'm sure most people are scared they will do the same thing against this concert.

[White Doors]

In 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered after outraging Muslims with a film accusing Islam of promoting violence against women,

Such tensions are not new, although artists argue they have become more common since September 11, 2001. In 1989 British author Salman Rushdie was forced into hiding after Iran issued a fatwa calling for his death after he wrote "The Satanic Verses".

European countries, rocked by a series of events including Islamist bombings in Madrid and London and widespread rioting in French immigrant communities last year, are struggling to find better ways of integrating their Muslim minorities

The latest controversy follows a furor in the Muslim world over comments by Pope Benedict this month in which he cited a medieval emperor who associated Islam with violence.

By canning its production of "Idomeneo", fearful of security threats because of a scene that might offend Muslims, Berlin's Deutsche Oper provoked front-page headlines across the continent and found itself fending off charges of cowardice.

......

The drawings, including one showing Mohammad with a bomb in his turban, triggered violent demonstrations throughout the Muslim world but were defended by the newspaper as an expression of free speech and a challenge to religious taboos. Berlin security officials had warned that staging the opera "Idomeneo" would pose an "incalculable security risk".

I'd say that they are fearful of a muslim backlash wouldn't you agree?

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by White Doors

I'd say that they are fearful of a muslim backlash wouldn't you agree?

No! Non...

It is them.........



"YOUTHS"

that they fear.

[longsuffering]

So even though the Muslim representative to this conference supported the Opera going ahead as planned, somehow some the decision to cancel lays squarely at the feet of the Muslims.

For a group that usually rages against political correctness, you're all bending over backwards to excuse the people responsible for cancelation of the opera of that very thing.

[octothorp]

As much as I'm against censorship, I have to wonder why a director would alter a perfectly decent opera (I mean, as Mozart goes). When I saw it (sans Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed), it was pretty obvious that the evils of Neptune were a metaphor for modern gods; that's likely what Mozart had intended, but had he put the severed head of Jesus in his opera, he would have had an even shorter life. The blame has to go with those who, unprompted, decided to cancel the opera. If they wanted to avoid controversy, they could have chosen to stage a subtle, authentic version of Idomeneo, but instead they chose to go with a flavour-of-the-month production.

Theatre gets censored more than any other type of art, and not all of it is at the hands of Islam. There was a play in New York that was cancelled earlier this year because it was critical of Israel and seen as too controversial; and one a few years ago that critical of Catholicism and was cancelled after bomb threats and death threats both in New York and Germany. (I think it was called Corpus Christi, if anyone wants to look it up. I don't remember the name of the Israel one, except that it was directed by Alan Rickman.)

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by longsuffering

So even though the Muslim representative to this conference supported the Opera going ahead as planned, somehow some the decision to cancel lays squarely at the feet of the Muslims.

For a group that usually rages against political correctness, you're all bending over backwards to excuse the people responsible for cancelation of the opera of that very thing.

Who's excusing it? I say do it anyways. I'm just giving you the possible reasons why.