In Germany discussion continues about the negative reactions in the Arab world to Denmark as a consequence of the caricatures of Mahomet recently published in a leading Danish paper. Death threats, boycotts, mass protests, even the withdrawal of diplomatic representatives from the country, are among Arab reactions to what is widely perceived as blasphemous. The problem risks involving the EU as a whole. Christian Geyer writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (2/2) comments: “Religious fundamentalists who fail to acknowledge the difference between satire and blasphemy do not have a problem just with Denmark but with the whole Western world. The question whether such representations offend good taste or not is not being discussed. It may be argued that Salman Rushdie or Theo van Gogh or the authors of any pamphlet on Jesus exceed these limits. Religion as an object of satire is bound to cause trouble”. […] “But in a secular community, the faithful cannot expect, still less extort, the observation of their religious commandments by everyone. […] The faithful of the Prophet have a very simple expedient to influence the agenda of the Western cartoonists: all they need do is abandon violence which they now declare is a religious imperative. So long as they do not stop, it is the faithful themselves who justify the caricature of their faith”. Roger Köppel writing in Die Welt observes: “The case should not be categorized as cultural war, since in effect there does exist a limit to satire, which ought not to be overstepped for religious questions. […] Western democracy is the institutionalised form of freedom of opinion. In the West there does not exist any right to be spared from satire. Christianity itself has become the butt of merciless criticism; it has been subjected to destructive satiric attacks that mark the triumph of humour over religious celebration. […] Islamic protests would be taken more seriously if they sounded less hypocritical. When Syrian television transmitted prime-time documentaries with Jewish rabbis depicted as cannibals, the Imams remained silent. Many men of good will in the West, who normally organize a protest march for any capitalist, also abstained. No declaration of solidarity for their Danish colleagues, on the contrary: a growing murmur of how religious minorities ought not to be provoked. Sometimes, in Europe, the typically European culture of freedom runs into difficulties”. The French Catholic daily La Croix (01/02) also dedicated a dossier to the Danish case signed by Bernard Jouanno, Pierre Schmidt and Claire Lesegretain – in which “ the always turbulent relations between the sacred and caricature” are analysed. The journalists did not only conduct investigations in the Moslem world; they also asked Christian theologians, not just Catholics, and representatives of Judaism and Islam about the relations of the Churches and religions with satire. “ When it’s a case of the clergy, ecclesiastical institutions and the conduct of believers replied Jesuit Father Pierre de Charentenay, editor of the monthly journal Étude humour, caricature and even derision are fair game, but every form of freedom must set itself limits. The very foundations of the faith of millions of believers cannot be treated with superficiality“. According to Orthodox theologian Father Michel Evdokimov, these satires “ instead of elevating man to God, demean God to the level of man. You can make jokes about God, but you can’t turn him into an object of ridicule. There are martyrs who have given their life to defend the image of God“. The Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI is also given coverage in the January number of “ The Economist“. “ An old story tells of a bishop who was asked what he thought of sin. After pondering the matter for a moment, the bishop replied that he was generally against it. This week may be remembered as the moment when Pope Benedict XVI offered his view of erotic love and, contrary to expectations, said he was largely in favour of it […] In denouncing the reduction of the modern world of eros to ‘pure sex’, he said that erotic love must be purified if the highest vocation of man is to be fulfilled“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1448 N.ro relativo : 8 Data pubblicazione : 03/02/06
