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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.
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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."
© 2006 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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