The Coracle "sermo liber vita ipsa"

Occasional Holy Man and Luthier Who Offers Stray, Provocative, and Insouciant Thoughts About Religion, Archaeology, Human Foible, Surfing, and Interesting People. Thalassophile. Nemesis of all Celebrities [except for Chuck Norris]. He Lives Vicariously Through Himself. He has a Piece of Paper That Proves He's Laird of Glencoe.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

"Stay Quiet and You'll Be Okay" - the 9/11 Hijackers to Their Captives

But Islam is telling you that subject's closed off. Not long after 9/11, some theatre group in Cincinnati announced a play contrasting a Palestinian suicide bomber and the American Jewish girl she killed. Local Muslims complained, and so the production was immediately canceled - because all the arty types who say we need "artists" with the "courage" to "explore" "transgressive" "ideas" fold like a cheap Bedouin tent when it comes to Islam. The Muslim community complained not because the play was anti-Muslim: au contraire, it was almost laughably pro-Palestinian, and the playwright considered the suicide bomber a far more sensitive sympathetic character than her dead Jewish victim.

But that wasn't the point: the Muslim leaders didn't care whether the play was pro- or anti-Islam: for them, Islam is beyond discussion. End of subject. And so it was.

Between crucifixes placed in a beaker of the artist's urine and Blessed Virgin Mary's fashioned from elephant dung to Broadway plays that mock a portion of Christianity, I'd say our society has always been free to regard religion in a less-than-respectful manner.  That is, until one religion decided to take homicidal umbrage at the notion.  Suddenly a "courageous" artist's "bravery" could mock all religion...save for the one that might hurt him or her.
at 1:00 AM
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