Mozart’s “Idomeneo”: The Show Goes on in Berlin … [Part 2]
By Dr. Khan Dawood L. Khan
Chicago, IL

When Kirsten Harms, Director of Deutsche Oper, felt she had no choice but to cancel it, the police supported the decision -- just like they supported German newspapers’ decision not to re-print the Belgian cartoons of Prophet Mohammad because that “could hurt the religious feelings of one group of people.”

Her cancellation was, however, roundly criticized by the Government, from the Chancellor, Angela Merkel (the opera house “falling on its knees before the terrorists” even before there was a credible threat), down to her Minister of Interior, Wolfgang Schauble (calling cancellation, unacceptable and “crazy”), and many others.
It was Schauble, a supporter of Pope’s comments on Islam and now engaged in a three-year dialogue forum between the Government and 30 representatives of 3.4 million German Muslims, who had the opera performance reinstated within a couple of days, overruling the Berlin Security. Michael Naumann, a former German culture minister and now publisher of the Weekly ‘Die Zeit’ says the cancellation was “a slap in the face of artistic freedom, by the artists themselves,” adding that “the pope showed the way by being so extraordinarily apologetic.” However, Ali Kizilkaya, leader of the Germany ’s Islamic Council, stated that decapitated head of Mohammad “would certainly offend Muslims” and “that is not the right way to open dialogue,” though he agreed it was “horrible that one has to (be) afraid.”

Although the show’s director Hans Neuenfels refused to change the ending because “it is part of the story,” he had no compunction whatsoever in blatantly altering Mozart’s 225-old opera. Not just that, his violation of Mozart even received wide support in the name of freedom of Neuenfels’ freedom of speech at the expense of Mozart’s. How preposterous!

Given its WWII and Nazi history, Germany has the toughest laws anywhere on racial hatred. Its laws on freedom of speech are, in fact, more restrictive than in the US. In Germany , neo-Nazi propaganda, anti-semitism, political radicalism and positive portrayal of Nazi past are all against the law, with serious penalties. There, the content is also censored: Nazi songs, salutes, and symbols, even in private, are considered illegal. Germany aggressively tries to ban, based on its laws, material found and displayed beyond its borders (including material on Internet, allowed under the laws of the country of origin), and prosecute people under "incitement to racial hatred" laws. In the US , however, Ku Klux Klan (KKK), White Supremacy and other avowed hate-groups can demonstrate and organize rallies and marches (as they did in Skokie, IL , a strongly Jewish suburb of Chicago), Hitler’s Mein Kampf is openly sold and even discussed in classrooms; and content banned in Germany is allowed in the US. Germany, on the other hand, allows obscenity on radio/TV, ‘dirty words’, some degree of nudity on day-time TV and soft-core pornography after prime-time, whereas the US has laws against obscenity and dirty words on public airwaves, and laws for movie ratings, parental advisory stickers. Both the US and Germany protect minors: Despite strong laws against race hatred, Muslims in Germany still do not seem to enjoy the same level of protection, as accorded to the Jews and other religious, ethnic minorities. Some of the laws in Germany would clearly violate freedom of speech under the US constitution.

More relevant to the ‘Idomeneo’ situation is the censorship in classical music seen in some countries: In Israel, Wagner wasn’t played for many years (though not formally banned), because of his anti-semitism and association with Nazi era marches, etc.; even Beethoven was treated the same way, dead long before the Nazis, he wasn’t even accused of being anti-semitic. Simon Rattle, the British conductor, once created controversy by playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Daniel Barenboim, the highly respected Jewish Director of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, tried to make German classical music acceptable in Israel, but created major controversy by conducting Wagner (an anti-semite) in Jerusalem (summer 2001); he was denounced as fascist in the press (though some thought it was censorship of his work that reflected that unfortunate characterization much better). He agreed not to conduct Wagner’s Walkure, in face of protests from the Israeli government and Holocaust survivors: this can be considered ‘self-censorship’, the same dreaded and despised word German government raised in case of Idomeneo cancellation, and earlier in case of Belgian cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.

As I mentioned before, in Neuenfels’ Idomeneo, Moses’ head was much too conspicuous by its absence: Moses, the founding father of Judaism and a Prophet in Islam (equal in status with his descendants, Mohammad and Jesus)! If religion-induced conflicts were Neuensfels’ real theme, Judaism should have had a place because it has certainly been in the middle of many conflicts for centuries. Absence of Moses on that stage was probably because of strict laws against any anti-semitic expression in post-war Germany (unfortunately, NO such constitutional protection is extended to Muslims).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
© 2004 pakistanlink.com . All Rights Reserved.