Artists most threatened by religious extremism –

/View.info/ Love, loneliness, suffering and hope are eternal themes in literature, theater and cinema. But also quite safe. When speech enters religious territory, however, every word opens up the risk of a backlash—especially when it takes aim at Islamic extremism.

And in addition to the trauma of being threatened for political reasons, most writers are dissatisfied for artistic reasons as well – their death threats start to be talked about more than the qualities of their books. If September 11 was an attack against US politics, then the one against the French cartoon magazine “Charlie Hebdo” was against freedom of speech. And in one of its oldest cradles – the France of Voltaire and Rousseau. The words of the first – “I do not approve of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”, are perhaps the most serious foundation laid in the foundations of modern civilization.

Here we will talk about the riskiest players on the art front who create against the manifestations of radical Islam.

The Fatwa against Rushdie

One of the biggest targets of Islam and one of the best writers in the world. Salman Rushdie is probably the person who has received the most death threats in his lifetime – he says he stopped counting long ago. “At some point you just get used to it. A thousand times, in a thousand ways. I get death threats so much and so often that when it’s actually time to go, I won’t have any worries. I’m not afraid of anything anymore.” says Rushdie. And the nightmare begins after writing “Satanic Verses”, in which the irony of Islam brings him lifelong persecution. The book was banned in many countries, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini declared him an apostate and signed his death sentence. A $3 million bounty has been set for his murder, which is said to be steadily increasing – the fatwa is still in effect. “This is the millstone around my neck,” Rushdie said 26 years after his death sentence. Despite everything, his relatives are unanimous – Salman always maintains not only presence of mind, but also a special cheerfulness, which protects him from the terrible thought that he could be killed. He only regrets that all the comments surrounding his religious satire in The Satanic Verses have obscured his true personality and the real value of his books.

In fact, even his enemies often know nothing about the content of the infamous “Satanic Verses”. Rushdie says that he met a British man of Asian descent who told him that he had once taken part in demonstrations against him. “Then I read your book and didn’t understand what all the fuss was about,” he admitted to him honestly.

Salman was one of the first intellectuals to speak immediately after the fatal Wednesday at Charlie Hebdo’s office.
“When religion, which is a medieval form of irrationality, is combined with modern weapons, a real threat to our freedom is reached. This religious totalitarianism is responsible for the deadly mutation at the heart of Islam, and we are witnessing the tragic consequences today in Paris. I I’m on the side of Charlie Hebdo, where we should all be to defend the art of satire, which has always been against tyranny, lies and stupidity. “Respect for religion” has meanwhile become a coded phrase that should actually be understood as “Fear of religion”. Like all other ideas, religions deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect. Paris hours after the attack. “I stand by ‘Charlie Hebdo’ as we all must defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for freedom and against tyranny, dishonor and stupidity,” he added.

The brand “Sasha Baron Cohen”

Sacha Baron Cohen is perhaps the biggest provocateur in the world of cinema. The current hysteria surrounding the film The Interview, which lampooned North Korea, uses a technique Cohen pioneered long ago – to brutally satirize a political or religious regime. In the tape “Bruno”, for example, Sasha tricked one of the leaders of the “Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades” – Ayman Abu Aita, to stand in front of the cameras. And he had interviewed him, disguised as the Austrian TV journalist who played in the film. However, after the case, the British comedian had to hire bodyguards – the terrorist organization, unpleasantly surprised by the mocking interview with its leader, threatened to kill him.
Abu Aita himself claimed that he was misled by the kinajian and that he actually had nothing to do with the extremist group for a long time. Suspicious answer, since in this field it is rare that someone can be an “ex”.

The other two big hits, dedicated to an absurdist clash of civilizations – “Borat” and “The Dictator” have long provoked the wrath of Islamic countries. When Cohen decided to suddenly switch to a completely different role – he starred in the Oscar-winning “Les Miserables”, he jokingly commented: “Finally I’m in a movie that they can’t kill me for.”

Cotton walks with a bodyguard

The two most famous modern Turkish writers are also the most threatened. The reason: their liberal views and harsh criticism of Islamic fundamentalism. Cotton is particularly disliked for his pro-Western sympathies. In 2007, Turkish nationalists issued a death threat against the writer. “When I’m in Turkey, the government provides me with a bodyguard, I’m happy about that. But so many people are in much more difficult situations that it’s not worth talking about me,” Pamuk was laconic on this issue during his visit to Bulgaria . And the most dramatic thing about him is that his books are not at all an apology for the West, as his critics think. On the contrary: Pamuk is a master of dialogue and interpenetration between two cultures. “The White Fortress” and “My Name is Red” are the best examples of a clash, but also a contact between East and West, in which the two worlds intertwine, communicate, change each other. After Pamuk accused the Turkish government of not recognizing the Armenian Genocide, however, he became known as a pro-Western author, which was enough for Islamic extremists to target him.

The queen of clichés, but also enjoying worldwide popularity, Elif Shafak also regularly suffers from threats. The author of “Love” is a zealous defender of women’s rights, which by definition is against the norms of religious orders in her native country, especially in the Asian part. The two writers, however, in most cases incurred the wrath of the official authorities in Turkey, and not so much religious fundamentalists. The question is whether it is “fortunately” or more indicative of the governance in their country.

The radical Welbeck

Until now, one of the most powerful minds in literature, Michel Welbeck, had taken on Islam several times. However, his new novel “Submission” is a serious risk. The story there takes place in the year 2022, when, according to the plot, the presidential election in France is won by a candidate of a Muslim party named Mohammed bin Abbas. He introduced religious restrictions in accordance with Islam. Women are banned from working and required to cover their faces, and the century-old Sorbonne in Paris has been renamed the Islamic University. The release of Welbeck’s new novel came just weeks before the attack on the French cartoon magazine Charlie Hebdo. Which is sure to at least double Welbeck’s already huge numbers – more than 100,000 for Obedience so far. However, would Welbeck have released the book if the assassination had occurred before printing, rather than the other way around? It was he who was on the cover of “Charlie Hebdo” when the attack happened. And his books are full of sharp statements. For example, the short, clear and unceremonious revelation of his character in “The Platform”: “The stupidest and most dangerous religion is Islam.” Because of these words in 2002 a lawsuit was filed against him for insulting Islam, but the Goncourt winner won. Behind his scandalous and harsh language, however, there is always an extra task – to unravel the apathy, emptiness and living by inertia of the Western man, as well as to show his only remaining working battery – sex and consumerism. Probably, in “Submission”, which has not yet been translated into Bulgarian, it is precisely about this – that the Western man is spiritually exhausted and this frees up vast territories before the enthusiasm of Islam (or at least that is what Michel hints at in his recent interviews). At the last moment, Welbeck at least decided to tone down the title – the working title “Conversion”.