January 17, 2005

Tolerance?

I'm sure my view will be considered extreme. :)

Ms. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti and her family have been receiving threats and hate mail because of her play Behzti, or Dishonour. Ms. Bhatti's play is set in a Gurdwara, or Sikh temple, and included scenes of murder and rape. The Birmingham (UK) Repertory Theatre closed the play after windows were smashed and its doors stormed by some Sikhs who said the play insulted their religion. Ms. Bhatti says that she "wholeheartedly" stands by the play, adding that the threats and hate mail have "stirred only tolerance and courage within me." [Source: AFP]

First, let me say that I agree with Ms. Bhatti that her family should be left alone. However, that's about all I can agree with. I think this woman deserves all the @$$ kicking she gets. Good for the Sikhs! I'm getting very tired of the attitude that artists can denigrate a religion (someone else's or their own) for the sake of "art." IMO, you've got to be really stupid to use religious symbols or text in a derogatory way. People take their religion seriously; don't these artists understand that? Ms. Bhatti claims that the threats and hate mail have increased her tolerance. What a joke! Lady, your play - by its very nature - shows that you are intolerant of your own religion. If you were really tolerant, you'd have recognized that your work is inflammatory and burned the story before it saw the light of day.

As far as I'm concerned:
* Salman Rushdie didn't get all the @$$ kicking he deserved.
* Elisabeth Ohlson didn't get all the @$$ kicking she deserved.
* Andres Serrano didn't get all the @$$ kicking he deserved.
* Theo Van Gogh did get the @$$ kicking he deserved.

You want tolerance? Praise Allah (swt) in whatever name you address HIM. Respect the religions of other people, including their religious symbols, texts, and beliefs. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Even if you don't subscribe to a faith, unless you are 100.000000% certain, do you really want to risk irritating the Power the Might Just Might Be?