Ironic Surrealism II

Updated & bumped: Images of Muhammad posted on Reuters (my BlogBurst powered article) and Fox news! Please scroll down for update.

Gay Jesus play blasted by bishop

A PLAY that depicts Jesus as a gay man who is seduced by Judas and conducts a gay marriage for two apostles has been condemned by religious leaders as it prepares to open in Sydney.

The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, questioned the integrity of Corpus Christi and expressed his outrage at the “unhistorical and untrue” depiction of the son of God and some of his disciples as homosexual.

“It is deliberately, not innocently, offensive and they’re obviously having a laugh about it,” he said.

“It’s historical nonsense and I wouldn’t want to go and see it. Life’s too short.”

Australian Family Association spokeswoman Angela Conway said the play’s creators had committed “a big enough crime” by neglecting to treat Christianity and Christian believers with more sensitivity.

“The ideas are offensive and really border on blasphemous. It’s just completely fanciful and self-obsessive,” she said.

The play’s director, Leigh Rowney, is unrepentant. “I would be surprised if people bothered to protest outside the New Theatre … but if they did, bring it on,” Rowney said.

The play, which will open at the New Theatre in Newtown on February 7 as part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, provoked protests and bomb threats in the US. Death threats were sent to playwright Terrence McNally, who draws parallels between the rejection he faced as a young gay man growing up in Texas and Christ’s persecution.

Rowney, a Christian, denied the play mocked Christ but said it would upset some Christians.

“I think it humanises Him in a way Christians might find difficult because we like to believe God and the son of God are ultimately divine and above all of us.

“I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering questions about Christianity as a faith system. Source.

Fatwa for ‘gay Jesus’ writer

An Islamic group based in the UK has issued a death fatwa against a playwright whose London stage production depicts Jesus Christ as a homosexual.

Terrence McNally was sentenced to death by the Shari’ah Court of the UK as his play, Corpus Christi, opened in London on Thursday night.

…The religious edict was signed by Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad, judge of the Shari’ah Court of the UK.

…The sheik added: “We do not believe in political assassination, but obviously he would face capital punishment.

“He will be arrested and there will be capital punishment.”

He said that under Islamic law, Mr McNally could only escape the fatwa by becoming a Muslim. If he simply repented he would still be killed - but his family would be cared for by the Islamic state.

“escape the fatwa by becoming a Muslim”? So if he were Muslim then it would then be ok? Since when?
The fact is Jesus has nothing to do with Islam. I do not care how much Muslim’s profess he is a prophet of Islam. He is NOT!

Some background info. on Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad can be found here at Militant Islamic Monitor, and also here at Discover The Networks.

Another day, another arrogant and intolerant demand of Islamist’s that ALL bow down to Islamic law as if the entire world follows Islam. A Dutch artist, who goes by the pseudonym of Sooreh Hera has had her life threatened by the “religion of peace”.

Woman artist gets death threats over gay Muslim photos

THE Dutch were debating the limits of freedom of expression last week after an artist who photographed gay men wearing masks of the prophet Muhammad was forced into hiding and her work removed from a museum exhibit.

Speaking on the telephone from an unspecified location in the Netherlands last week, the artist, an Iranian exile who goes by the pseudonym of Sooreh Hera, said she had been threatened with “execution”. She accused the director of the municipal museum in The Hague of cowardice for caving in to Muslim extremists.

Her story is a reminder of the tensions that have put the Netherlands and other European countries on the front line, sending dozens of people threatened by extremists into hiding since 2004, when a Dutch film-maker was murdered on the street and his collaborator driven into exile.

This leaves Hera, 34, in no doubt that she is in real danger. “They said to me, ‘We’re going to burn you naked or put a bullet in your mouth’,” she said, referring to menacing e-mails.

“They say, ‘Now you are locked in your home and you cannot go out any more’.”

She said that by photographing gay Iranian exiles in masks of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and Ali, his son-in-law, she had wanted to expose a “hypocritical” attitude towards homosexuality in countries such as Iran, where men can be hanged for homosexual conduct.

…Wim van Krimpen, director of the museum, initially praised Hera’s collection of photographs as “exceptional”. Last month, however, he announced that the masked men could not be included in the forthcoming exhibition because “certain people in our society might perceive it as offensive”.

Islamism fears kill Dutch display

“They condemn homosexuality but in countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia it is common for married men to maintain relations with other men,” says Hera. “Works of art can be provocative. It is not an artist’s job just to paint flowers. Art should shine a light on social issues.”

The photographs were part of an extensive collection of images by Hera of mostly Dutch gay men. Another part of her exhibit was a video featuring hard rock music and images of Iranian clerics interspersed with pictures of naked men.

Updates:
Believe it or not!
Reuters has picked up on this article of mine (via BlogBurst) and it is online. The entire article INCLUDING Sooreh Hera’s photograph depicting “gay Iranian exiles in masks of Muhammad”.
Are they aware? Hell if I know. Though just in case they aren’t and my article is removed. I have screenshots.

Ruh-Roh– FOX News Posts Mohammad Pictures Front & Center @ Gateway Pundit

What?… No pixilated photos?

H/T Larwyn

Gateway Pundit has a screenshot also.

I previously posted on the WikiPedia Muhammad petition here: Mo Whining

News flash! An online petition has surfaced protesting the public display of Muhammad images. Who are they going after? Wikipedia. What do ya bet they cave? Wikipedia that is.

Others posting:
Gay Mo and Jesus Stirring up the Honey Pot
Gay Mohammed Pictures Published
Fox News Grows a Pair?
FOX News Posts Mohammad Pictures Front & Center!
Fox News Posts Mohammed Pictures. Fatwa Pending…
Ruh-Roh– FOX News Posts Mohammad Pictures Front & Center!
Fatwa Time: Gay Muhammad

Welcome Reuters readers!

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Mo Teddy Leads to Arrest of British Teacher in Sudan [updated]
Feeding Frenzy
British Teacher Gillian Gibbons Pardoned!
Sunday Toonage Featuring Mo Teddy
Drop the Insanity!
Submission: The Death of Art in the Free World
Mo Cat Got Your Tongue
mo cat protests
Lars Vilks Art Project - Join Now!
Mo’s Dog Days of Summer [updated bumped]

Original timestamp January 21 2008 2:15 pm

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