Catholics Once Burned Cinemas to Protest Insults Against Christ
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris
Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2006
zaman.com
The reactions of the Islamic world to the cartoons satirizing Prophet Mohammed published in the European press continue.
While the protests that started with economic boycotts and swelled into shows of violence escalated concerns, the events of recent years in the West show that Christians are also capable of becoming agitated when their beliefs are satirized. The protests of Christian groups also got out of control when court action failed to prevent insults against their beliefs.
The Christian groups protested the screening of a film insulting Jesus, and many cinemas screening the film were set alight in Europe and America.
The events caused many deaths and injuries. The Catholic World mobilized all its resources to halt the making and the screening of the film, "The Last Temptation of Christ" directed by Martin Scorsese. Catholics, incensed by some scenes in the movie, pressured the film’s production studio company, Universal and cinema houses throughout the country.
Martin Scorsese, unable to realize the scenario he adapted from the book by Nikos Kazantzakis published in 1954 and protested by Pope Pius XII, in America; Scorsese went to France due to the support given to foreign films. Scorsese was also unable find support in France either, with protests from the Catholic press and French President François Mitterrand. However, the American film director eventually finished them and Catholic organizations took court action against the screening of the film; however, they only partly achieved their goal. In many US states, screening of the film was banned. Large crowds attended protests organized in Europe and America.
In France, where severe disputes over the issue occurred, some catholic groups lost control and set fire to the Beaubourg, Gaumont Opéra and St Michel cinemas. Bomb attacks were conducted against some cinemas during the showing of the film in which four people were seriously injured and twenty were wounded, while one member of the audience suffered a heart attack and died in the events that took place in St. Michel on 23 October 1988.
Five French citizens, arrested and brought before the court, confessed "
they resorted to violence when all their legal attempts failed to prevent the insults against their religion." In the film that caused anger among Catholics, the devil approaches Jesus and tries to deceive him by offering an “ordinary” Life, and Jesus is then depicted as a regular person living an everyday life with Mary Magdeleine.
Christians organized against 'insult'
In Europe, the increase in the insults against religious values through the media and art in recent years provoked Christians as well. This was the situation especially in the churches of countries like France where insulting religion is not considered an offence, encouraging religious organizations to fight against such insults against their sanctities. In 1997, Catholics founded Croyances et Liberté organization to "fight against insult of religious faiths through radio-TV, press, photography, and art." The organization, which is active today, have taken under control all artistic works and publications, and brought many film posters, photographs, and advertisements before the courts on the grounds of 'insulting' Christianity and had many of these offensive images banned.
The Court of Paris, upon the appeal of the organization, banned an advertising poster of a fashion firm inspired by the painting of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting "The Last Supper" on the claim that it was “insulting Christians”.
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