Idomeneo may go ahead in other locations
The Deutch Oper’s production of Idomeneo which was cancelled due to fears of violent reprisals from Islamic extremists, may go ahead after all if German police can guarantee security. The Volksoper in Vienna has offered to take it if not.
A spokesman for the Central Council for Muslims in Germany spoke some sense about the affair, pointing out that the controversy was unhelpful:
If it’s not OK for Muslims, we can discuss it. But to cancel it and say ‘We are frightened of bombs’ is not OK. It shows a kind of German paranoia, because there was not really a danger.
In contrast, the deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Council for Britain, Dr Daud Abdullah, thought the Deutche Oper had done the right thing, and came out with the usual weaselly bullshit we have come to expect from his organisation:
In the climate of tensions across Europe, after the controversy with the Pope, it would be in the best interests of all not to provoke sensitivities, whether it is Muslims, Christians or other faiths.
UPDATE: (5th Oct) Idomeneo has been reinstated, but no dates have been announced as yet.
