Peace, or freedom?

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

And they will get neither. The cancellation of Idomeneo in Berlin because of a scene featuring Mohammed's severed head is a sign of the times. Mohammed's head is displayed alongside that of Jesus and Buddha, but no one's about to kill nuns and torch cities over that. Self-censorship in the performance of one of the three greatest composers in human history, and in his anniversary year.

Not that anyone should be surprised. Last year in London, Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine was censored over the scene in which the Koran is burned. And the Pope is still being lectured over quoting a derisive statement on the nature of Islam.

When people say the Pope shouldn't have given his lecture in Regensburg, they are making a choice. They want peace instead of freedom. This is the stance (understandable enough) of anything for a quiet life. Most people, after all, want only the peace to get on with their own life. Quietists have to ask themselves first, is there anything worth fighting for? To make peace your priority is to decide on a policy of pre-emptive surrender before any threat.

For those who value western philosophy, art and literature, the need for peace means sacrificing works by central figures. As well as Mozart and Marlowe, Dante puts Mohammed in the eighth circle of his Inferno, so the Divine Comedy must go. Along with it will go illustrations by William Blake, Gustave Dore, Sandro Botticelli, Rodin and Dali. If you doubt it, consider that a cartoon referencing the infernal scene without even depicting it was censored this year and even the supposedly fanatical Opus Dei wouldn't defend the artist.

Or how about philosophy. Here is David Hume, in 'Of The Standard of Taste', one of his most important essays.

"The admirers and followers of the ALCORAN [Koran] insist on the excellent moral precepts interspersed throughout that wild and absurd performance. But it is to be supposed, that the ARABIC words, which correspond to the ENGLISH, equity, justice, temperance, meekness, charity, were such as, from the constant use of that tongue, must always be taken in good sense: and it would have argued the greatest ignorance, not of morals, but of language, to have mentioned them with any epithets, besides those of applause and approbation. But would we know, whether the pretended prophet had really attained a just sentiment of morals, let us attend to his narration, and we shall soon find, that he bestows praise on such instances of treachery, inhumanity, cruelty, revenge, bigotry, as are utterly incompatible with civilized society. No steady rule of right seems there to be attended to; and every action is blamed or praised, so far only as it is beneficiaal or hurtful to the true believers."

That's certainly not going to last long in future collections. And the croissant will be tossed out after it, having been created to celebrate the lifting of the Siege of Vienna in 1683 and being a deliberate insult to Islam's holy symbol, the crescent.

People imply in their arguments that this is a sensitive time and we should respect that, as if things were likely to change and we could all go back to eating pork and drinking beer whenever we liked. But why should they? Why should they when this is acknowledged as a generational struggle and when Islam is on the increase in Europe? Why should those who stir up violence give up on it when they see the success such violence -- or even the threat of it in the producer's mind -- will achieve? We will go on living with our compromises and telling ourselves we have avoided trouble and try to forget the things we are no longer allowed to want.

We have to face the awkward truth that Islam and Christendom were enemies for centuries and that the Christian heritage, which is to say western civilisation, contains plenty of reminders of that fact. It also has ideas at its heart like freedom of expression and religion. But these days, you cannot keep the treasures of your civilisation, or your liberty without a fight. People need to think very carefully before they choose. Or they will be buried in this cemetery.