Croatian Catholic Church Condemns Play Showing 'Jesus' Raping Muslim Woman
The Croatian Catholic Church denounced a play that depicted a scene showing an actor portraying Jesus Christ raping a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
The controversial play by Oliver Frljic titled "Our Violence and Your Violence" is about the refugee crisis in Europe. It has been performed in Croatia and other European countries. It was due to open in Split, the second largest city in Croatia.
Aside from the scene which showed "Jesus" taking sexual advantage of a woman in hijab, another scene in the play showed a naked woman with a hijab pulling out a national flag from her private parts.
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The Catholic Church called it offensive and humiliating.
"We urge all those responsible... to take steps that [the play] does not offend people and humiliate culture," said Split's regional archdiocese in a statement.
It "offends God, man and nation," the statement said, adding that the play has "already provoked local and international condemnation."
A protest was held in front of the theater where the play was to be staged. People who attended the rally deemed the play distasteful and disrespectful of culture and religion. They countered that Frljic's work "offended in the most brutal way the religious and moral feelings of Christians, Muslims, and other Croatian citizens."
"Our Violence and Your Violence" is part of the Marulic Days Festival Celebration in honor of the Croatian Renaissance poet Marko Marulic. Some argued that staging the play would be a dishonor to the memory of the humanist writer and his achievements.
This is not the first time the Croatian playwright's works have caused controversy. His other work, "The Curse," also resulted in a backlash as it depicted a scene where the statue of the late Pope John Paul II was grossly vandalized.
