Muslim Group Issues fatwa on Author of Gay Play about Christ

LONDON (ENI)—A London-based Muslim group has sentenced to death the author of a play depicting Jesus as a homosexual.

The London-based group, Al-Muhajiroun, which describes itself as the Defenders of the Messenger Jesus, said Jesus was an important prophet in Islam and that classical and modern Islamic authorities agreed that capital punishment was the prescribed penalty for insulting a messenger of God.

The play, Corpus Christi, by Terrence McNally, locates its version of the gospel story in modern Texas. It shows Jesus, who is crucified as “King of the Queers”, being betrayed by his gay lover, Judas.

Since its premiere last year, the play has provoked controversy in Britain and the United States. When the play opened in New York, hundreds of police were deployed to protect the audience from protesters, most of whom were Christian. Christians also protested during the production of the play in Edinburgh.

The fatwa (death sentence) on McNally was issued as the play opened in London late last month. Copies of the fatwa were handed out to theatre-goers outside the fringe Pleasance Theatre in north London.

The fatwa, in the name of the Shari’ah Court of the United Kingdom, quotes the Prophet Mohammed: “Whoever insults any messenger of God must be killed.”

The sentence would apply even if McNally became a Muslim and repented. However, New York-based McNally is not considered to be under the same risk as the author Salman Rushdie, the subject of a fatwa issued in Iran, who went into hiding for several years because of the fear of attack.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, the judge of the UK Shari’ah Court, has warned individuals not to try to carry out the sentence. He said it should only be carried out by an Islamic state.

Sulayman Keeler, Sheikh Omar’s spokesperson, told ENI, “Islam is clear that the penalty for insulting a prophet is death. In our religion, Jesus is a very important figure as a messenger chosen by God.

“Carrying out the penalty has to be left to an Islamic state because in this society [the UK] if individual Muslims acted, it would lead to anarchy.”

He criticized the British government for allowing the blasphemous production to be performed.

Sheikh Omar has also criticized local churches for not taking a stronger stand against Corpus Christi. “The Church of England has neglected the honor of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. It is blasphemy for them not to take action,” he said.

However, Anglican Bishop Richard Holloway, primus (leader) of the Scottish Episcopal Church and a prominent supporter of gay rights, defended the play in a review published in the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement’s magazine.

Bishop Holloway said the crucifixion “encompasses all pain and persecution, including the persecution of the homosexual community throughout history”. The bishop commented: “If Christ is, as the church claims, universal in his significance, then everyone must be able to identify with him.”

He claimed that “Corpus Christi does not insult Christ or traduce his memory,” arguing, “The gayness of the Christ figure is almost incidental to the plot of Corpus Christi; any victim of a hate crime could have been transposed into the role.”

Bishop Holloway acknowledged that “religious communities are always extremely protective of their sacred figures, and they have a right to expect the rest of the community to refrain from insulting them”.

However, he contended: “But that is hardly the issue here.”

Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the mainstream Muslim Council of Britain, told ENI that the council did not wish to comment on the fatwa. He added: “Muslims revere Jesus Christ. This play is offensive to Muslims and Christians alike. I don’t have words to describe it.”

Related Elsewhere

When Corpus Christi opened in New York, it not only met with protests, but with universally bad reviews. Slate called it a “letdown” full of “weak sophomoric humor and a cloying sentimentality.” See CNN’s coverage of the off-Broadway opening here.

First Things ran an interesting review of the play last year, titled “The Gayest Story Ever Told.”

The BBC is covering the Corpus Christi controversy in England with news stories, reviews, and editorials.