[ALBSA-Info] Free expression vs. religious sensitivity in battle over book

[Agron Alibali]

Free expression vs. religious sensitivity in battle
over book 
By Brian Murphy, Associated Press, 3/8/2000 09:14 
ATHENS, Greece (AP) It began with a small fire. About
200 religious zealots and ultra-conservatives fed the
flames in January with copies of a book they call
blasphemous because of passages about the possible
sexual longings of Jesus Christ. 

The book burning, however, was just kindling for a
bigger confrontation. Political leaders, clergymen and
scholars have been drawn onto the unstable ground
between the nation's commitment to free expression and
the Orthodox Christian heritage that figures strongly
in Greece's ethnic identity. 

A hearing was held today in the northern city of
Thessaloniki on a suit to halt the sale of the
best-selling book ''M to the Power of N'' by former
Communist parliament deputy Mimis Androulakis. 

Judge Maria Robbi said she would decide Thursday on
whether a temporary ban on book sales should be
imposed until a full hearing is held May 16. 

Dozens of black robed priests and monks marred the
hearing, rhythmically chanting ''blasphemers'' and
''antichrists'' at Androulakis' defense lawyer, Thomas
Trikoukis. The church later said it had nothing to do
with the protesters. 

The book is a series of fictional dialogues between
women whose names all begin with the letter M. The
central theme is misogyny in various aspects of life,
including religion. One chapter mentions an often
explored hypothesis: a possible sexual element in the
relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene, a
prostitute who became a follower. 

''We are not a theocratic regime ... we are a European
country,'' Androulakis said. ''This is not Iran.'' 

But in Greece, Androulakis and his many supporters are
up against a clique that draws its strength from a
potent source: the place where undercurrents of
nationalism and religion flow together. 

The legal challenge to the book is led by a Byzantine
history professor, Marios Pylavakis, who argues that
Christ's life cannot be open to fictional
reinterpretation. He has been joined by a mix of
ultra-nationalists and religious firebrands the same
group that opposes efforts to normalize relations with
longtime rival Turkey. 

Such feelings are particularly strong in northern
Greece, where the Ottomans still held lands less than
100 years ago and the affinity is deep for the
Greek-dominated Byzantine Empire that ended with the
fall of nearby Constantinople, now Istanbul, in the
15th century. If the book's opponents keep up their
crusade, the case could emerge as a delicate issue in
advance of national elections on April 9. 

''Jesus Christ is not a novel,'' said Pylavakis. ''He
is what's most holy to me.'' 

A statement Tuesday from the governing body of the
Greek Orthodox Church called the book ''blasphemous
obscenity'' and said its opponents are justified to
try to block the work of ''this disrespectful
writer.'' 

But a wide spectrum of supporters have put aside
differences to unite behind Androulakis. 

The Socialist government said the church did not need
defending 2,000 years after the birth of Christ. 

''Beliefs are not persecuted in the Greece of the 21st
century and literary imagination is not policed,''
said government spokesman Nikos Athanasakis. 

''Greece does not carry out witch hunts or have holy
inquisitions,'' said Foreign Minister George
Papandreou. 

A top official for the opposition New Democracy party,
Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said the case smacks of ''other
times'' an apparent reference to the political and
artistic repression under the 1967-74 military junta
and earlier leaders. Androulakis claims he became a
target of right-wingers for his fight against the
military rulers. 

Greece's highly conservative Orthodox church feels
pressure from both sides. It risks alienating some of
its flock for being too tempered. At the same time,
political leaders are increasingly annoyed at the
public and outspoken style of the church's leader,
Archbishop Christodoulos. 

It also could re-energize those seeking a
constitutional separation of church and state in
Greece something Christodoulos strongly opposes. 

Many church critics point out another case of politics
and religion colliding in Greece the excommunication
of world famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis
following the 1955 publication of ''The Last
Temptation of Christ,'' a study of Christ questioning
his divinity. 

A 1988 movie adaptation of the book prompted
demonstrations around the world, including in Greece
and the United States. 

''My book is a pretext,'' said Androulakis. ''It is an
excuse for some fanatics who think they can turn back
to Byzantium.'' 

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