30 October 2014

When does making fun of faith cross the line?

A comedian might say it's his job to make fun of everything and everybody under the sun - the more wicked, the better. In Germany, a debate has broken out after a Muslim citizen filed suit over a comedian's jokes.

.... Now the issue has returned to the headlines in Germany, after a Muslim - Erhart Toka - from the German city of Osnabrück filed charges against comedian Dieter Nuhr.

Toka said the comedian instigated "dumb, stupid agitation" against Islam. He called Nuhr a "hatemonger," making reference to quips including: "Islam is only tolerant whenever it has no power," and "In Islam, it's true that women are free - first and foremost, in fact, they're free of having to decide everything."

"He's to the point, and he exaggerates," says Barbara Hornberger, a German cultural studies scholar specializing in pop culture. "You can say it's tasteless and not very helpful in the integration debate, but that isn't his job - this is about entertainment." [Deutsche Welle] Read more