Who’ll win in the battle of fundis versus secularists?
Over the last year we have experienced some disconcerting events that make Malta sound like a fundamentalist state.
Let’s take the Nadur carnival, for example – am I the only one who was reminded of the Mohammed cartoon episode when carnival revellers who dressed up as Christ and nuns were taken to court? Several Muslim organisations protested that the Danish cartoons had offended their religion – a cry that was echoed in Malta a year ago when the Bishops issued a joint statement urging the authorities to take action against those who had offended the Catholic religion.
The Jyllands-Posten Mohammed cartoons controversy led to several violent public protests worldwide, with police action resulting in over a hundred deaths. Fortunately we did not have any such scenes in Malta – frankly it is ridiculous that in this day and age we ended up with a young man getting a suspended sentence for the serious crime of draping a sheet around his body and sticking a tinsel halo on his head. What a waste of time.
When I heard that the police were forcing bands performing at the Nadur carnival this year to submit their lyrics for review, I could not help but wonder exactly where this slippery slope was going to take us. Would we end up having to submit a photo of our costume one month in advance to get permission to visit the carnival? Will we have a vice squad, similar to the morality police in Iran, patrolling Nadur and booking ladies who show off too much cleavage? Where will it end?
Fortunately reason has prevailed and the police have decided not to vet the lyrics after all. However let’s face it – they only did so because they were taken aback at the public outcry after The Sunday Times exposed their plan.
However it is not only carnival costumes and song lyrics that have come under attack in this fundamentalist country of ours. Plays and short stories have also ended up under the microscope of those who are in charge of protecting our morality.
Remember Stitching, the play that the Maltese Board of Film and Stage Classification denounced as “an insult to human dignity from beginning to end”? Apparently the script of the play, which explored controversial topics such as sexual addiction and abortion contained “obscene language” and “also offends religious sentiment.”
It is clear that the depiction of sexual acts and the frank discussion of abortion were too much for the censors to handle, and they decided to kill the play in order to protect us all. I see their point – thinking about topics such as abortion could overtax our lazy protected brains and cause permanent damage!
This is the same reaction Mark Camilleri and Alex Vella Gera got when they published the story Li Tkisser Sewwi in a University magazine. Much as Rushdie ended up denounced by Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa in his regard, Camilleri was denounced by the University Rector Juanito Camilleri, who reported him to the police. The fatwa and bounty were lifted from Rushdie in 1998 – however Mark Camilleri still has to face the court and the possibility of up to six months’ imprisonment.
So all in all it was quite a breath of fresh air to hear the speech made by Joseph Muscat last Sunday. His statement that he aspires to a secular state was very interesting when taken in the context of what we have seen unfolding in recent months in this country. Religion is important, that is true. However it should not be allowed to interfere with the running of the country – subtly controlling governmental decisions or exercising political power.
A case in point is the issue of divorce, where the Curia and the needs of many Maltese citizens are on a direct collision course. Our Bishops are right to emphasise the sanctity of a church marriage and to remind us all that once a commitment is made in front of God, it is indissoluble. However civil marriage is a different story. There is no reason why the government should not allow partners to dissolve their marriage once it becomes irretrievably damaged.
It was also refreshing to hear the leader of the Opposition speak out in favour of gay people. It is clear that he stands by previous statements he made in favour of some form of civil union to help gay couples formalise their relationship. This is a legal matter and not a religious one. Why should a gay couple not have the same rights as a straight one when it comes to issues related to health, inheritance, taxes and the like?
I was in fact totally gobsmacked when he stated that there was no space in his movement for those who were opposed to gay empowerment and divorce. There is no doubt that Muscat has jumped off the fence and taken a firm position on these issues.
Obviously at this point it remains to be seen how the situation evolves. It is well known that Muscat has several members on his team who have spoken out against divorce. His announcement that he will give his MPs a free vote in this regard is bad news for those of us who want to see more concrete action in the introduction of divorce legislation.
Furthermore, we must now brace ourselves for a serious counter-offensive by the Curia. In fact, the first missile has already been launched, with Mgr Mario Grech making an astounding statement linking abortion to divorce just last Sunday. If people are divorced, he said, then the family is broken, and if a child is conceived there is a higher likelihood of it being aborted. Which is ridiculous really, because if the parents are divorced then the chances of them conceiving anything together is close to zero! It is much more likely that they will conceive with a new partner, in which case divorce would enable them to marry and start a new, stable family. Sounds like an argument FOR divorce, not against it!
Anyway, I think that Joseph Muscat still has a long way to go. That said, every journey starts with a first step and this is an encouraging one.
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