DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
The German Family Ministry is pushing to have a book it says slurs Judaism, Christianity and Islam labeled dangerous for children, according to recent press reports.
The book -- "How Do I Get to God, Asked the Small Piglet" -- tells the story of a piglet and a hedgehog, who go in search of God only to conclude that he does not exist.
The publisher of the book said it is intended for nonreligious parents looking to provide their children with a critical view of religion, but the German government disapproves.
"The three large religions of the world, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, are slurred in the book," the German Family Ministry wrote in a December memo, according to Germany's public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
"The distinctive characteristics of each religion are made ridiculous," it added.
The Ministry is pushing for the book, written by Michael Schmidt-Salomon and illustrated by Helge Nyncke, to be included on a list of literature considered dangerous for young people. |
 |
Ridiculing religion In "How Do I Get to God", the book's main characters encounter a rabbi, a bishop and a mufti who are portrayed as insane, violent and continually at each other's throats, DW said.
The rabbi flies into a rage, yelling at the animals that God had set out to destroy all life on Earth at the time of Noah and chases them away.
The mufti first greets both animals and invites them into his mosque, then changes into a ranting fanatic with bared teeth and an unruly-looking beard.
The Christian bishop, a pale fat man, makes up the unholy trinity which eventually convinces piglet and hedgehog -- after their long search -- that nothing of any importance has been missing from their lives.
"I think that God doesn't even exist," the hedgehog says at the end of the book. "And if He does, than he definitely doesn't live in [a synagogue, cathedral or mosque]." |
|
Secular book Calling the ministry's accusations an "attack on freedom of expression," the publisher, Alibri, said the book answers the question of whether a nonreligious child is missing part of life "from the perspective of secular humanism," DW said.
Published in October 2007, the 20-page book is intended for nonreligious parents and does not target any one religion, Alibri head Gunnar Schedel said.
"All three religions are treated equally in the book," Schedel said. "No one is negatively singled out."
According to DW, German authorities will decide in March whether to label the book as dangerous to children. |
