(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 15 June 2006 EOHR press release: EOHR Condemns the People’s Assembly Decision to Confiscate the Novel “The Da Vinci Code” EOHR expresses its vehement concern over the People’s Assembly decision to ban the motion picture “The Da Vinci Code” in Egypt, and the Minister of Culture Affairs’ decision to […]
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 15 June 2006 EOHR press release:
EOHR Condemns the People’s Assembly Decision to Confiscate the Novel “The Da Vinci Code”
EOHR expresses its vehement concern over the People’s Assembly decision to ban the motion picture “The Da Vinci Code” in Egypt, and the Minister of Culture Affairs’ decision to confiscate the novel on which the film is based, written by Dan Brown.
The Parliament’s decision came after a long and hot debate among MP’s in which the film and the novel were accused of insulting Christian beliefs and Christian religious symbols.
It is noteworthy that the novel is fiction and considered a work of art. This situation reminds us of the banning of the novels “Sons of Gabalawy” by Naguib Mahfoz and “The Last Temptation of Christ” by the Greek Novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, and it is worth mentioning that the two authors were awarded a Nobel Prize for these works.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights understands the sensitive relation between art and literature on one hand, and religion and politics on the other. Throughout history, this intertwining relation constituted a gateway to commit severe violations against philosophers, thinkers and writers, and against political freedoms in general.
EOHR believes the trial of artworks and novels according to political or religious standards constitutes a threat of political and religious guardianship over human thinking, especially that religion and politics are subordinate to those who interpret and dominate them, who are only human after all.
EOHR confirms that banning the film and confiscating the novel constitute a setback for freedom of opinion and expression at a time when it is very difficult to confiscate ideas due to the spread of means of communication and the Internet.
EOHR reaffirms its respect for religious beliefs and refuses any violation of these beliefs, however it sees that confiscation is not the perfect solution to counter ideas and artworks that contradict religions and beliefs. Instead of confiscation, a dialogue should be established, including analysis, criticism and exchange of different ideas, which ultimately benefits the reader or the audience, especially now that confiscation of ideas has become impossible due to technology and IT.
Accordingly, EOHR condemns the decision to ban the film and confiscate the novel, as it constitutes a severe violation of Article 4 of the Egyptian Constitution, which provides for freedom of expression, and Article 49, which permits freedom of literature and art. We hope this decision will be reviewed according to Egypt’s international obligations under international human rights documents such as the ICCPR, which is binding according to Article 151 of the Egyptian Constitution.
