Mahomet (play)
Encyclopedia
Mahomet is a five-act tragedy
written in 1736 by French
playwright
and philosopher Voltaire
. It received its debut performance in Lille
on 25 April 1741
.
The play is a study of religious fanaticism
and self-serving manipulation
based on an episode in the traditional biography of Muhammad
in which he orders the murder of his critics. Voltaire described the play as "written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect to whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet".
In the first act we are introduced to a fictional leader of the Mecca
ns, Zopir, an ardent and defiant advocate of free will
and liberty
who rejects Mahomet . Mahomet is presented through his conversations with his second in command Omar and with his opponent Zopir and with two of Zopir's long lost children (Seid and Palmira) whom, unbeknownst to Zopir, Mahomet had abducted and enslaved in their infancy, fifteen years earlier.
The now young and beautiful captive Palmira has become the object of Mahomet's desires and jealousy. Having observed a growing affection between Palmira and Seid, Mahomet devises a plan to steer Seid away from her heart by indoctrinating young Seid in religious fanaticism and sending him on a suicide attack
to assassinate Zopir in Mecca, an event which he hopes will rid him of both Zopir and Seid and free Palmira's affections for his own conquest. Mahomet invokes divine authority to justify his conduct.
Seid, still respectful of Zopir's nobility of character, hesitates at first about carrying out his assignment, but eventually his fanatical loyalty to Mahomet overtakes him and he slays Zopir. Phanor arrives and reveals to Seid and Palmira to their disbelief that Zopir was their father. Omar arrives and deceptively orders Seid arrested for Zopir's murder despite knowing that it was Mahomet who had ordered the assassination. Mahomet decides to cover up the whole event so as to not be seen as the deceitful impostor and tyrant that he is.
Having now uncovered Mahomet's "vile" deception Palmira renounces Mahomet's god and commits suicide rather than to fall into the clutches of Mahomet.
. The characters of Seid and Palmira represent Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah
and his wife Zaynab bint Jahsh
. The play’s plot contradicts the version of the respective Surah in the Qu’ran:
Pierre Milza
, posits that, it may have been "the intolerance of the catholic Church and its crimes done on behalf of the Christ" that were targeted by the philosopher , Voltaire own statement about it in a letter in 1742 was quite vague: "I tried to show in it into what horrible excesses fanaticism, led by an impostor, can plunge weak minds.". It is only in another letter dated from the same year that he explains that this plot is an implicit reference to Jacques Clément, the monk who assasinated Henri III in 1589 ”. That letter, written in september 1742, has not been published until 1856.
Voltaire will then precise his thought in 1748 in an article on the Quran published after this tragedy: "If his book is poor for our times and for us, it was much good for its contemporaries, and its religion even better. One has to accept he withdrew idolatry from the whole asia".
In 2005, a production of the play in Saint-Genis-Pouilly
, Ain
, France
, resulted in demands for cancellation and street disturbances outside the performance itself.
However, like often in Voltaire’s texts, it was indeed not islam that was the plot about, but Christianity. His aim when writing the text was to condemn “the Intolerance of the Church and the crimes that have been committed in the name of the Christ” . In a letter he wrote in 1742, he explains that “My tragedy describes, under the nickname of “Muhammad”, how the Prior of Jacobins put his knife in the hands of Jacques Clément. ”. The real aim of his text had been clearly identified by his contemporary politicians, and as a result, Voltaire got sued by Christian religious autorithies of his time and the plot has been condemned to be removed from public play. The fact that this text is actually about a very specific event strictly related to the Christianity of his time is widely unknown in the English speaking world, where many still naively think that it is an attack against Islam, being unaware of the Jacobins controversy. Voltaire gives a more detailed view about his real opinion on Muhammad in a text dated from later in his life, in 1772:
The tolerance is an explicit reference to the way that the Ottomans of his time were allowing to Jews and Christian to get high social responsibilities, while in the Western World of that time had much more intolerant policies toward the minorities.
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
written in 1736 by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and philosopher Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
. It received its debut performance in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
on 25 April 1741
1741 in literature
The year 1741 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*David Garrick packs theatres with his performance as Shakespeare's Richard III.* The American Magazine begins publication by Andrew Bedford.-New books:...
.
The play is a study of religious fanaticism
Religious fanaticism
Religious fanaticism is fanaticism related to a person's, or a group's, devotion to a religion. However, religious fanaticism is a subjective evaluation defined by the culture context that is performing the evaluation. What constitutes fanaticism in another's behavior or belief is determined by the...
and self-serving manipulation
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
based on an episode in the traditional biography of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in which he orders the murder of his critics. Voltaire described the play as "written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect to whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet".
Plot summary
The story of "Mahomet" unfolds during Muhammad's post exile siege of Mecca in 630 AD, when the opposing forces are under a short term truce called to discuss the terms and course of the war.In the first act we are introduced to a fictional leader of the Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
ns, Zopir, an ardent and defiant advocate of free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
and liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
who rejects Mahomet . Mahomet is presented through his conversations with his second in command Omar and with his opponent Zopir and with two of Zopir's long lost children (Seid and Palmira) whom, unbeknownst to Zopir, Mahomet had abducted and enslaved in their infancy, fifteen years earlier.
The now young and beautiful captive Palmira has become the object of Mahomet's desires and jealousy. Having observed a growing affection between Palmira and Seid, Mahomet devises a plan to steer Seid away from her heart by indoctrinating young Seid in religious fanaticism and sending him on a suicide attack
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
to assassinate Zopir in Mecca, an event which he hopes will rid him of both Zopir and Seid and free Palmira's affections for his own conquest. Mahomet invokes divine authority to justify his conduct.
Seid, still respectful of Zopir's nobility of character, hesitates at first about carrying out his assignment, but eventually his fanatical loyalty to Mahomet overtakes him and he slays Zopir. Phanor arrives and reveals to Seid and Palmira to their disbelief that Zopir was their father. Omar arrives and deceptively orders Seid arrested for Zopir's murder despite knowing that it was Mahomet who had ordered the assassination. Mahomet decides to cover up the whole event so as to not be seen as the deceitful impostor and tyrant that he is.
Having now uncovered Mahomet's "vile" deception Palmira renounces Mahomet's god and commits suicide rather than to fall into the clutches of Mahomet.
Analysis and reception
Voltaire indicated that the play was not historical, but rather a representation of fanaticism. The play is a direct assault on the moral character of MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The characters of Seid and Palmira represent Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
and his wife Zaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint Jahsh was a wife of Muhammad and therefore a Mother of the Believers. Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah...
. The play’s plot contradicts the version of the respective Surah in the Qu’ran:
- 37. Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favour: "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah." But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear the people, but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them. And Allah.s command must be fulfilled. Qur'an Sura 33:37
Pierre Milza
Pierre Milza
Pierre Milza is a French historian, well-known as a specialist of fascism.He is a teacher at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris.He wrote many books about Fascism and History of Italy. Some of his books are:I...
, posits that, it may have been "the intolerance of the catholic Church and its crimes done on behalf of the Christ" that were targeted by the philosopher , Voltaire own statement about it in a letter in 1742 was quite vague: "I tried to show in it into what horrible excesses fanaticism, led by an impostor, can plunge weak minds.". It is only in another letter dated from the same year that he explains that this plot is an implicit reference to Jacques Clément, the monk who assasinated Henri III in 1589 ”. That letter, written in september 1742, has not been published until 1856.
Voltaire will then precise his thought in 1748 in an article on the Quran published after this tragedy: "If his book is poor for our times and for us, it was much good for its contemporaries, and its religion even better. One has to accept he withdrew idolatry from the whole asia".
In 2005, a production of the play in Saint-Genis-Pouilly
Saint-Genis-Pouilly
Saint-Genis-Pouilly is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.It is located in the Pays de Gex, at the foot of the Jura. Bordering the Swiss frontier, it is part of the cross-border area of Geneva....
, Ain
Ain
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, resulted in demands for cancellation and street disturbances outside the performance itself.
However, like often in Voltaire’s texts, it was indeed not islam that was the plot about, but Christianity. His aim when writing the text was to condemn “the Intolerance of the Church and the crimes that have been committed in the name of the Christ” . In a letter he wrote in 1742, he explains that “My tragedy describes, under the nickname of “Muhammad”, how the Prior of Jacobins put his knife in the hands of Jacques Clément. ”. The real aim of his text had been clearly identified by his contemporary politicians, and as a result, Voltaire got sued by Christian religious autorithies of his time and the plot has been condemned to be removed from public play. The fact that this text is actually about a very specific event strictly related to the Christianity of his time is widely unknown in the English speaking world, where many still naively think that it is an attack against Islam, being unaware of the Jacobins controversy. Voltaire gives a more detailed view about his real opinion on Muhammad in a text dated from later in his life, in 1772:
- “No, Muhammad didn’t do any of those miracles operated in a village that we start speaking only 100 years after the so-called even […]. His religion is wise, strict, chaste, and human: wise, because it doesn’t fall in the foolishness of associating any idea to God, and because it doesn’t have any “mystery”; strict, because it forbids gambling, wine and alcohol, and commends to pray five times a day, chaste, because it limits to a maximum of four a number of wives that was previously numerous like it is so common in the bed of all princes of the Orient, human, because it commands charity even more strongly than the pilgrimage to Mecca itself. Add to this all the character of truth and tolerance .”
The tolerance is an explicit reference to the way that the Ottomans of his time were allowing to Jews and Christian to get high social responsibilities, while in the Western World of that time had much more intolerant policies toward the minorities.