Dante redacted for modern sensitivities

A new Dutch translation of the The Divine Comedy by the medieval Italian author, Dante Alighieri, has attracted attention for having removed references to the Islamic prophet Mohammed.

The epic poem describes a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, during which Dante describes the various actions, experiences and choices that accounted for the presence of souls in different parts of these realms. The text is populated by historical characters.

Mohammed is depicted in Hell as having been a ‘Sower of Discord and Scandal’.  His body is split and disembowelled, representing the division in religion for which Dante holds him responsible. A number of other figures are likewise depicted in this context, although Mohammed appears to hold a uniquely prominent place in the scene.

Translator Lies Lavrijsen said in an interview that the removal of Mohammed from the text would give the translation the ‘widest possible accessibility’, with especial reference to ‘a younger audience’. Leaving the passage would have ‘hurt’ many readers, she said, noting the recent murder of Samuel Paty in France. 

Paty, a schoolteacher, was murdered in October 2020 after having used controversial cartoons about Mohammed during a class on freedom of expression.

The head of publisher Blossom Books, Myrthe Spiteri, said that the inclusion of Mohammed was superfluous to the overall narrative. She added that ‘founding a religion cannot be reprehensible’.

However, some critics, such as Italian literary scholar Elisabetta Sala, condemned the removal of Mohammed from the famous text, terming it ‘cultural vandalism’. Speaking to the conservative Catholic website, Church Militant, she commented on the possible incongruity of removing the references to Mohammed while other transgressors – including those whose conduct would today be unremarkable – remain damned. ‘The funny bit, though, is that Lavrijsen leaves other people, such as popes and homosexuals, suffering in Hell. She’s already become a conservative and a reactionary, as one day we’ll have to remove them too and perhaps get rid of Hell itself!’

https://dailyfriend.co.za/2021/03/30/dante-redacted-for-modern-sensitivities/