| Mahomet | |
|---|---|
 Frontispiece of the 1753 edition | |
| Written by | Voltaire |
| Characters | Mahomet,founder ofIslam Zopir,leader ofMecca Omar,general and lieutenant to Mahomet Seid,Zopir's son, abducted and enslaved by Mahomet Palmira,Zopir's daughter, abducted and enslaved by Mahomet Phanor,senator of Mecca Meccan tribes Mahomet's followers |
| Date premiered | 25 April1741 |
| Place premiered | Lille, France |
| Original language | French |
| Subject | Religious fanaticism |
| Genre | Tragedy |
Mahomet (French:Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le Prophète, literallyFanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet) is a five-acttragedy written in 1736 by Frenchplaywright andphilosopherVoltaire. It received its debut performance inLille on 25 April1741.
The play is a study ofreligious fanaticism and self-servingmanipulation based on an episode in the traditional biography ofMuhammad, in which he orders the murder of his critics.[1] Voltaire described the play as "written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect".[2]
The story ofMahomet unfolds during Muhammad's post-exilesiege of Mecca in 629 AD, when the opposing forces are under a short-termtruce called to discuss the terms and course of the war.
In the first act the audience is introduced to a fictional leader of theMeccans, Zopir, an ardent and defiant advocate offree will andliberty 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 asuicide 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.[3] 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[4] 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[5] and commits suicide rather than fall into the clutches of Mahomet.
The play is a direct assault on the moral character ofMuhammad.Omar is a known historical figure who became second caliph; the characters of Seid and Palmira represent Muhammad's adopted sonZayd ibn Harithah and his wifeZaynab bint Jahsh, though in no way their life resembles the characters.
Pierre Milza posits that it may have been "the intolerance of theCatholic Church and its crimes done on behalf of the Christ" that were targeted by the philosopher.[6] Voltaire's 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."[7] It is only in another letter dated from the same year that he explains that this plot is an implicit reference toJacques Clément, the monk who assassinatedHenri III in 1589.[8]
Voltaire sent a copy of the play toPope Benedict XIV, with a couplet in Latin and a request for two holy medals. The Pope had the medals sent, as well as a reply in which he thanked him for his "very beautiful tragedy ofMahomet" and discussed the grammar of his couplet. Voltaire had this correspondence published in every future edition of the play, which aided its publicity.[9]
Napoleon, during his captivity onSaint Helena, criticised Voltaire'sMahomet, and said Voltaire had made him merely an impostor and a tyrant, without representing him as a "great man":
Mahomet was the subject of deep criticism. 'Voltaire', said the Emperor, 'in the character and conduct of his hero, has departed both from nature and history. He has degraded Mahomet, by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He has represented a great man, who changed the face of the world, acting like a scoundrel, worthy of the gallows. He has no less absurdly travestied the character ofOmar, which he has drawn like that of a cut-throat in a melo-drama.'[10]
An 1881 revival in Paris was officially protested by the OttomanTurkish ambassador.[11]
In 2005, a reading of the play inSaint-Genis-Pouilly,Ain, France, resulted in demands for cancellation and street disturbances outside the performance itself.[12] Under pressure to cancel the play, the Mayor allowed the play to continue despite "street disturbances" from Muslim groups. "Mayor Bertrand says he is proud his town took a stand by refusing to cave in under pressure to call off the reading. Free speech is modern Europe's 'foundation stone', he says. 'For a long time we have not confirmed our convictions, so lots of people think they can contest them.'"[12]
There are four known translations of the play into English:
The full text ofMahomet the Prophet, or Fanaticism at Wikisource FrenchWikisource has original text related to this article:Le Fanatisme, ou Mahomet le prophèteAuthority control databases: National |
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