Vandals Target Display of Multifaith Artworks at Gloucester Cathedral
The art show, Faith, put together by portrait artist Russell Haines, was at the center of an international row last month when Christian groups heavily criticized the use of Islamic images and the reciting of a Muslim prayer inside the historic cathedral buildings.
Now several of Haines’s 37 expressionist paintings, together with the light projectors and sound systems used in the show, have been taken, according to the artist, who has spoken to the Observer about the unwelcome strength of reaction to his work.
"The point of this project was to show and to emphasize what we all have in common, precisely not to tell people what they ought to think,” said Haines. "I never thought this would happen, although I knew some people would not like it.”
Anonymous online accusations of blasphemy have been followed by death threats to Haines and members of the clergy involved with the show. The religious controversy is the second this year to focus on the reciting of a Muslim prayer, after one of the Queen’s chaplains criticized Glasgow’s St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral for marking the epiphany with a reading from the Quran.
Both Haines and organizers at the 11th-century Gloucester Cathedral, the resting place of EdwardII, intended the Faith art show to highlight Gloucester’s identity as a contented multicultural community. "The cathedral agreed to put it on because I wanted to celebrate this city,” said Haines. "Gloucester is often thought not to be such a great place, as the poorer neighbor of Cheltenham. But the one thing we have is a hugely diverse community and no conflict. We were the place with the first woman bishop and other major positions in the church here are held by women.”
Source: The Guardian
