Mahomet According To Voltaire
Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet, or “Fanaticism, or Mahomet” is a play in five acts written by the widely renowned philosopher and playwright, Voltaire. It was performed for the first time in Lille, April 25th 1741. It follows the story as criticism on religious fanaticism, as thus he believed of that of the Islamic religion, and Muhammad’s slaughter of his critics in Mecca. The characters in the play are actual historical figures. Voltaire described the work himself 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”. Other scholars have argued in defense of Voltaire that his discriminative views against Islam were not exclusive; that Voltaire had the same disdain for all monotheistic religions.
The characters are Mahomet; founder of Islam, his followers, the tribes of Mecca, Zopir; the leader of Mecca whose wife and brother were killed in lieu by Mahomet, his children sold into slavery. Other characters are Omar; second in command to Mahomet, Seid and Palmira; both children of Zopir, captured and enslaved by Mahomet and his followers. Also in the play is Phanor, the senator of Mecca. The story begins as Mahomet returns with all of his followers, post-exile, and confront the advocate or free will and rights, Zopir, who defends his people against the tyranny that Mahomet is trying to inflict on his people. Mahomet has had Zopir’s children who are unaware of Zopir as their father, and unaware of each other as siblings, enslaved since infancy. As Palmira grows more beautiful, and close to Seid –her brother, Mahomet grows jealous and indoctrinates her brother Seid in religious fanaticism, then sends him on a suicide mission to kill his own father, Zopir.
Unfortunately, the entire issue results in victory for Mahomet; Seid killed Zopir, and he was then told Zopir was his father. Afterwards, Seid renounced his faith and betrayed Mahomet as being the man who sent him on the mission. Despite his confession, Seid was then executed for his crimes. Afterwards, Mahomet covers up the entire plot. However, Palmira discovers Mahomet’s murderous and vile actions, then renounces his god, and commits suicide out of grief and revulsion of being wed to Mahomet.
The play was received poorly because of its heavy anti-religious themes, then banned from the stage, until Voltaire eventually clarified in a letter to the pope that his disdain was aimed only at Mahomet. Pope Benedict XIV himself gave his consent for the ban to be lifted.