The Rudi Carrell Affair and its Significance for the Tension between Theoterrorism and Religious Satire

Abstract

This article treats a largely forgotten or unknown episode in recent German and Dutch history, namely the intimidation of the Dutch‐German showmaster Rudi Carrell by representatives of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1987. The author tries to analyze some of the moral and political dilemmas involved in this affair and makes some comparisons with later events, such as the fatwa on Salman Rushdie or the Cartoon Affair as featured in the latest satirical film by the Coptic Christian Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.