The Roman Church has apparently had a hand in the cancellation of a metal music festival in Alcamo, Sicily. The Sikelian Hell metal festival, scheduled for July 22, 23 and 24 has been canceled after the city government of Alcamo forced organizers to stop the festival.
The organizers of the event believe this to be a result of pressure from a local church, which organized a petition and threatened a march against “a satanic event.” In recent days, due to these pressures, the band Necrodeath was removed from the festival lineup because the content of their songs was deemed anti-Christian.
“Right up until three days after the installation,” says Pellitteri Manfredi, one of the organizers, “the [Alcamo] government had left us alone. Now the festival is canceled even though we had authorized the use of the venue, which had given us the OK to practice.” He added incredulously, “With all the problems and the pedophilia scandal, the Church rages against a secular music event.”
While some may not enjoy the style of music represented by this festival, the cancellation affects more than just the music. It has a major impact on the livelihoods of the artists and organizers. Says Manfredi, “These young people now risk bankruptcy because the Church was stronger than politics. But we had everything in order.”
Today aleister crowley 2012 stands in solidarity with these young people who have lost so much thanks to the hatred, ignorance, and intolerance of the Roman Church. Our position on this matter is that these young people have the absolute right to gather and play any style of music they like, whether it is “satanic” or “anti-Christian” or otherwise. As Liber Oz, the Thelemic document outlining the Rights of Man, states:
“Man has the right . . . to play as he will . . . to think what he will: to speak what he will: to write what he will: to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will: to dress as he will.”
If aleister crowley were elected in Italy, he would naturally allow the Roman Church to continue its existence. We all have the right to any religion as we will, even if it is a religion of slave-gods. After all, “the slaves shall serve.” Such religious groups, however, though tolerated and allowed to exist, would be prevented from violating the rights of others. Regardless how much political pressure a crowd of sheep might put on a politician, they may not interfere in the rights that the festival organizers have to play, think, speak, and write as they will, no matter how offensive one might consider it to be.
There is little doubt in our minds that any elected officials in Italy will be beholden to the interests of the Roman Church, which denies freedom of speech and of religion to the people of Italy. We call on our friends in Italy to support aleister crowley in your next election. Show the government that you are fed up with the restrictions imposed by the Roman Chruch. Next time you are at a political rally, take an AC2012 poster or wear an AC2012 t-shirt (you can make them yourself with these graphics or buy one here), and send us your photos to be featured in an upcoming post.
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