Crazy right? Well, not everyone thinks so as The Christian Post reports that the play was a sold-out show in the Brno, a city in the Czech Republic and Split, another city in Croatia, both in Europe.

The play titled “Our Violence and Your Violence,” directed by a Croatian playwright Oliver Frljic, shows an actor playing the role of Jesus coming down from a cross and raping a Muslim woman.

Then, he pulls out a national flag of wherever the play is being done from her private part. This controversial performance claims to address the refugee crisis in Europe.

It was first performed last week at the World of Theatre festival in Brno and at the Croatian National Theatre in Split for the Marulic Days Festival. Reportedly, there were protests outside the theatre in Split as the play was being performed.

It will be repeated on May 26, 2018. The Monitor reports that the tickets for this second performance have already sold out.

Reactions to shocking play

As you can imagine, this performance has received a lot of criticisms from many people including Cardinal Dominik Duka, the primate of the Czech Catholic Church, who called the play “the sale of Christianity and its ideals,” according to Prague Monitor.

The regional Catholic Archdiocese of Split, Croatia, released a statement, urging “all those responsible … to take steps that [the play] does not offend people and humiliate culture.” DW.com reports that the press release added that the play “offends God, man, and nation.”

Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch, told PJ Media that “Europe’s political and media elites want to convince everyone, by means of a relentless propaganda barrage, that in Europe today, the villains are the ‘racist’ ‘Islamophobes,’ and their innocent victims are Muslims.”

Muneeb Hassan Alrawi, head of the Muslim community office, added that mocking Jesus or Muhammad is not good.

“They are good icons, and if anyone wants to imitate them, it should be good.” While I agree with the opinions that support the freedom of expression and artistic creation, but to bring Jesus into a similar scene as a Muslim woman, I do not think it is appropriate and absolutely understands the indignation of the Christians, perhaps it would be enough in the scene to depict a Christian but not Jesus, “ he commented.

More on the controversial play

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this particular play has been performed.

Despite the protests and condemnations, it originally debuted at a Split’s ‘Days of Marulic’ theatre festival in Croatia.

Responding to the criticism at the time, Zeljko Kerum, the former mayor of Split reportedly said: “I do not give what is my own and I love best what is mine. I do not touch what belongs to someone else. What they are doing is overwhelming and sick. A person who pays money for this play, they need to be held responsible, more than the author of this work.”

This happened in April, 2017.