A recent set of Sila Sahin naked Playboy photos has drawn serious criticism from not only Germany, but now the United States. One of the top newspapers in the nation is now chastising the soap opera star for her decision to pose nude.
Sahin is a 25-year-old Turkish soap opera star residing in Germany. Her best known work to date is the soap “Good Times, Bad Times.” Recently Sila Sahin posed nude for Playboy, the Germany edition, and has sparked outrage by Muslims in the country.
In fact, some want the actress killed for what she has done. According to the Washington Times, many Muslims are saying Sahin “must pay” or “be very careful” now that she’s done this. Even one shop owner vowed that if Sahin was his daughter he would “kill her,” because what she did “doesn’t fit with my culture.”
Sahin felt that she needed to do this to express herself, but as the Times notes, freedom of expression is more an aspect of Western culture where posing for Playboy is considered an everyday occurrence. Sahin said of her naked photo shoot:
“For years I subordinated myself to various societal constraints. The Playboy photo shoot was a total act of liberation. What I want to say with these photos is, ‘Girls, we don’t have to live according to the rules imposed upon us.'”
The problem now is that Sahin is receiving outright threats against her life, despite taking a stand. The Washington Times author points out that Hugh Hefner and Western culture have pushed sexual expression into mainstream American values since the ’60s. Unfortunately for Sahin, that does not extend to her religion which is putting her life in danger.
There’s always a fine line between religious guidelines and people living their everyday lives. The tragedy here is that ultimately, this young woman deserves the freedom to choose how she wants to express herself, without worrying if it will cost her her life.
WT author Jeffrey T. Kuhner called Sila Sahin a porn star and “the new darling of European feminism…. Her parents are rightly outraged by her shameless behavior…. They just don’t want their daughter degrading her body. In other words, they value something most Europeans – and Americans – no longer do: chastity. Ms. Sahin is a fool – and a shameless libertine. She is peddling the central myth of modern feminism: Women’s empowerment and sexual permissiveness go hand in hand… Ms. Sahin is its latest victim and a symbol of the West’s decadence.” And he concludes: “Our moral relativism, however, is no match for militant Islam. If this battle of civilizations comes down to a contest between Hugh Hefner and Osama bin Laden, I am putting my money on the latter to win. Only a confident civilization anchored in natural law and its Judeo-Christian roots can prevail over radical Islam. Our permissive porn culture cannot withstand the jihadists.”
A German commentary by Richard Herzinger:
Wenn die Werte der Freiheit ihre Reize entfalten
“Die Nacktfotos der Deutsch-Türkin Sila Sahin demonstrieren Selbstbewusstsein und bilden einen schönen Kontrast zur Verbissenheit von Integrationsdebatten…. Denn die legitime Debatte darüber, ob und ab welchem Punkt die Darstellung entblößter Frauenkörper weibliche Würde verletzt oder im Gegenteil fördert, setzt die Freiheit der Frau voraus, sich am Ende selbst für oder gegen eine Ablichtung ihres entblößten Leibes entscheiden zu können.
So gewinnt das Recht, sich nackt zu zeigen, heute auch in den Auseinandersetzungen der muslimischen Gemeinden um ihr Verhältnis zur säkularen, offenen Gesellschaft eine Bedeutung mit nicht zu unterschätzender Sprengkraft…. Wir müssen erkennen, dass die triviale Pop- und Lifestylekultur in emanzipatorischen Auseinandersetzungen eine wichtige Macht ist. Denn sie liefert die emblematischen Bilder, die gesellschaftliche Bewegungen in die eine oder andere Richtung ziehen können.
Indem sie ein attraktives Leitbild der selbstbestimmten, jungen türkischen Frau gestalten, die ebenso frei und unbeschwert leben will wie ihre nicht-migrantischen Altersgenossinnen, haben Sahins Fotos das Potenzial dazu, einen symbolischen Kontrapunkt gegen den aktuellen Trend zum “Kopftuchmädchen” zu setzen.
Und den so oft nur in papierener Abstraktion beschworenen Werten unseres Grundgesetzes und unserer freiheitlichen Rechtsordnung hauchen die schönen Bilder allemal Leben aus anschaulichem Fleisch und Blut ein.“
Im BILD-Interview sagte sie: “Ich habe einen extremen Freiheitsdrang entwickelt. Ich fühle mich wie Che Guevara. Ich muss alles machen, was ich will. Sonst habe ich das Gefühl, ich sterbe.”
Der Vater sagte im RTL: “Sila, du hast uns schon jede Menge Ärger gemacht, aber das ist jetzt die Krönung von allem. Und ich hoffe, du bist dir bewusst, was du damit verursacht hast und ich hoffe, du kannst mit den Konsequenzen leben!” Was ihr Vater genau mit dieser Aussage meinte, will Sila nicht verraten. Auf die Frage, ob sie denn mit heftigen Reaktionen der muslimischen Gemeinschaft rechne, antwortet sie “GZSZ.de”: “Natürlich hab ich die Angst. Ich möchte niemanden provozieren. Das ist meine alleinige Entscheidung, und ich hoffe, dass es zu keinen Aufständen kommt.”
English tabloid Sun reported:
“Islamic internet sites are being monitored by the BND – the German intelligence agency – after threats were posted about her “shaming Muslim womanhood” and “prostituting herself for money”.
One poster on the Jihad Watch website wrote: “She needs to be very careful…” Another simply said: “She must pay.”
A kebab shop owner, asked on German TV what he would do if Sila were his daughter, replied: “I would kill her. I really mean that. That doesn’t fit with my culture.”
The Islamic Community of Germany has called for a boycott of Sila.
About three million Muslim immigrants live in Germany, which has seen numerous honour killings in recent years by fanatical husbands, fathers and brothers.
In 2009, an asylum seeker was sentenced to life after killing his “too independent” German wife.
One police intelligence officer said of Sila: “I think what she did was either very brave, or very stupid.She will be double-locking her door at night for a long time to come.”
Quelle
In einer Stellungnahme gab der Chefredakteur des Playboy Magazins Florian Boitin bekannt, dass die Deutsch-Kurdin Sila Şahin keine Muslima sei. Der Vater sei areligiös und die Mutter Christin.
