GOETHE’S SINCERITY TOWARDS THE WORLD

ON THE OCCASION OF 117TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF THE GENIUS FROM WEIMER

Abstract

Goethe is the person standing at the meeting point between the European cultural history and Near and Middle East. He lived and was interested in Islam at the time when European perception of Islam and Muslims was dominated by different stereotypes from romantic superficiality to oriental tendentiousness. His perception of Islam was marked by “weltoffenheit“, openness towards the world, as writer’s true spiritual homeland. Goethe was a cosmopolitan who has taken sincere interest in Islam and approached it without prejudices and feeling of superiority „of European Christian identity! In that manner he helped promote Islam as legitimate, valuable and completely equal part of the European cultural heritage. He has shown his respect for the Prophet in „Song of Mohammed“ where he compares him with the river flow carrying people.