Dieudonné M'bala M'bala

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Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, generally known simply as Dieudonné (born 1966 in Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris to a woman from Brittany and an African father from Cameroon) is a controversial French comedian who claims to be politically anti-racist, but who has been often accused of being anti-semitic.

Dieudonné started his career performing with French Jewish comedian Elie Semoun before going solo in 1997. His first shows (such as Patrick's Divorce) gained him a considerable success, but his controversial quotes and sketches in which he blamed all monotheistic religions started to make him a growing number of enemies. In the introduction to a March 2006 interview, The Independent called him a "French Louis Farrakhan... obsessed with Jews".^[1]

He has been the subject of legal proceedings for "apologie d'actes de terrorisme" (justifying terrorist acts) after 9/11. Thus, in the French monthly L'Écho des savanes, he referred to Osama bin Laden as the "most important personality in contemporary history [, because he] stands alone against the biggest power in the world[. O]bviously, it calls for respect. I prefer bin Laden's charisma to that of George Bush".

He has also been the object of attention for alleged anti-Jewish hate speech. Among other things, he called the observance of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz "memorial pornography", and referred to the French Jewish organization CRIF as "an anti-constitutional cult" and "a mafia that controls everything in France".

In December 2003, he made an appearance on live television dressed as a Haredi Jew and urged Muslims to convert to the "American-Israeli axis of good" if they wanted a place in this society. Dieudonné finished the show by giving the traditional Nazi salute and exclaiming "Isra-Heil!". He was accused of violating French laws against incitation to racial or religious hatred, but in 2004, a Paris court ruled that he did not violate the law.

Dieudonné's defenders point out that the result of the various legal proceedings is that there has been no final conviction on any criminal charges, after appeals. His penchant for attracting controversy has made many TV channels and venues reluctant to book him.

In December 2005, he was in the news for losing a lawsuit to prevent an unflattering biography from being reprinted,^[2] and for announcing his candidacy for the 2007 presidential elections. The subsequently created webpage for his official presidential candidacy regularly features articles by the notorious Holocaust-denier Serge Thion (under the transparent pseudonym "Serge Noith"). He abandoned his candidacy in October 2006.

On February 11, 2006, he participated in the Parisian "march of angry Muslims" against the Muhammad cartoons.

On March 10, 2006, a Paris court sentenced him to a €5,000 fine for having alleged in an interview (published in February 2004) that "those Jews that criticise me are all former slave-merchants who now control the media and the banks".^[3]

In May 2006, he gave a lengthy interview to the far-right monthly Le Choc du mois ^[4].

On June 14, 2006, he was sentenced to a total of 4,500 € fine (3,000 + 1,500) for libel, having accused a prominent Jewish TV-show host of "actively financing the Israeli army".^[5]

In Novermber 2006 he appeared at a political event for Jean-Marie Le Pen's far-right party.[6]

[edit] See also

Alain Soral

[edit] References

^ Lichfield, John. "Heard the one about the racist black comedian?". The Independent. 22 March 2006.
^ Mercier, Anne-Sophie. La Vérité sur Dieudonné ("The Truth About Dieudonné"). Editions Plon.
^ Reuters. "Paris court fines French comic for comparing Jews to slave traders". 3 March 2006. Online version
^ Cover of Le Choc du mois, May 2006 issue, prominently featuring M'bala M'bala.
^ Dieudonné condamné à 3.000 euros d'amende pour avoir diffamé Arthur