Inflammatory German opera passes peacefully

A controversial staging of a Mozart opera, which was cancelled due to security fears in September, went ahead without incident last night in Germany.

The performance of Idomeneo, which depicts the severed head of Muhammad, along with those of Jesus, Buddha and Greek god of the seas Poseidon, provoked outrage among the country's 3.2 million Muslims when it was scheduled to open earlier in the year.

As Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, police anticipated protests outside the Berlin opera house and set up stringent security checks on entry, but the performance passed peacefully.

When it was banned in the autumn, Chancellor Angela Merkel called the decision a "mistake".

"I think self-censorship does not help us against people who want to practise violence in the name of Islam," she told Reuters. "It makes no sense to retreat."

The row began in Germany a year on from the publication of 12 cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which prompted vehement protests from Muslims worldwide.