Küster/God/Terror, I. Terror, War and Violence: God Talk in Memory of September 11, 2001

The first section contrasts works of art that address violence and terror of 9/11 or in the Muslim world with the images of 9/11 itself. Next to the Chilean born Alfredo Jaar and the German of Jewish decent Rebekka Horn with Walid Raad and Shirin Neshat also two artists with Arab Muslim migratory background are introduced. Literary Susan Sontag, Toni Morrison and Arundhati Roy have their say. From this comparative approach three ethical criteria emerge: vision, distance and unscathedness. 9/11 does not mark the beginning of a new era, but has become the symbol of the repercussions of globalization, that has been triggered by the collapse of the bipolar world order, the extension of neo-liberal consumer capitalism and the compression of the world through the new communication technologies. The three criteria also apply to the conflicting images of God. The author points to the justice and compassion of God, in which the victims may feel safe and secure against all ambiguity of human images of God.