harry potter and the book-burning benedict

Since I had recently been blogging about cults recently I thought it would be appropriate to write a tongue-in-cheek entry about how fanatical and cultish the Harry Potter fans are. I know a whole bunch of people who went and bought the new book yesterday and several of them have already finished it!

The Harry Potter books are almost like a powerful, but non-addictive drug. There is a strong compulsion to buy it, and people put aside numerous obligations aside in order to get their "fix" but once they've read the book, they don't need to keep rereading it.

But on second thought, looking back to some of the opposition to the Harry Potter books, I have to wonder which group is more cult-like, the fans, or the fanatics who think that people who read the Harry Potter books will suddenly start worshiping the devil.

Fanatics are after Harry Potter again (An old article, about the response to earlier books)

Pope Benedict Opposes Harry Potter Novels (a more recent article based on an older interview with the Pope, when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger)

That's not to say the books shouldn't be criticized. As a Muslim, I myself would express reservations about the fact that in the first volume, the villan turns out to be the nice harmless-looking guy in the turban. But I think it is more useful to point out this fact than to censor the book.

J.K. Rowling's Official Website

Wikipedia on Harry Potter