Lourdes, France, to consider the effects of the Bible upon the way disabled people are perceived. Originally broadcast as The Fifth Gospel for the BBC Everyman series in 1990, an extract of Shaban's findings (entitled The Bible is "Body Fascist") is available on his YouTube channel, ScabsNabs (seen here). The extract in question provides some telling points, not least of which is the truly shocking manner in which Shaban himself is treated whilst visiting the site.
The themes of body fascism and biocracy which recur in Shaban's work are indeed strong propellants - and not without good reason. Deep-seated prejudices such as these may only be vanquished if the mirror of our past mistakes and misjudgements is forever held up to the light. In much the same way that, to varying degrees, the disabled community still
faces a world which echoes to the expression 'out of sight, out of mind', the need to redefine physical and mental disability in the twenty-first century is one which does not go away. Fortunately, thinkers of such calibre as Nabil Shaban are on hand to ensure that we do not forget.
The Ripper Code (ISBN: 978-0-9548294-2-1) and The First To Go (ISBN: 978-0-9548294-1-4) are available from Sirius Book Works.