Izraelit, André Chouraqui, rođen u Alžiru , pravnik sa Sorbone, hebraist, orijentalist, ekumenist, beletrist, suosnivač »Abrahamovskoga bratstva«, prevođen na 20 europskih i 3 dalekoistočna jezika; za njegove prijevode kapitalnih sakralnih knjiga imenjak mu Malraux rekao da su »grandiozna avantura duha«… U svojoj respektivnoj knjizi Chouraqui promatra jednu za drugom Deset zapovijedi u svima trima monoteističkim vjerama sve do u naše dane. Iz poglavlja u poglavlje, vodeći računa o evoluciji običaja, društva, znanosti i tehnike, autor nam nudi nov pogled na primjenu (...) i kršenje svake od Deset zapovijedi. Deset zapovijedi/besjeda bjehu i jesu prva prvcata, a i jedina jedincata Deklaracija o dužnostima čovjeka. Autor zagovara uvjerenje da su velike svjetske religije osnova za globalnu etiku, jedina podloga za uspostavu svijeta bez ratova,svijeta miroljublja, snošljivosti i ravnoteže u majci prirodi sa svim njezinim živim i neživim bićima. Chouraqui ne predlaže stapanje svjetskih religija, već zagovara ideal da se na njihovoj zajedničkoj etici – sinergijom – zapodjene novo doba, jer da jedino tako čovječanstvo ima šanse za opstanak. U povijesti čovječanstva A. Chouraqui jedan je jedincati prevoditelj triju »Svetih knjiga« s njihovih izvornika: Staroga zavjeta s hebrejskoga, Novoga zavjeta s grčkoga, Kur’ana s arapskoga. Njegova autorska knjiga Deset zapovijedi danas remek-djelo je francuskoga kultivirana izraza, britke misaonosti i univerzalne aktualnosti; hrvatska inačica nastojala je, punom pomnjom, prenijeti ta rijetka svojstva.André Chouraqui, an Israelite, born in 1917 in Algeria, who studied law at the Sorbonne, is anexpert in Hebrew and Oriental studies, an ecumenist, belletrist, co-founder of the “Fraternityof Abraham” in France, has been translated in 20 European and 3 Far-Eastern languages. Hisnamesake Malraux once said that Chouraqui’s translations are “a grandiose adventureof the spirit”… In his respective book Chouraqui examines, one by one, the Ten Commandmentsin all three monotheistic religions up to the present day.Chapter after chapter, taking into consideration the evolution of customs, societies, sciences,and technologies, the author gives us a new perspective on applying and breaking of each of theCommandments. The Ten Commandments/Sayings have been, and still are, the first and fore­most, the one and only Declaration of the Duties of Man. The author advocates the belief thatthe great world religions are the basis for a global ethics, the only foundation for establishinga world without war, a world of peace, tolerance, equilibrium with Mother Nature, with all herbeings, animate and inanimate. Chouraqui does not propose an amalgamation ofthe world religions, but advocates an ideal based on their common ethics – which would establish a new era by using the synergy and the united spiri­tual energies, believing that this is the only chance for survival of the human race. Throughoutthe human history, A. Chouraqui is the one and only translator of all three sacred books fromtheir originals: The Old Testament from Hebrew, The New Testament from Greek, Qur’an fromArabic. His book The Ten Commandments Today is a masterpiece of the French scholarlyexpression, sharp thinking, and universal relevance; the Croatian translation has strived, withmeticulous attention, to convey these rare qualities. (shrink)

BackgroundThere has been no in-depth research of public attitudes on withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatment, euthanasia, assisted suicide and physician assisted suicide in Croatia. The aim of this study was to examine these attitudes and their correlation with sociodemographic characteristics, religion, political orientation, tolerance of personal choice, trust in physicians, health status, experiences with death and caring for the seriously ill, and attitudes towards death and dying. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on a three-stage random sample of adult citizens of (...) the Republic of Croatia, stratified by regions, counties, and locations within those counties. In addition to descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to determine differences, and factor analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis for data analysis.Results38.1% of the respondents agree with granting the wishes of dying people experiencing extreme and unbearable suffering, and withholding life-prolonging treatment, and 37.8% agree with respecting the wishes of such people, and withdrawing life-prolonging treatment. 77% of respondents think that withholding and withdrawing procedures should be regulated by law because of the fear of abuse. Opinions about the practice and regulation of euthanasia are divided. Those who are younger and middle-aged, with higher levels of education, living in big cities, and who have a more liberal worldview are more open to euthanasia. Assisted suicide is not considered to be an acceptable practice, with only 18.6% of respondents agreeing with it. However, 40.1% think that physician assisted suicide should be legalised. 51.6% would support the dying person’s autonomous decisions regarding end-of-life procedures.ConclusionsThe study found low levels of acceptance of withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatment, euthanasia, assisted suicide and physician assisted suicide in Croatia. In addition, it found evidence that age, level of education, political orientation, and place of residence have an impact on people’s views on euthanasia. There is a need for further research into attitudes on different end-of-life practices in Croatia. (shrink)