Iranian Film About Jesus Invites Christians To Accept Islam
The director’s idea of Jesus (pictured).
TEHRAN — A director who shares the ideas of Iran’s hardline president has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ, in a bid to show the “common ground” between Muslims and Christians.
Nader Talebzadeh sees his movie, “Jesus, the Spirit of God,” as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ,” which he praised as admirable but quite simply “wrong”.
“Gibson’s film is a very good film. I mean that it is a well-crafted movie but the story is wrong — it was not like that,” he said, referring to two key differences: Islam sees Jesus as a prophet, not the son of God, and does not believe he was crucified.
Talebzadeh said he even went to Gibson’s mansion in Malibu, California, to show him his film. “But it was Sunday and the security at the gate received the film and the brochure and promised to deliver it,” though the Iranian never heard back.
Even in Iran, “Jesus, The Spirit of God” had a low-key reception, playing to moderate audiences in five Tehran cinemas during the holy month of Ramadan, in October.
The film, funded by state broadcasting, faded off the billboards but is far from dead, about to be recycled in a major 20 episode spin-off to be broadcast over state-run national television this year.
Talebzadeh insists it aims to bridge differences between Christianity and Islam, despite the stark divergence from Christian doctrine about Christ’s final hours on earth.
“It is fascinating for Christians to know that Islam gives such devotion to and has so much knowledge about Jesus,” Talebzadeh told AFP.
“By making this film I wanted to make a bridge between Christianity and Islam, to open the door for dialogue since there is much common ground between Islam and Christianity,” he said.
But in Talebzadeh’s movie, God saves Jesus, depicted as a fair-complexioned man with long hair and a beard, from crucifixion and takes him straight to heaven.
“It is frankly said in the Koran that the person who was crucified was not Jesus” but Judas, one of the 12 Apostles and the one the Bible holds betrayed Jesus to the Romans, he said. In his film, it is Judas who is crucified.
Islam sees Jesus as one of five great prophets — others being Noah, Moses and Abraham — sent to earth to announce the coming of Mohammed, the final prophet who spread the religion of Islam. It respects Jesus’ followers as “people of the book”.
(AFP)
Bash Note: As per Quran 5:17…Christians are “Unbelievers.”
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
Mary and Joseph emigrated to Bethlehem from northern Germany. Yea, right.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:36 amIslamofascist Gubberment of I ran spewing propaganda?
January 14th, 2008 at 9:17 amSay it ain’t so…..http://www.zombietime.com/anti-july_4th_sf/
I don’t know how many times this must be said about how phony the qu’ran is. Part stolen Torah without any mercy and the wrong mother and son, part New Testament without any Jesus, a whole lot of baloney in between, and an obvious fraud and rip-off for anyone of sane mind. For all you muslims out there thinking were really just same with a few minor differences, listen up.
Unless your allah goes also goes by the name Jesus, we Christians aren’t interested in talking similarities. There are none. And though not Jewish, I can probably guess what the Jews are going to tell you about Ishmael being on the altar with Abraham. That’s not going to get a nod of approval either.
January 14th, 2008 at 9:23 amNice … Christ with a bad bleach-job … `bout sums it up, eh?
Is Borat in it?
January 14th, 2008 at 9:48 amJust astonishing. trying to teach us christians how wrong we are. Jesus was just a prophet and Judas was the one who was crucified, right!. Thats about as accurate as the Da vinci code
January 14th, 2008 at 10:26 amWithout the crucifixion of Jesus there is no Christianity at all. There would be no sacrifice for all our sins. The Gentile would not be included in Gods absolution of sin
January 14th, 2008 at 10:31 amthrough his son’s (Jesus)sacrifice (crucifixion) therefore could not be included into the Church which Christ is the Head. The Church being all believers of Christ.
Well lemme see if I got this right. A 7th century child-molesting terrorist who couldn’t read or right claims that Jesus was a prophet but not God.
On the other side an honerable man and an apostle of Christ claims that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Son of God is of the anti-Christ.
Now who am I to belive? The ignorant child-molester terrorist? Or the honerable man?
I think I’ll go with the honerable man on this one.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:10 amI almost fell out of my chair when I saw and read this at work!
We refuse the “invitation” and we will not be ruled by Islamic Law ~ e v e r.
January 14th, 2008 at 5:17 pm