Iranian filmmaker's Islamic Jesus to make TV debut
by Peter B Beita
Posted: Saturday, January 19, 2008, 10:43 (GMT)
An Iranian director says the movie he has produced on Jesus according to Islam is the Muslim answer to Western productions such as Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ".
While Nader Talebzadeh praised Gibson's "Passion" as admirable he added, however, that it was quite simply "wrong".
Unlike in “Passion”, the Jesus in Talebzadeh’s “Jesus, the Spirit of God” does not face crucifixion, death and resurrection, but is saved by God and taken up directly to Heaven.
"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 told Agence-France Press (AFP), referring to two key differences between Islam and Christianity. In Islam, Jesus is regarded as a prophet and not the son of God. Muslims also do not believe that he was crucified.
”Jesus, the Spirit of God” was funded by Iran’s state broadcaster and had a low-key reception in the country, playing in front of moderate audiences in five Tehran cinemas during the recent holy month of Ramadan.
Though it has faded off the billboards, the production is far from dead, as it will this year be brought back to life in a major 20-episode spin-off to be broadcast over state-run national television.
Talebzadeh insists that the film 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," the director 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.
The director is also keen to emphasise the links between Jesus and one of the most important figures in Shiite Islam, the Imam Mahdi, who is said to have disappeared 12 centuries ago but whose "return" to earth has been a key tenet of the presidency of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Much of "Jesus, the Spirit of God", which won an award at the 2007 Religion Today Film Festival in Italy, follows the traditional tale of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament books of Gospel – a narrative reproduced in the Koran and accepted by Muslims.
But in Talebzadeh's movie, God saves Jesus 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," Talebzadeh said. In his film, it is Judas who is crucified.
Islam regards 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 often describes Jesus' followers as "people of the book".
Shiite Muslims, who form the majority in Iran, believe Jesus will accompany the Imam Mahdi when he reappears in a future apocalypse to save the world.
Talebzadeh said the TV version of his film will further explore the links between Jesus and the Mahdi – whose return Ahmadinejad has said his government is working to hasten.
Shiites believe the Mahdi's reappearance will usher in a new era of peace and harmony.
"We Muslims pray for the 'Return' [of Imam Mahdi] and Jesus is part of the return and the end of time," Talebzadeh said.
"Should we, as artists, stand idle until that time? Don't we have to make an effort?" he asked.
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Added: Sunday, May 11, 2008, 20:31 (BST)
This clearsup for me the verse in Deuteronomy 21;22-23 the one who is hanged is accursed of GOD . For Jesus did not sin so why will he become a curse to get hanged to die for the accursed sinners and yet they go on sinning ,( curse is only directed with Satan)" THE ACCURSED ONE." is one who has turned away from GOD and his heart has been taken over by satan, this is unbecoming of Jesus .IT JUST DO NOT FIT.
abrady, Caoe town. South Africa
Added: Thursday, January 24, 2008, 19:49 (GMT)
Gomez,
To put your comments in perspective, the four eyewitness accounts in the Gospels are very likely the most corroborated historical account of Antiquity. Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell presents this very compellingly. Compare this with the Muslim account in the Koran which was written centuries later with no eyewitness assertions, but on claims of being written by the hand of God/Allah. To be in any way consistent, on the reasoning in your last paragraph, you would need to throw out pretty much all of what we claim to know of history before the Middle Ages. I'd assert that those who reject the Ressurection as a historical event do so (sadly) because the alternative would be too personally costly: it would require them to turn in humility and accept Christ's sacrifice for themselves.
Bill, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Added: Monday, January 21, 2008, 18:07 (GMT)
Sarah Jordan,
The historical records that of Jesus crucifixion and Judas being hanged is only found in the Bible--and the Bible is not considered an accurate historical book by non-christians.
1. Muslims do not believe the Bible is 100% free of error
2. the Crucifision of Jesus was debated within the first 100 years and still amongst Christians of today
3. The Koran does not say who was hanged instead of Jesus--it does not mention Judas--so the director is going with a popular guess that it was Judas.
So in conclusion, other than the Bible and the Koran there is no historical proof that Jesus even existed non the less crucified. Plus non-religiuos usually dont take the Koran or the Bible as historical books anyways.
GOMEZ, California
Added: Saturday, January 19, 2008, 17:12 (GMT)
That is a very interesting twist on the last hours of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Of course their version eliminates any possibility of salvation for the rest of humanity. Also, how do they explain away the historical records recounting this event with Jesus of Nazareth having been crucified, and Judas having hung himself?
Sarah Jordan, San Diego, CA
Added: Saturday, January 19, 2008, 12:20 (GMT)
This director Talebzadeh and all "true believing Muslims" say all Christians are wrong about our basic tenets of our faith-the death and resurection of Christ to pay for our sins and destroy the works of the devil. " Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him.
If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. But if we live in the light---just as he is in the light---then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us.'
1John 1:5-10 -1 Muslims say that they do not sin but just error and do not need to have any payment in the form of the son of God Jesus Christ' death on the cross for their sins.and John 3:8 "Whoever continues to sin belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the very beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the Devil had done." Some one is lieing here, Muslims or us Christians. They would make us and others believe that we have been believing a lie for two thousand years. Jesus never mentioned Mohammed coming after him once in the Bible unless you mean the spirit of the anti Christ, which denies that God became flesh in Jesus Christ, 1 John 4:1-4
Rev. Gary Hixson, Carmona, Spain
