'Passion of Christ' for Christians only in Malaysia

It broke box office records in parts of the Middle East, the heart of Islam, and is now screening in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

But to view Mel Gibson's "Passion of Christ" in Malaysia, viewers must be Christian. No Muslims are allowed to see it.

"It might spark off some religious disagreement in this country," Film Censorship Board spokeswoman Kathy Kok said, explaining the board's decision to bar a general release.

Gibson, Hollywood star-cum-producer and devout Catholic, did not even bother to ask Malaysia, home to 25 million people, for approval to screen his film in local cinemas. He and his distributors assumed the mainly Muslim nation would ban it.

But after an appeal to the prime minister by local churches keen to see the graphic movie about Christ's crucifixion, the censors have finally cleared it -- but for Christian eyes only.

Just over half of Malaysia's population follows Islam, which forbids flesh-and-blood portrayal of holy figures and says Jesus, a prophet in the Muslim faith, was neither crucified nor the Son of God. Christians make up about 9 percent of the population.

Malaysia, a former British colony whose early years of independence were marked by ugly race riots in 1969, is a melting pot of religions and ethnic backgrounds. Its ruling alliance represents Malay, Chinese, Indian and other communities, with a key aim of government policy being racial stability.

"We thought the movie would be banned because none of the prophets are to be depicted in a movie," said Twentieth Century Fox's Malaysia account manager, Tan Kok Aik.

The details of how tickets will be sold have yet to be worked out but they will not be available over the counter and the box-office hit will not be advertised. Instead, churches are likely to become ticket outlets, taking bookings for private screenings at commercial cinemas.

"All the churches could book the tickets through my office," said Reverend Wong Kim Kong of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, who began lobbying the prime minister's office four months ago for the film to be shown.

Wong is offering to use the fellowship as a central booking agent that would tally up and pass on church bookings to the film's distributor, Twentieth Century Fox .

Christians at least are happy.

But the censor's decision to bar non-Christians from seeing the film has drawn fire from at least one Muslim commentator, writing in the New Straits Times, a newspaper that normally reflects government thinking.

Columnist Rose Ismail suggested Islamic clerics in Malaysia feared "Passion of Christ" could lead some Muslim viewers to convert to Christianity. To her, the viewing restrictions reflected a lack of confidence.

"The ban implies that Malaysian Muslims' devotion to Islam is tenuous and shallow; that we are easily seduced by religious beliefs," she wrote.

In neighbouring Indonesia, censors took a different approach, authorising its general release but cutting some violent shots.

Even in parts of the Middle East, Gibson's tribute to the suffering of Christ was aired -- largely thanks to a Jewish outcry over the film that appeared to have encouraged Arab governments to break censorship rules.

In Egypt, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, it broke box office records, its distributor says.

Box office records are unlikely in Malaysia, though Reverend Wong's fellowship estimates 200,000 or more Christians could flock to see the film, once private screenings begin next month.





Kenneth Chan
Ecumenical Press