Midnight Showing at the Local Mosque
05/28/2004 16:03 Filed in: Movies and Television
Guess what's the most popular movie in the Middle East...
According to a news story at ChristianityToday.com , the most popular movie right now in the Middle East is...get this...The Passion of the Christ.
Although the movie is banned in some countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Muslims are seeing the movie anyway thanks to bootleg DVDs (does the Koran allow for stealing, as long as it's stealing from infidels?) that are in the local markets.
Why is the movie popular? It's popular because--if you remember--the early buzz on the movie said it was anti-Semitic (it's not as noted in my review, elsewhere in this blog). Having heard the buzz, Muslims are flocking to see the movie hoping that it puts the Jews in a bad light.
Let's hope instead that they see a message of One who offers forgiveness to his enemies rather than retaliation.
Jesus is referred to as a prophet in the Koran, but essential aspects of his life and nature such as the virgin birth and his claim to the title of Son of God are denied. Hopefully, this movie will have a similar effect in the Middle East as it had in the US--maybe it will encourage viewers to actually read THE BOOK.
Shalom.
According to a news story at ChristianityToday.com , the most popular movie right now in the Middle East is...get this...The Passion of the Christ.
Although the movie is banned in some countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Muslims are seeing the movie anyway thanks to bootleg DVDs (does the Koran allow for stealing, as long as it's stealing from infidels?) that are in the local markets.
Why is the movie popular? It's popular because--if you remember--the early buzz on the movie said it was anti-Semitic (it's not as noted in my review, elsewhere in this blog). Having heard the buzz, Muslims are flocking to see the movie hoping that it puts the Jews in a bad light.
Let's hope instead that they see a message of One who offers forgiveness to his enemies rather than retaliation.
Jesus is referred to as a prophet in the Koran, but essential aspects of his life and nature such as the virgin birth and his claim to the title of Son of God are denied. Hopefully, this movie will have a similar effect in the Middle East as it had in the US--maybe it will encourage viewers to actually read THE BOOK.
Shalom.