|
Surprisingly,
theaters in Doha, Qatar, and Amman, Jordan, are showing The Passion of
the Christ. A Qatari English-language newspaper, The Peninsula,
headlines, Passion runs full house. On March 21 three theaters in
Doha were sold-out and pre-booked for days ahead. An official of the Qatar
Cinema and Film Distribution Board boasts that Qatar is so open that no film
was refused permission for showing there last year and that the distributor
was amazed when Qatar requested The Passion. Censors okayed it
without any cuts, and the official expects the film to run for at least two
months. And some mullahs are encouraging their Muslim followers to see the
film. Why such an unexpected endorsement? The false rumors that the film is
anti-Semitic have reached the mullahs, and as one missionary explains, since
they hate the Jews, they want to see it. Muslims recognize Jesus as a
prophet, and although they believe Muhammad superseded Him, they still
revere and respect Christ. So when they hear of a film which is alleged to
show Jews crucifying Christ, some Muslims welcome the opportunity to revel
in a depiction of the wickedness of their long-time enemies. But many
Muslims are responding to the film in ways their mullahs hadn’t intended.
One viewer recognized, When they show a story of the Romans . . . in ancient
times, it doesn’t mean the present-day Italians are responsible. By analogy,
he reasoned that, even if he construed the film as depicting first-century
Jews as instigators of Christ’s crucifixion, that would not be an indictment
of modern Israelis. An even more important consequence shows up in an e-mail
from a missionary, who marvels, In two short hours more Qataris heard the
Gospel than I have been able to reach in nearly five years living here. At
the 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. showings, the film was running in all three
theaters. He estimated that more than 50 percent of the people in the
theater were local Muslims including completely veiled women. After viewing
the film with a former student, he told him in Arabic, You think that this
film is here because of freedom of speech or the new openness of your
government, but actually God Himself has sent this film to correct your
total misunderstanding about who Jesus is and why He came to earth. For two
hours, the missionary and the student discussed the differences between
Islam and Christianity, and the cross the heart of our message. The
missionary adds, How interesting that God is using this film to communicate
the Gospel [in] the very opposite spirit that might be motivating [Muslims]
to see it. The message to love your enemies, and Jesus praying for them to
be forgiven while on the cross, would hit the Muslim moviegoer in a powerful
way. With theaters in Jordan and Qatar scheduled to show the film for at
least two months, and with videos and DVDs selling briskly, the potential is
staggering.
Isn’t God
amazing? He is using charges of anti-Semitism to stimulate Muslim mullahs to
encourage their followers to see a Christian film during Holy Week in
essence, to make fiery darts backfire.
Prison Fellowship, ‘Break Point,’ April
2004 |
 |
To everyone's shock and surprise, 'The Passion' was released today here in
Qatar.
Until now we have only been able to show the Jesus film in Arabic to a
handful of Qataris in the secret of a home setting. In the coming weeks,
potentially tens of thousands of Arab Muslims will see this powerful
portrayal of Christ's suffering and death. In two short hours, more Qataris
heard the Gospel than I have been able to reach in nearly five years of
living here. The Arabic subtitles were completely accurate - they didn't
water anything down or change any language that Muslims would not agree
with. All of us watched the film in absolute amazement in what God had done.
The Muslims sitting around us were being moved - gasping, crying and
reacting with disgust to the brutality that Jesus faced. Now - if you have
heard anything about why the Arab Muslims would want to see the film, you
know that it is because they 'heard' it was anti-Jewish and since they hate
the Jews, they want to see it. How interesting that God is using this film
to communicate the Gospel and the very opposite spirit that might be
motivating them to go and see it. The message to love your enemies, and
Jesus praying for them to be forgiven while on the Cross would hit the
Muslim theatre-goer in a powerful way.
Joel News International, March 2004
|
|
“The Passion” brings Jesus to the people. The film is everywhere, and
Gaza's
marketplaces offer illegal copies, too. "The impact of the film in
predominantly Muslim nations in the
Middle East
is phenomenal," say Christians in the region. "In
Qatar,
it was previously only possible to show the Jesus film to handfuls of
Qataris in secret home showings," writes a missionary. "The public showings
of “The Passion” reach more Qataris in two hours as a missionary in five
years of hard work," says the report. "The Arabic subtitles were absolutely
correct, and the Muslims around us in the cinema were deeply moved - they
wept, sobbed and were shocked by the brutality which Jesus had to suffer."
Joel News International, April 2004
|
|
German