Lebanon bans Iranian-made biopic of Christ

Alarabiya.net

BEIRUT (Agencies)

Two Shiite Muslim television stations in Lebanon canceled a controversial program about Jesus on Friday, saying they do not want to stir up sectarian conflict in the country.

The 17-episode program, which was produced in Iran, describes Jesus from an Islamic point of view. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet and a teacher, but not the son of God.

"General Security has requested the two Lebanese television channels airing the series during the holy month of Ramadan stop the broadcasts," an official under the condition of anonymity said.

Christian priests protest

The debate has particular resonance in Lebanon, an Arab nation of 4 million people with a grim history of sectarian strife. The country's population is divided into 18 sects, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druze.

The TV stations Al-Manar, and the National Broadcasting Network, NBN, both run by Hezbollah, started airing the program this week at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Christian priests and politicians quickly protested, saying the topic might endanger national coexistence.

The show does not show respect to "Jesus, the church and Christianity," Catholic Maronite Archbishop Bechara al-Rai told reporters Friday.

Al-Rai had requested the series be banned as it "denied the basis of Christianity."

Christians believe Jesus was the son of God and died by crucifixion before resurrecting and ascending to heaven.

But Muslims say Christ, or "the prophet Issa" in Islam, ascended to heaven while still alive, a notion which is made clear in the series.

"In the Quran it talks about Jesus many, many times, and about Mary many, many times," director Nader Talebzadeh said in an interview to CNN in 2008, when the original movie was released.

"But he is never the son of God, he is a prophet, and also he was not crucified -- someone else was crucified in his place," he added.

Talebzadeh's biopic shows Judas Iscariot being crucified instead of Jesus.

Immediate response

NBN and Al-Manar, run respectively by Shiite speaker Nabih Berri immediately issued statements saying the film would no longer be screened in respect to other Lebanese sects.

The statement also added that the program "shows the great personality of God's prophet Jesus, the son of Mary, peace be upon him."

Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that even though he is against censorship, he agreed with the cancellation because of Lebanon's religious diversity.

"There is a special case in Lebanon which is considered a country of dialogue and a county where Christians and Muslims meet," Mitri said.

After Lebanon gained independence from French rule in 1943, Christians dominated the country. Muslim demands for reform helped trigger the 1975-90 civil war. A 1989 agreement ended the civil war and the two sides have since shared power.

The political system reflects Lebanon's sectarian makeup. The presidency goes to a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and a Shiite Muslim must be the parliament speaker. The Cabinet and the parliament's 128 seats are divided equally between Christians and Muslims.

"The Messiah" was originally released in Iran as a big screen movie in the Islamic republic in 2008.

It was subsequently adapted to television as a series that was dubbed into Arabic and began airing on Lebanon's NBN and Al-Manar television channels after the start this week of Ramadan.