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| "Passion of Christ" Is Huge Hit in Qatar; Almost 10% of Population Saw It in First Three Days |
| 2004-04-08 |
| In the tiny Islamic nation of Qatar, the opening of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has become front-page news, breaking box-office records and sparking a remarkable interest in the Christian Gospel among Muslims. "Do you have the New Testament in Arab? Me and all my friends would like to read it." That was the request of two students after seeing the film about the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life, according to an American couple working in the country, the Asia Times reported. "This film is generating huge interest in Jesus and the Bible," said David and Natalie, who gave only their first names. "All this has never happened before!" they said in a message reported by the paper. Many Arabs wanted to see the film only because of the anti-Semitic controversy surrounding it, according to the Times. But the movie has sparked hours of discussion between Christians and Muslims on questions of faith, the couple said. "The message of loving your enemies and Jesus who, even while up on the cross, prayed for and forgave them strikes all viewers deeply," said David and Natalie. The American couple said they were amazed the Islamic government allowed the film to be released. "Many moviegoers react to the film," they said, according to Asia Times. "For example, those sitting next to us in the theater were moved and breathless. Others wept or had looks of disgust on their facers when watching the brutality Jesus underwent." The film’s popularity has prompted some theaters to cancel showings of other films in order to put "The Passion" on more screens. The English language daily Peninsula Qatar reported 66,321 tickets were sold in the first three days, surpassing the record once held by Matrix Reloaded, which had sold 59,000. Qatar’s population is about 730,000. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #4 I am happy that the Passion of Christ is being shown; I am not happy that it may fuel more Anti-Jewish (Yewish; Hebrew didn't have "J's" feeling (as if they needed more). If they get ahold of Bibles in Arabic, they need to make sure they see the parts of the Bible that makes in clear NO ONE GROUP was totally responsible for the crusification of Jesus. Those sentences should be put in BOLD print as our minds sometimes does not focus on what it doesn't want to see. Interesting note: In Revelation it says the Christians would suffer 10 days; they actually were strongly persecuted for ten years (until Constantine). Therefore for those interested in prophesy-take note. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5056 2004-05-30 11:45:57 AM |
| #3 Lol! Prolly got one legal print of the film, maybe two... Kinda screwed up by letting it be known they were adding screens, though, heh. Copyright? Whazzat? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-04-09 12:49:09 AM |
| #2 Amazing! In Qatar! They're ahead of me. I haven't seen the film yet. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-04-09 12:39:55 AM |
| #1 Whether you believe in the spiritual message behind it or not - personally I do - it has something to say about human suffering and forgiveness, and I'm glad that they can see that. Maybe something like this is what they need to open their minds. |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-04-08 11:42:34 PM |