QATAR: AFTER SEEING "THE PASSION" MUSLIMS START SEARCHING FOR THE GOSPEL

7 April, 2004 QATAR

IN JUST 3 DAYS MORE THAN A 1/10 OF THE POPULATION HAS SEEN THE FILM

Doha (AsiaNews) – "Do you have the New Testament in Arab? Me and all my friends would like to read it." This was the request of 2 students from Qatar, after seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ".

Already on the second day after the film started showing in Qatar, many local newspapers are reporting the film on their front pages. According to the English language daily, The Peninsula Qatar, since the first three days of its release, 66,321 tickets have been sold—smashing the record once held by Matrix Reloaded, which had sold 59,000.

The film is becoming so popular in Qatar that some theaters have cancelled showings of other films in order to increase viewings of Gibson's blockbuster.

Middle East Christians are spellbound by the interest Arabs have taken in seeing the Gospel portrayed on the big screen.

The movie has sparked hours of discussion between Christians and Muslims regarding questions of faith. Many Arabs were interested in seeing the film only because of the anti-Semitic controversy surrounding it. However the movie's theme is an unavoidable subject. "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, an American married couple working in Qatar.

The American couple said they were amazed the government had permitted the film to be released in an Islamic country like Qatar. "In the next few weeks tens of thousands of people living here will go and see this powerful retelling of Christ's suffering. Many moviegoers react to the film. For example, those sitting next to us in the theater were moved and breathless. Others wept or had looks of disgust on their faces when watching the brutality Jesus underwent," they said.

"This film is generating huge interest in Jesus and the Bible," said David and Natalie. "All this has never happened before!"

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