Malaysia Tries to Stop Film Viewers

As you know, I travel regularly to Singapore and other countries in Asia. It is a surprise to many Americans to learn that the largest and most active Muslim countries in the world are here not in the Middle East. Indonesia, Malaysia, India, etc have millions of Muslims and there are many ways to reach them for Christ. Films may be the most effective.

The following news story recently tells about one struggle to contain the Christian message by Muslim governments.

Malaysian censors have passed Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ uncut, but have stipulated that only Christians may see the movie.

Officials have granted access to all ages when the picture opens in a few weeks by awarding the religious epic a Uncut rating, but steered clear of opening it up to the south-east Asian country's non-Christian groups.

... Film censorship board secretary Lukeman Saaid told Variety: "It's a deeply religious movie. We live in a multiracial country and we needed to show sensitivity toward other religions, particularly Islam."

Christians account for 9% of the 24 million population, which includes Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups, while about 66% are Muslims.

Tickets for the picture, which so far has taken a staggering $609m at the global box office, will only be sold through churches and the distributor Fox International will not be allowed to advertise.

Malaysian identity cards do not list the bearer's religion, so there will be plenty of opportunity for non-Christians to obtain a ticket through a friend and sample the picture for themselves

It is an amazing opportunity for God to educate Muslims and other non-Christians about the basics of Christianity. The film has drawn millions of Muslims and others to theatres in other Muslim countries.