the government on Wednesday, May 24, to ban the release of "the satanic" film The Da Vinci Code.
"The Religious minorities of Pakistan strongly condemned the blasphemous and the satanic The Da Vinci Code and demands the government of Pakistan to announce an immediate ban and boycott of the film," said the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA).
"The Da Vinci Code by [author] Dan Brown attacks our belief in the divinity of Christ the truthfulness of sacred scriptures, the integrity of the Holy Catholic Church and core values of Christianity and Christians," APMA Chairman Shahbaz Bhatti told BosNewsLife in a statement.
The film explores the idea that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children with her whose ancestors still live today. Christians say it becomes clear from the Bible that Jesus was not married to any woman as He sees His Church, including all individuals accepting Him as Lord and Savior, as His Bride.
"HISTORICAL ERRORS"
Bhatti said the movie is "full of calumnies, offenses, historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, Gospel and Church. It is based on false, baseless, unrealistic and shameful information."
He stressed that the Christians of Pakistan "are expressing their unequivocal rejection and disgust of the blasphemous De Vinci Code film."
APMA, he said, asked the government to officially condemn "the blasphemous film and restrict and prohibit cable operators, TV channels and internet sites from showing it, the way publication of [Islamic] sacrilegious cartoons was banned." He warned that if the film will be released in Pakistan, "Pakistani Christians will protest throughout the country."
GOSPEL OPPORTUNITY
Christian groups are divided over whether a ban is the best way forward, with some groups, including Campus Crusade for Christ, using the film as an opportunity to evangelize.
However Bhatti stressed that the movie hurts "the religious sentiments of Christians throughout the world" and said his organization "will not allow anyone to disgrace and insult our Lord Jesus and belief in the guise of freedom of expression."
It comes amid concern of growing pressure on Christian minorities in neighboring India and predominantly Islamic Pakistan, where several churches and individual Christians have been attacked in recent months.
Bhatti asked the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to condemn "the act of blasphemy and introduce a charter to stop such elements," while urging people of all faiths to support the protests. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Pakistan).
