Thursday, May 13, 2004

WHEATON, Ill. (BP)--Muslims in Middle Eastern countries have been flocking to theaters to view Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of The Christ" since its Ash Wednesday release. In Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and other predominantly Muslim nations, Arab newspapers report the film's surprise box office success -- success that's thrilling Christian workers there and Christians around the world.

What's amazing is how the movie has brought the Gospel to the forefront in a region long closed to the Christian message. "Until now we have only been able to show the 'JESUS' film in Arabic to a handful of [Muslims] in the secret of a home setting," one missionary wrote.

"Any attempt to share the biblical message of Christ's death and resurrection is usually considered an attempt to proselytize and is greatly discouraged by governments," wrote a missionary in Jordan.

Missionaries in the United Arab Emirates call the opening "a miracle." While they say they could be arrested there for handing out the JESUS film, now The Passion of the Christ is depicting the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus openly in the nation's theaters.

In Syria, moviegoers from all religions and backgrounds have filled theaters in Damascus and Aleppo, breaking box office records.

Although Saudi Arabia does not have public movie theaters, pirated DVD versions of the film have been "selling like hotcakes," reported the English daily Arab News. DVDs also have appeared on the black market in Yemen and Oman, according to Operation Mobilization's news and information services. Bootlegged DVDs also are readily available in Afghanistan and Iraq, Christians there report.

Publicity about the film's purported anti-Semitism has attracted many Arabs who oppose Jews. In Qatar, the first Gulf nation to show the film, it opened the morning after the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in Palestine at the hands of Israeli forces. Angry Arab Muslims were drawn to the movie expecting to see a strong anti-Jewish message. More...

Monday, May 10, 2004

(AgapePress) - A Denver man has been awarded more than $140,000 in a civil rights lawsuit he filed against communications giant AT&T over its diversity policy.

Albert Buonanno was described as a model employee by his supervisors at AT&T Broadband, where he held several positions from January 1999 to February 2001. Nevertheless, the exemplary worker was fired after he refused to sign off on portions of the company's diversity policy that dealt with homosexuality.

Buonanno is a Christian who felt that he could not agree to value and respect a lifestyle the Bible condemns as an abomination. Although he averred that he had no intention of discriminating against homosexuals, he told his employer he could not in good conscience sign anything indicating his agreement with the wording of the diversity policy.

As a result, the company fired Buonanno. He later sued his former employers, arguing that they had discriminated against him for his religious beliefs. A federal judge recently decided in his favor, ruling that AT&T had indeed discriminated against the Christian worker.

John Whitehead is president of the Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. The Institute represented Buonanno in the lawsuit, and Whitehead believes his client's victory was largely due to his integrity -- the very quality that made it impossible for him to sign off on the diversity policy in the first place.

"He never said anything derogatory; he just could not agree with it," the attorney says, "but he was told, 'You agree or be fired.' It wasn't based on job performance, and that's why the case was won, I believe." More...