http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-02/16/article07.shtml
A shot of the film depicting the crucifixion of Jesus
Mel Gibson denied accusations of anti-Semitism against his new production “The Passion of the Christ”, saying in an interview to be aired on Monday, February 16, that he had deliberately set out to make a movie that would be about love and forgiveness.
Decrying anti-Semitism as an “un-Christian” sin that went against the tenets of his faith, Gibson told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in a “Primetime” interview that he had never intended the film to trigger a “blame game” over responsibility for Christ’s death.
“No, of course not. And here’s the other thing. For me, it goes against the tenets of my faith, to be racist in any form. To be anti-Semitic is a sin. It’s been condemned by one Papal Council after another. There’s encyclicals on it, which is, you know — to be anti-Semitic is to be unchristian, and I’m not,” Gibson said.
With many Jewish leaders fearing the film will revive debate on whether the Jews were to blame for Christ’s death, Sawyer asked the Oscar-winning actor and director, “Who killed Christ?”
“The big answer is, we all did. I’ll be first in the culpability stakes here, you know,” he replied.
Jesus Christ “was beaten for our iniquities,” Gibson was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.
“He was wounded for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed. That’s the point of the film. It’s not about pointing fingers,” he added.
Muslims believe that Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was not crucified and that God saved and raised him as someone else was crucified in his place.
Not About Blame Game
Gibson said his film “is not about pointing the fingers. It’s not about playing the blame game”.
“It’s about faith, hope, love and forgiveness. It is reality for me. I believe that. I have to. …. For my own sake, so I can hope, so I can live,” he said.
Gibson also defends the extreme violence in his film about the last 12 hours in the life of Christ, saying it was necessary to push the audience “over the edge” so that it could feel the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice.
“To be anti-Semitic is a sin. It’s been condemned by one Papal Council after another,” Gibson
The star of the “Lethal Weapon” series and “Brave heart” acknowledged that the depiction of Christ’s punishment and eventual crucifixion was “very violent” but insisted that the movie’s R-rating was enough to warn cinemagoers in advance.
“I wanted it to be shocking,