I saw this film yesterday and found it intriguing if politically biased and as superficial as Mel Gibson's equally polemical movie about the legend of Jesus.

That Iran's religious authorities are willing to allow the depiction of Jesus seems ironic as many including this blogger have pointed out, since most Muslims do not allow the depiction of the prophet Mohammad, and the story makes it clear that Jesus is also considered a prophet in Islam. Though the blogger does not note that Islam arose after Christianity when asking the question "Can one imagine what would happen if an infidel produced a film on the life of the Prophet?"

Muslims might make the arguement that Mohammad is more sacred somehow since he succeeded the other five prophets (all Hebrew and Christian) and was supposedly foretold by at least one of them.

However prohibitions against depictions of prophets as iconographic is widely considered to be universal among Muslims in the west, though this story does mention that "Unlike Sunnis, Shia Muslims allow images of their greatest saint, Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law." It is long overdue that there be a dialogue in the West about religious differences. I think this could be a start. Talk is better than bombs IMO.

I'm reading between the lines a bit here, but are you saying Jesus was a Christian? Sorry, Sportinlife, he was no such thing. He was born a Jew and died a Jew.

You're reading a bit much between those lines. Jesus was born to Jewish parents from what I've read - or a Jewish mother at least - and depending on who you ask.

People who consider themselves Christians might say he's the founder of their religion and would, I assume, therefore call him the first Christian.

I wonder what he would call himself and his followers.

Muslims consider him a prophet, though I think he is the only one of the prophets they recognize, who they say was born to a virgin.

If anyone can correct, enlighten or add to this, I would be interested. I find it all very interesting in a historical and philosophical context.