One religious site spared in the movie “2012”

Yahoo recently published an article around the upcoming movie “2012” that I found particularly interesting. The movie directed by Roland Emmerich is a disaster film about the end of the world in 2012, which is when the Mayan calendar ends.

Many famous landmarks are slated to be destroyed in this film, including many religious sites. One image from the trailer shows the dome of St. Peter’s at the Vatican rolling toward a crowd of worshippers.  The one religious site does not meet a tragic fate is the Ka’bah.  The Ka’bah is located in Mecca and the center of the Hajj – the largest pilgrimage in the Islamic faith.

The director wanted to include the destruction of the Ka’bah in the film but did not want to have a fatwa placed on his head. A fatwa is a ruling, or legal opinion, of Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. The term fatwa entered Western consciousness when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence in the form of a fatwa in 1989 to a British author, Salman Rushdie, for alleged blasphemies in his novel “The Satanic Verses.”

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Upcoming church movie discussions

In October, I wrote a story for the Missourian about how Karis Community Church and International Community Church are using films to prompt spiritual discussions in Columbia. Since the story was published, I have come across a couple of other churches that are also hosting movie discussions.

The Crossing holds movie screenings and discussions every so often as a part of its “Talking Pictures” movie series. In October, the church hosted a viewing and discussion of “Doubt.”

“Few movies lend themselves so easily to further discussion as ‘Doubt,'” wrote pastor Nathan Tiemeyer on the church’s blog.

Once a month, First Christian Church also shows movies. Some flicks are offered just for fun, and others lend themselves to deeper discussion. On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the church hosted a viewing of “Citizen Kane.”

If you’d like to participate in these discussions, you’re welcome to attend any or all of the following events:

• At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, International Community Church will show and discuss “Not One Less,” a 1999 Chinese film about the educational challenges in rural China. Childcare will be available during the event.

• At 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, First Christian Church will show “Second Hand Lions,” a 2003 movie starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment and Kyra Sedgwick.

• Karis’s movie showings and discussions for November have yet to be decided; visit the “Movies and MindMaps” blog for more information.

• The Crossing’s next installment has yet to be decided; visit The Crossing Web site for the latest information about “Talking Pictures.”

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