Just when we thought the Da Vinci Code hype was over today's aljazeera.net has a story called "Iranians Rush to Buy 'Da Vinci Code'." The article reads:
"Reza Mortazavi, a 32-year-old teacher, said: "I rushed to buy the book when I heard about the ban. Now, I am more eager to know what was written in it."
The ministry of culture has banned further printing and distribution of the book, which has sold about 30,000 copies in Farsi, after Christian clerics protested against it, according to Iranian media reports.
The manager of one of the book's two Iranian publishers said people were phoning him after the government's announcement to see if they could buy the book."
Why the Iranian interest in DVC? Because:
1) In Muslim Iran "Christianity" = "American values."
2) American values are to be condemned.
3) "Earlier this month, six Iranian Christian bishops condemned the book, saying it insulted their religion, and asked the Islamic government to ban publishers from printing it. Less than 0.2 percent of Iran's nearly 69 million people are Christian."
4) Anything that insults Christianity necessarily insults America.
For many Iranians (if not most), this is always a good thing.
Many if not most Muslim countries make the mistake of equating Christianity with America.
The reason for this is that American Christianity has largely taken on American culture and values and co-opted Jesus in support of "America."
