Muslim Actor Playing Jesus in O’Reilly Book Adaptation Defends Casting

National Geographic has, once again, decided to adapt another one of Bill O’Reilly‘s books, Killing Jesus, into a made-for-TV movie. One particularly notable aspect is that the actor cast as Jesus Christ, Haaz Sleiman, is a Muslim. Conservative sites took note of this a few months ago, and this week Sleiman was asked about criticism for playing the role.

According to EW’s InsideTV blog, one reporter asked Sleiman about conservative Christian objections to a person of the Muslim faith playing Jesus. Sleiman spoke of how Jesus’ teachings are a part of the faith and said he personally has been “heavily shaped” by those teachings.

As for the controversy, this is what he had to say:

“I cannot speak for Jesus, but I can quote his teachings and he said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’… How would he react to me playing Jesus? He wouldn’t judge it. He wouldn’t judge his own enemy … playing this part highlights his teaching in a very nice way.”

Sleiman is known for his roles in the movie The Visitor and several television shows, including Nurse Jackie and Covert Affairs.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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