Author:
Fida Hassnain
Recommended
to: People interested in knowing about Jesus, Christians (although
some might find the author's findings to be blasphemous), people who
are idle and are just curious (I had to mention this only because I
couldn't put myself in any of the above mentioned categories).
Rating:
8/10
Publisher's
write-up:
'Millions
of people have been brought up with the idea that Jesus' life-mission
ended with Crucifixion, to redeem our sins. This is becoming an
untenable proposition. Professor Hassnain, a leading cross-cultural
researcher of the life of Jesus, presents another story.
Jesus
came to teach the known world, not just the Roman Empire. Professor
Hassnain has uncovered manuscripts and evidence to demonstrate that:
- the secretive Essene Order raised and protected Jesus;
- Jesus' missing youth was spent in Persia and India;
- many obscured Gospels reveal that Jesus' work was backed by Essene operations involving far more than twelve male apostles;
- Jesus survived the Cross, in an undercover operation which fooled many;
- Jesus ministered to Jews in Persia, Afghanistan, India and Central Asia, with Thomas and Simon Peter;
- Moses, Jesus and mother Mary, were buried in Kashmir – amongst people of Jewish faith and origins;
- the Church in the West, over centuries, has gone to great lengths to remove evidence of this, to strengthen its position as the representative of Christ on earth.
Citing
many historical sources, Professor Hassnain, himself a Sufi,
respectfully questions what we have been taught – and argues that
Jesus was a greater man than we realise.
Professor
Hassnain, as Director of Museums and Antiquities for the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, India, discovered records of Jesus in Ladakh, and
subsequently used his position to research what is presented in this
long-awaited book.'.
Jesus,
the son of Mary, who was a preacher and a prophet, whose teachings
led to the birth of a new religion, Christianity, who was eventually
crucified, and was miraculously resurrected and then ascended to
heaven are the facts known by most people who are reading this
review. However, the author challenges Christ's resurrection and
talks about how he spent his life preaching in the east after the
crucifixion.
Review
This
book mainly concentrates on the lost years of Jesus that the Church
is totally silent about and also about how Jesus survived his
crucifixion and his life after that at Persia and Kashmir. Hassnain
has his sources from Apocryphal, Buddhist, Islamic and Sanskrit
texts. He begins his narration by telling his readers on how some of
the places found in the Bible aren't found anywhere in Israel and
nearby areas but are found in Kashmir, such as (Kashmiri name -
Biblical name) – Asham – Ashema, Amairah - Amairah, Bethpore –
Bethpoer, etcetera. He also talks about the close links between the
Jews and the Kashmiris.
A
good thing about this work is that he had given immediate references
for all his claims which are very important in any non-fiction,
particularly on a controversial topic like this. There were also
illustrations, on the route which Jesus took to various places and
also several relevant pictures, which managed to rid the burden off
her / his burden of having to visualise the locations based on the
description.
Any
work which deals with a particular subject is difficult to read,
especially the start but the author has to be appreciated for
considering that, and starting with his personal experiences at
Ladakh and how his interest on the topic aroused before going deep
into the topic.
However,
I did find some of his claims to be absolutely wild without any
basis, such as his conversations with Hindu and Buddhist monks during
the lost years (although, I do agree that some were backed with
Tibetan scripts).
The
author ended the book in a very positive manner, saying, 'I
submit the results of my own work for the unbiased consideration of
all people interested in the life of Jesus and the roots of Christian
cultures, in the hope that this contribution be useful for future
researchers in uncovering the truth about this important matter.'.
Summary
I
don't follow any religion as such and my stand on any mythological /
religious figures is that even if they had existed, they were just
normal humans, whose deeds, over the course of time, considering the
human nature to exaggerate everything, has become miracles and
they've become legends. Probably in 4000 AD, today's philosopher's
may be worshipped and a religion may exist in their name.
I
just read this book out of idle curiosity and I did find it to be
informative maybe because my knowledge on this subject was next to
nothing and I might have been able to enjoy this book more if I had
known a little more on the subject but however I can assure anyone in
the position that was in a week ago that this isn't very difficult to
understand and is informative. I always knew that the Muslims had deep respect for Jesus after reading it in a Turkish pamphlet received at Hagia Sophia but Hassnain, being a Sufi himself cleared these two queries; 'why and to what extent'.I found some of the things written
book to rather strange which I enjoyed, such as 'in Mylapore near
Madras (currently known as Chennai)' and that was the situation
during Saint Thomas' time although this review that you're reading
was typed at Mylapore which today is considered to be the heart of
Chennai (Madras).
'Many
in the West might question my credentials, because I happen to live
in the East, and I am a Muslim. It is certainly not my intention to
undermine the faith of any Christian.'.
-Fida Hassnain - Introduction
He certainly kept up his work. I
don't find a point in rating non-fiction but as a matter of
principle, that is, to rate any book that I review, I'd give this
wonderful work an 8.
Have a nice day,
Andy