While on a trip to Iran, the son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone converted to Islam, according to the Fars news agency.
Sean Stone went to the office in Isfahan of Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Nasseri Dowlatabadi and recited the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith. Shortly thereafter he changed his name to Ali.
In an interview with the AFP, the younger Stone referenced his background of having been born to a Jewish father and a Christian mother.
“The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with,” Stone said. “It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets.”
The Oscar-winning director’s 27-year-old son is a filmmaker in his own right. While in the process of making a documentary himself, he first traveled to Iran in September 2011.
Following his return to the U.S., Stone defended Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with The Wrap.
“He did come to America to extend a hand. And there’s a lot of mistranslation, literally, I’ve seen it. Ahmadinejad will say something and it will be mistranslated,” Stone said. “A lot of this is bull****, mistranslation. It’s an aggressive attitude on both parts, mostly on the American side.”
Stone went back to Iran in early February 2012 to attend the Fajr International Film Festival. According to Al Arabiya News, Stone called Iran one of Asia’s major filmmaking centers and indicated that he “would like to introduce Persian culture and civilization to the West.”
One Iranian filmmaker, who has been banned by Iran for his views, reacted to Stone’s remarks in a quote given to Al Arabiya News.
“This is insulting,” said Mazdak Taebi, “So many people have died. People there are shaking. They’re scared. It’s a police system.”
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court and has made several appearances there on landmark decisions. Visit Newsmax.TV Hollywood.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.