Tehran says a religious text containing verses attributed to Jesus Christ, proves Islam is the righteous religion and will cause the downfall of Christianity. The Christian world denies the existence of such a gospel and calls it a fake.
The book thought by some to date from the fifth or sixth century was confiscated in Turkey in 2000. It was seized during a crackdown on a gang charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations and the possession of explosives, the Daily Mail reports.
Turkish authorities believe it could be an authentic version of the Gospel by Jesus’s disciple Barnabas, known for his travels with the apostle Paul.
It took Turkey 12 years to present the find to the world.
Iran has called the text written on animal hide in golden letters a Barnabas Gospel. Tehran insists the text proves Jesus was never crucified, was not the Son of God and in fact predicted the coming of the Prophet Mohammed and the religion of Islam, Iran’s Basij Press says.
