Famous Director Son to Shiite?

Not All Converts Become Mainstream Muslims
Oliver Stone's Son A Became Shiite

FAMOUS SON OF MOVIE DIRECTOR - Sean Stone, the son of the famous Oscar-winning moive director, Oliver Stone has decided to become a 'Shiite Moslem', say sources in the cit of Isfahan, Iran, where they are shooting a movie, says Agence France Presse.

Stone did his shahadah ceremony in a somewhat similar way ordinary Muslims do, but with the addition of swearing his belief in Ali.

He claims, "Converting to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with. It only means I now accept Mohamed and other prophets".

Sean Stone's famous father is Jewish, but his mother is Christian, according to what AFP told us. He underwent the ceremony in the city of Isfahan.

The 27-year-old did not say why he converted to be Shiite instead of main stream Muslim. However, Iran's Fars news agency said he became a Shiite and took the name Ali.

While at the Toronto Film Festival in September, he declared his support for Iran's right to a nuclear program as a defense against threats from Israel.

Stone says criticizing the Iranian government is "like someone coming to your house and saying the father shouldn't hit the kids," he said. "Who are we to tell them how to rule their country?"

"Iran is ruled by law," said Stone. "Some people don't like Ahmadinejad, but that doesn't warrant a war or an uprising."

Stone, who studied history at Princeton, launched a co-production company to make movies based on Iranian history and culture. He said in September that he wants to make films in Iran, "because they're the biggest filmmakers in the Middle East, I'm very international-minded."

Oliver Stone, Sean's father, also holds the political positions often seen as outside the American mainstream, by defending Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

Besides directing, Stone has acted in several films, including his father's. His small roles in Oliver Stone films included a fraternity pledge in "W" and the young Jim Morrison in "The Doors."

Shiitism is very popular in Iran and Iraq, while there are a large number of Shiites in Bahrain and Kuwait as well. While many concepts and beliefs are similar between most Shiites and mainstream or Sunni Muslims, several areas are quite different and unique.

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