Mel Gibson's box office smash "The Passion of The Christ" had its Malaysian premiere on Wednesday before a Christians-only audience even as pirated DVD copies flooded the market.
About 150 pastors and church officials watched the film in a cinema ahead of general screening in mainly Muslim Malaysia from September, but even then only Christians will be able to see it.
"I believe it is not just for Christians. I think everybody should watch it to help toward understanding in this nation," pastor Phua Seng Tiong told Reuters before the show.
Gibson, Hollywood star-cum-producer and devout Catholic, did not even bother to ask Malaysia, home to 25 million people, for approval to screen his film in local cinemas. He and his distributors assumed official censors would ban it.
So they did at first, only to relent after an appeal to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by local churches keen to see the graphic movie about Christ's crucifixion.
"It is a historical truth and I believe everyone should be exposed to the truth," said Susan Koh, representing the Full Gospel Assembly Church.
She was among those who queued to attend the premiere, exchanging invitation letters for an entry ticket.
The cinema foyer was hung with posters of Hollywood box-office hits. "The Passion" did not figure among them, but pirated DVD copies of Gibson's movie are on sale in the capital for 15 ringgit ($4) and retailers say demand has been brisk.
Just over half of Malaysia's population follows Islam, which forbids flesh-and-blood portrayal of holy figures and says Jesus, a prophet in the Muslim faith, was neither crucified nor the Son of God. Christians make up about 9 percent of the population. Ironically, Malaysia banned Martin Scorsese's 1988 release "The Last Temptation of Christ" after appeals by church leaders.
Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a Muslim, told Reuters the film should be made available to all.
"This is the tyranny of the minority. The very few who take the monopoly of making decisions, imposing on others. I am willing to argue that the majority don't really care," he said.
Malaysia, a former British colony which saw ugly race riots in its early years of independence, is a melting pot of religions and ethnic groups. Its ruling alliance represents Malay, Chinese, Indian and other communities, and a key aim of government policy is racial stability.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, which lobbied for the film's screening, said it would go on release on September 1 for a two-month period in 17 cinemas nationwide.
Christians can make bookings through their churches.