EDITORIAL

"A story that opens like Aladdin's case and ends like a Greek myth of Nemesi
cannot fail to capture the imagination of all men and women..."

- Lady Burghclare (daughter of Lord Carnarvon)

A Special Letter to Prof. Zahi Hawass

IS TUT-ANKH-AMUN THE BIBLICAL JESUS?!

 

Dear Prof. Zahi Hawass,

On behalf of The Ambassadors Research Foundation and staff of The Ambassadors Online Magazine, it is my pleasure to send you this letter, asking for your help in solving one of the new puzzles surrounding the identity of His Majesty King Tutankhamun.

 

The Mysteries of King Tut

Since the discovery of King Tut's tomb in the Valley of Kings (VK#62) by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1922, and the autopsy of his mummy by Prof. Douglas Derry and Dr. Saleh Bey Hamdi in 1925 (see photo right), thousands of books and articles were published about the golden monarch, who became the Egyptian pharaoh when he was only nine years old. Stimulating stories about the dazzling treasure found in the tomb, documented one of the greatest ancient civilizations. Many of the subsequent publications tried to solve more than 50 unsolved mysteries and puzzles surrounding the life of King Tut..

In 1998, Prof. Bob Brier, PhD, the American paleopathologist published his book, "The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story," supporting the murder theory. He raised an interesting scenario, that the first military revolution in the world, happened more than 3000 years ago in the Nile Valley, when the pharaoh was hit below the back of his head while sleeping, for the benefit of his successor, General Horemoheb. In the Selected Studies section of this issue (Jan.2008), there is a study about the computer tomography of King Tut's mummy, arranged by the distinguished Egyptologist Prof. Zahi Hawass and Prof. Mervat Shafik, head of the radiology department at Cairo University. The report rejects Bob Brier's theory with regards to a head injury, since no fractures of the skull were found. In criminal justice, we have to be very critical in our research, before supporting the assassination-murder hypothesis depending on speculations only. The possibilities for King Tut's early death must consider: natural death, accidental death and homicide. Recently, Prof. Zahi Hawass, has invited Egyptian molecular geneticists to study the genealogy of King Tut and other royal mummies, his parental lineage and seeking precise evidence by DNA, not by hearsay!

Recently, despite attempts to solve King Tut's mysteries, new puzzles seem to arise. Some of these question the identity of King Tut and attribute him to various historical figures including Jesus!

Is King Tut the Biblical Jesus?

In 1997, a controversial book, encircled the 11th king of the 18th Dynasty, was written by Mustafa Gadalla, founder of Tehuti Research Foundation, entitled "Tutankhamen: The Living Image of God". In the preface, he said, "it is the intention of this book to identify the historical Christ, not to contend the religious interpretation of his life and teachings." The book raised important topics:

  • Jesus (Christ, Messiah, Essa) lived 1400 years earlier than his prescribed time!

  • King Tut is the biblical Jesus!

  • King Akhnaton is the biblical Moses!

  • The biblical Jesus and Moses were of the same era!

  • King Tuthmosis III is the biblical David!

  • King Amenhotep III is the biblical Soloman!

 

Eng. Gadalla, on page 13 of his book, mentioned that, "based on all available information from the Ancient Egyptian historical records, the Bible, Telmud, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, we shall prove that:

In page 83 of Gadalla's book, a list of the earliest kings of the late-18th Dynasty, showed the link between historical and Biblical figures (see table).

 

 

In the website of the Tehuti Research Foundation, publisher of Eng. Gadalla's book, it notes that the book, "reveals the world's greatest conspiracy and cover-up, which re-created the character of Jesus, living in another time (Roman era) and another place (Palestine, Israel)." However, despite this, it is impossible to consider Gadalla's book as either fictional account nor a historical study, as it is week on factuality and creative style.

In 1998, another book written by the London-based journalist and lawyer Ahmed Osman published a book with HarperCollins entitled, "Jesus in the House of the Pharaohs", arguing that both Jesus and Joshua were one and the same--a belief echoed by the early Church Fathers--and that this person was, likewise, the pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled Egypt between 1361 and 1352 B.C.E. and was regarded as the spiritual son of God. He argues that Jesus was also known as Tutankhamun, the pharaoh ruler of Egypt between 1361 and 1352 B.C. The book details the long history of the mythology of the Christ story, and shows how this story has been told again and again throughout “biblical” history with different names attached, told long before even “biblical history,” as in the story of Isis/Osiris and other pre-Christian creation and hero stories.

Believe It or Not!

Many authors published controversial data about poor King Tut, who was born more than three millennium ago in Egypt (1361-1352 B.C.) and died at a young age. They wrote about his health, cause of death, about Tut's curse, "Tut's syndrome", and now about  his identity as the Biblical Jesus, who was on the other hand, born in Palestine only 2,007 years ago!!

If the claims that King Tut is Jesus and King Akhenaton is Moses are to be accepted, it means that Moses was the father of Jesus. Not only that, but it would also mean that Queen Nefertiti, wife of King Ahenaton, would be the mother of Jesus! It is well-known that the Virgin Mary was mentioned in both the Bible and the Quran as the holy mother of Jesus. Furthermore, Muslims worldwide consider the historical Jesus of Nazareth (prophet Essa) a revered messenger of God. In the 21st century, it is increasingly questionable to build certain genealogical pedigrees to the Royal Egyptian families ( of more than 3,000 years ago) or any other historical figures, without molecular DNA studies.

While these questions appear easily refutable, we invite one hundred historians , archaeologists, theologians, forensic anthropologists, genealogists, molecular geneticists, and Egyptologists, to send their responses to Gadalla's hypotheses and claims of Jesus' historical nature. A special invitation is extended to the distinguished Egyptologist and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Prof. Zahi Hawass and the following list of religious leaders and academic scholars of different specialities, nationalities, creeds, and gender to send their opinions on this issue and help answer these difficult questions:
 

Is Tut-Ankh-Amen the Biblical Jesus or not?!
 

                 

 

  1. Pope Benedict XVI

  2. Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams
  3. Sheik Al-Azhar, Dr. Muhammad Sayed Tantawi
  4. Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III
  5. Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
  6. H.E. Mohammed Hasanein Heikal, political analyst and journalist
  7. Mr. Anis Mansour, philosopher and journalist
  8. Mr. Makram Mohammed Ahmed, President of the Egyptian Journalist Syndicate
  9. H.E. Dr. Sarwat Okasha, Former Egyptian Minister of Culture
  10. Prof. Magi Abdul-Masih, theologist at St. Mary's University, Canada
  11. H.E. Prof. Kamal Aboulmagd, Islamic scholar
  12. Mr. Fahmi Huwaidi, Islamic scholar and journalist
  13. Prof. Hassan Hathout, Islamic scholar
  14. Prof. Ibrhaim El-Sayad, dermatologist and Islamic scholar
  15. Mr. Amr Khaled, Islamic preacher
  16. Prof. Bob Brier, American paleopathologist
  17. Prof. Donald B. Redford, Pennsylvania State University
  18. Prof. Mary L. Powell, chief editor of Paleopathology newsletter
  19. Dr. Abdelmoneim M. Ali, former WHO Director
  20. Prof. Fawzia Hussien, forensic paleo-anthropologist
  21. Prof. Zagloul Mahran, paleoanthropologist and former dean of Ain Shams Medical College
  22. Prof. Refaat Kamel, chairman of Global Academy of Tropical Health
  23. Dr. Raymond A. Dieter Jr., former President of the International College of Surgery
  24. Prof. Jose Miguel Alvear (Ecuador)
  25. Amb. Michael Shenstone, former Canadian diplomat
  26. Amb. Geoffrey Little, Australia
  27. Prof. Hamdi El-Sayed, President of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate
  28. H.E. Prof. Mahmoud Mahfouz, former Egyptian Minister of Health
  29. H.E. Prof. Ibrahim Badran, former Egyptian Minister of Health
  30. H.E. Prof. Mamdouh Gabr, former Egyptian Minister of Health
  31. H.E. Prof. Ismail Sallam, former Egyptian Minister of Health
  32. H.E. Dr. Abdel Rahman A. Al-Awadi, Kuwait
  33. Prof. Karl Sperling, German molecular scientist
  34. Prof. Carl Abbott, Canadian physician and historian
  35. Prof. Jonathan Wright, historian
  36. Prof. Wanda Greer, international molecular geneticist
  37. H.E. Prof. Hussein K. Bahaa Eldin, former Egyptian Minister of Education
  38. Prof. Hussein Amin, American University in Cairo
  39. Prof. Mokhtar Gomaa, former dean of Al-Azhar Medical College
  40. Prof. Sandy Raeburn, Nottingham University (UK)
  41. Prof. Vazken Der Kaloustian, McGill University (Canada)
  42. Prof. Abdelmoneim Abdel Aal, dermatologist and andrology (Egypt)
  43. Prof. Nazih Shenouda, diagnostic radiologist, University of Ottawa
  44. Prof. Youssef Mekhail, anatomist, Ain Shams University
  45. Prof. Alfred Cuschieri, anatomist, Malta University
  46. Prof. Fawzy Gaballah, anatomist, Cairo University
  47. Prof. Wagida Anwar, community medicine
  48. Mr. Galal El-Khouly, former Attorney General, USA
  49. Mr. Ardi Imseis, lawyer, Canada
  50. Prof. Ratiba Ghaly, Dentist and anthropologist
  51. Eng. Naguib Sawiris, CEO Orascom
  52. Prof. Milad Hanna, Engineer and writer
  53. Dr. Sarwat Baseely, Chairman of Coptic Milli Council
  54. Judge Malak Mina, Member of the Coptic Milli Council
  55. Eng. Samir Hanna, Member of the Coptic Milli Council
  56. Prof, Alan EH Emery, University of Edinburgh
  57. Prof. Victor A. McKusick, the father of medical genetics
  58. Prof. John Opitz, University of Utah
  59. Prof. Samia Temtamy, syndromologist
  60. Prof. Yehia El-Gamal, Ain Shams University
  61. Prof. Michael Cohen Jr., syndromologist and anthropologist
  62. Dr. Rosinald Skinner, Edinburgh
  63. Prof. Ikram Abdelsalam, Cairo University
  64. Prof. Suzanne R. Ismail, Alexandria University
  65. Prof. Rabah Shawky, Ain Shams University
  66. Prof. Charles Epstein, University of California- San Francisco
  67. Mr. Khairy Shalaby, novelist
  68. Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, novelist
  69. Dr. Sherif Hetata, novelist
  70. Prof. Mahmoud El-Booz, Orthopaedics and Islamic scholar
  71. Prof. Yehia El-Rakhawy, Psychiatrist
  72. Dr. Nasr Louza, Director, Behman Psychiatric Hospital
  73. Prof. Judith Hall, University of British Columbia
  74. Prof. Jamal Badawi, Islamic scholar, Canada
  75. Prof. Paul Sedra, Historian and Religious Scholar, Canada
  76. Mr. Anthony Shenouda, Anthropologist, Harvard University 
  77. Prof. Madiha Khattab, former Dean of Medicine, Cairo University
  78. Prof. Ravi Ravindra, Dalhousie University
  79. Dr. Ismail Zayid, president of the Canada Palestine Association
  80. Prof. Neil Schimke, Kansas University
  81. Prof. Laird Jackson, Thomas Jefferson University
  82. Dr. Ashraf Sedra, University of Southern California
  83. Eng. Hossam Abdelaziz, Islamic researcher
  84. Dr. Fady Faltas, Coptic Orthodox researcher
  85. Mrs. Sanaa El-Beissy, writer
  86. Mr. Ahmed Abdelmoety Higazi, journalist
  87. Mr. Youssef El-Sherif, journalist
  88. Mr. Mofeed Fawzy, journalist
  89. Mr. Mounir Amer, journalist
  90. Mr. Maged Attiya, journalist
  91. Mr. Waleed Toughan, journalist
  92. Ms. Rehab El-Bakry, journalist
  93. Dr. Mohammed Abdelkhalek, physician and writer
  94. Prof. Jean Chamberlain Froese, McMaster University
  95. Prof. Mahmoud Lotfi (Iran)
  96. Prof. Mohsen El-Hazmi (Saudi Arabia)
  97. Dr. Safaa Elgamal, University of Waterloo
  98. Dr. Soheir El-Badramany, Egyptian physician
  99. Dr. Mary Ghaly, American physician
  100. Dr. Gehan Ghally, Canadian physician

The distinguished novelists Agatha Christie and Naguib Mahfouz both wrote beautiful fictional accounts based on the story of Akhenaten, the first monotheist and sun-God, which differs completely from Gadalla's supposed "non-fictional" book about Tutankamun, which claims that Jesus (Prophet Essa) and Virgin Mary are fictional characters!!

We await the response of Prof. Zahi Hawass and the above-listed distinguished experts on this important matter which will be presented in the next Editorial. (Volume 11, Issue 24 - July 2008). 

Prof. Talaat I. Farag
MD, FRCP(E), FACP, FACMG
Former adjunct professor, Dalhousie University, Canada.
Founder and director, The Ambassadors Research Foundation
Email: tfarag@dal.ca.

 

Is Tutankhamen the Biblical Jesus (Prophet Essa)?!

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