Suzanne Olsson

Suzanne Marie Olsson is a self-published American author. She wrote Jesus in Kashmir, The Lost Tomb researching the Ahmadiyya Muslim claim that the Roza Bal in Srinagar, Kashmir contains the remains of Jesus.[1][2] As of 2002 she was claiming, in support of her research at Roza Bal, to be a 59th generation descendant of Jesus,[1] but has since renounced that belief.

Olsson served ten years working in humanitarian aid with the American and International Red Cross in Ethiopia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Korea, Thailand, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. She now lives in the United States.[3]

Research

In 2005 she published her book Jesus in Kashmir, which includes her historical research and theories along with personal experiences of living through times of conflict in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

The book opens with her family's contribution from family bibles to the Demarest genealogy published by the Demarest Family Association in 1966, tracing the Des Marets–Baldwin lineage back to France and the Merovingian Grail Kings.[4][5]

In 1996, pseudohistorian[6] Laurence Gardner published his bloodline-desposyni theories in Bloodline of the Holy Grail. Olsson noticed that her family was mentioned in Gardner's Grail King charts, and she contacted him. Gardner mentioned her work and theories in his book, Genesis of the The Grail Kings,[7] but differed from her in his conclusions.

She planned to seek DNA from the supposed tombs of Biblical figures, intending to establish connections as others had done with Egyptian mummies. She gave priority to sites including Roza Bal that she feared could be destroyed by Islamist movements, like some in Iraq.[8] Other sites that she suggested for DNA study are the Cave of Machpelah, the tomb of King David, the tomb of Joseph the Patriarch in Shechem,[9] Rachel's tomb, and the grave of Bibi Injeel (Urdu for "The Lady from the Bible") located on the Old Silk Road in Kashgar, China.

Olsson became aware of a family in Kashmir claiming to be desposyni, the lineage of Jesus, and went to Kashmir to investigate. She states that she gained permission to obtain DNA from several sites while living in Kashmir, India and in Murree, Pakistan, but did not complete this research. She argued that the local tourism industry would reap benefits if DNA analysis backed the connections to Jesus,[10] and used her personal claims of ancestry to demand access to the graves under Islamic law.[11]

A local legend stats that a grave at Pindi Point in Murree is that of Jesus' mother Mary, and some local historians claim that the town was named after her.[12] The leading Pakistani archaeologist Ahmad Hasan Dani supervised exploration of this shrine.[13] AFP reported that Olsson made excavations at Murree under Dani's supervision, and that she suggested testing DNA from there and from Roza Bal, along with carbon-dating, to establish a connection between the sites.[14]

At the time when Olsson was in India, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of Kashmir owned the waqf (trust) that controlled the Roza Bal tomb in Srinagar.[15] Olsson says he gave his approval for her DNA research there, which was to be led by several respected Kashmir University professors of history. However, local sensitivities were aroused after a caretaker at Roza Bal alleged that Olsson attempted to desecrate the tomb by exhuming its contents.[1] Olsson's book states that the trouble had begun with a dispute over money, after which the caretaker circulated false stories about the project.[16] The result was that shrine managers filed a police complaint accusing Olsson of “causing hurt to Muslim beliefs”,[17] and sought the cancellation of her visa,[18] compelling her to abandon the project.

Publicity

Olsson has appeared in several documentaries, stating her views on the tomb of Jesus and his unknown years in India. She appeared with the Dalai Lama, Elaine Pagels, Corrado Balducci, the Chankacharya (a Hindu religious leader), and others in several documentaries discussing the film Jesus in India[19] and relationships between India and Biblical figures. She was a guest speaker in Washington DC at the 2009 Kashmir Peace Conference,[20] in which she offered ideas to members of Congress to restore peace in the region.

Reactions

The Roza Bal tomb is generally associated with a local Sufi saint. The first suggestion that it could be the grave of Jesus was made in 1890 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement.[21] Modern mainstream Christian scholarship has generally rejected theories of Jesus in India; Mathias Mundadan, general editor of History of Christianity in India, described them as "a work of fiction."[21]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Arshad, Sameer (8 May 2010). "Tomb Raider: Jesus buried in Srinagar?". Times of India.
  2. ↑ Bindra, Prerna Singh "Heaven on earth". India Today, 1 April 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ Suzanne Olsson, author's website
  4. ↑ "Borough History". Borough of Demarest, NJ. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  5. ↑ Voorhis D. Demarest (1964). The Demarest family. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  6. ↑ The man who would be king, Guardian, 24 March 1999
  7. ↑ Genesis of the The Grail Kings
  8. ↑ Ford, Dana; Tawfeeq, Mohammed (24 July 2014). "Extremists destroy Jonah's tomb, officials say". CNN. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  9. ↑ "Tomb of Joseph the Patriarch". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  10. ↑ "Marian Shrine in Murree (Pakistan)". The Marian Library. June 2001. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  11. ↑ "Letter from the author of 'Saving the Savior'. Ben Salahuddin, about Suzanne Olsson". Newagegod.com. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  12. ↑ Ali Jan (June 2001). "Marian Shrine in Murree". The Marian Library. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  13. ↑ Lawrence Joffe (31 March 2009). "Obituary: Ahmad Hasan Dani". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  14. ↑ AFP, "Researcher hopes to find Christ's remains". New Straits Times, 11 March 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ "History". J&K Wakf Board for Muslim Specified Wakfs & Specified Wakf Properties. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  16. ↑ Olsson, Jesus in Kashmir, The Lost Tomb, p. 337–8.
  17. ↑ "Kashmir shrine bars tourists over Jesus burial row". Pakistan: Dawn. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Shahnawaz Khan (28 May 2010). "Jesus: Dead or Alive?". South Asia Wired. Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Experts Appearing in the Film". Jesus in India - The Movie. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  20. ↑ "2009 Kashmir Peace Conference". 28 (7). The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. September 2009.
  21. 1 2 "Church historians reject American's claim on Christ's Kashmir link". Union of Catholic Asian News. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 28 July 2014.

External links

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