INTERVIEW: Nat Geo’s ‘Story of God’ asks deep religious questions
Photo: Our seeker, Nelufar Hadayat, visits the Hagia Sophia with Byzantine antiquities scholar Alessandra Ricci to learn about the commandment against creating images of God. Photo courtesy of National Geographic/Bronwen Evans / Provided by High 10 Media with permission.
National Geographic’s successful series on faith and religion, The Story of God With Morgan Freeman, looks at the historical and societal manifestations of conviction and belief. Each episodes dives deep into a culture or religion, and Freeman employs the help of investigators and scholars to fill in the many blanks of the divine.
One of his team members is journalist Nelufar Hedayat, the TV host behind the series The Traffickers on Fusion TV. The award-winning reporter has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 News and The Guardian.
The Story of God wraps up its most recent season Tuesday, April 9 at 9 p.m. It has been an eventful set of episodes this year. Freeman and his team have talked to a Vatican exorcist; a 5-year-old living goddess in Nepal; faithful who had visions at Lourdes, France; and even the late Sen. John McCain’s jailer in Vietnam.
Hedayat has had a front-row seat to many of these adventures, and in between projects she exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the show. She specifically answered questions about episodes focused on Kabbalah and the Hagia Sophia in Turkey.
What were some of the big lessons you learned about Kabbalah?
Before going into filming the Kabbalah piece for The Story of God With Morgan Freeman, all I [knew] about Kabbalah came from Hollywood celebrities hitting the headlines, and I have to say I was a little nervous. This episode is all [about] hidden secrets within religion and religious texts.
We arrived at the Carpentras Synagogue, and I was blown away. I’d visited synagogues in the past, but they are usually quite plain spaces. But this synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe, was decadent and colorful with candelabras and wonderful paintings everywhere.
Spending time with Rabbi Julien Darmon in this enchanting religious space I learned an extremely valuable lesson. Rabbi Julian told me that Kabbalah practitioners and followers believe that all of the secrets of the universe are hidden within the text of the Torah, the literal word of God, and that studying it for long enough you can parse some of those internal secrets of the universe. This really opened my eyes to the idea that all religious texts require patience and openness to really understand the meaning in them.
How interesting is it to experience the Hagia Sophia and all its history?
Working with National Geographic in the Hagia Sophia was such a pleasure as we got to experience this glorious space in a way that most people never get the chance to. For a few hours after sunset the sight was shut down to all the thousands of visitors that visit every day, and it was just us inside the Hagia Sophia.
Archeologist Dr Alessandra Ricci, who has studied the history and iconoclasts of the building for the last 19 years, told me she had rarely had the privilege of spending time in the space. It was mesmerizing to be in such a historic space. To feel the silence and experience the Hagia Sophia the way that Christian priests and Muslim Khalifs would have was an honour and a privilege.
How did you become associated with Nat Geo’s The Story of God?
I was asked to do the show by National Geographic because of my previous work on The Traffickers available on Netflix and Food Exposed With Nelufar Hedayat available online.
Do you think it’s important to ask these profound questions about faith and religion?
I think it’s instinct for almost all humans throughout our history to ask the question about why we are here, and faith and religion for many are integral to answering that. I believe it’s one [of] the fundamental things that make us who we are, and The Story of God without any preconceptions and judgment tries to show our audience all the wonderful ways the world’s religion tries to answer that.
Does history and its many narratives excite you?
Yes! That would be the quickest way to answer that. But seriously I have such respect and appreciation for understanding and learning about the many stories that humans chose to believe in.
I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, a very Muslim country and have even done the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the most holy sites in Islam, but I have grown up and live in London, UK, a secular and extremely modern country. So I have a glimpse into so many ways humans live and practice faith and morality. It feels to me to be a quest that I’ve been asking and seeking all my life.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Story of God With Morgan Freeman airs new episodes Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on National Geographic. Click here for more information.
