Lionsgate Films announced the controversial New York Times bestselling book entitled Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, will be made into a movie by the production/distribution company.

"Reza Aslan has written a remarkable book that manages to bring the ancient world into contemporary relief and to make a timeless story very timely," said Lionsgate President of Production Erik Feig in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "We are excited to create this uniquely cinematic and immersive world for moviegoers to experience."

The book was written by Reza Aslan in July 2013, a Muslim man who briefly converted to Christianity at the age of 15, before reverting back to Islam years later.

"[Liongate's] vision for Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is aligned with my objective in writing the book, which was to illuminate the life of Jesus in a humanistic, as opposed to religious, context," said Aslan.

Last year, Fox News' Lauren Green questioned the 42-year-old Iranian writer's motives for writing a book based on Jesus Christ when the two had a live discussion on the conservative network.

"You're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?" said Green to Aslan on the Fox News network in 2013.

The No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam author issued the following response to the Fox News anchor in defense of his credentials regarding the issue of religion:

"To be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades, who also just happens to be a Muslim," said Aslan.

The script for the Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth movie will be penned by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon writer James Schamus.