Actors Russell Crowe (left) and Hugh Jackman arrive for the UK premiere of ‘Noah’ in Leicester Square in London on Monday. Malaysia’s hom...
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| Actors Russell Crowe (left) and Hugh Jackman arrive for the UK premiere of ‘Noah’ in Leicester Square in London on Monday. Malaysia’s home ministry has banned the movie as it was deemed insensitive to Muslims, the Sundaily reports. – Reuters pic, April 4, 2014 |
LATEST UPDATE: APRIL 04, 2014 04:29 PM
The Home Ministry has banned a Hollywood blockbuster movie based on the life of a prophet revered by Muslims as it was deemed insensitive to the community.
Film Censorship Board chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid told theSundaily today the decision to ban the movie “Noah” was taken by the board as a “precaution”, as Islamic teachings do not allow the images of the prophets to be shown.
"The movie is banned because for us Muslims, we believe in Prophet Noah (Nabi Nuh) and according to Islamic teachings, it is prohibited
to act out any characters of a prophet," he was quoted as saying.
"Any depiction of any prophet is prohibited in Islam."Noah is a prophet that is revered not only by Muslims, but by Christians as well.The board, he said, had felt the movie was not appropriate for screening in Malaysia after considering Islamic facts and history.
The Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) officials had also viewed the movie along with the board and have concluded that the film does not comply with existing guidelines, the report said.
Before Malaysia, Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Indonesia, Middle East and North Africa also banned the Darren Aronofsky movie for the same reason.
Cairo’s Al-Azhar University also issued a fatwa against the film, citing the prohibition on depicting prophets, and urged Muslims not to watch “Noah”.
A statement from Al-Azhar’s Highest Scholars Committee said: “Such productions contradict the higher stature of prophets and messengers, and affect the constants of Islamic law. They also provoke believers’ emotions.”
The US$130 million (RM 427 million) biblical -inspired fantasy movie stars Russell Crowe as Noah along with Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson and is loosely based on the story of Noah's Ark.
Crowe has been quoted as saying by The Telegraph that Noah is not a “Sunday school story” and will challenge viewers’ understanding of the Bible. The Australian star said his movie would provoke discussions regardless of faith.
“To be frank, given that it is a tenet of the Muslim religion that you can’t make stories or render images about the Prophet, it was not unexpected that some Islamic nations would ban the film.” – April 4, 2014
Source :The Malaysian-Insider
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