To all Emma Watson and Russell Crowe fans, we’ve got bad news for you.
Noah, a film about the prophet revered by both Christians and Muslims, has been banned in Malaysia as Islamic teachings do not allow for visual depiction of a prophet.
Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid, the chairman of the Film Censorship Board said the decision is a precaution as the film may be considered as insensitive to Muslims.
“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.
“Any depiction of any prophet is prohibited in Islam,” he told The Sun.
Abdul Halim said that upon considering Islamic facts and history, the board felt the movie is not suitable for screening in Malaysia.
He continued to say that the board viewed the film with Islamic Development Department (Jakim) officials and concluded that the film does not comply with existing guidelines.
The film, said to be loosely based on the biblical story of Noah and the great flood, is directed by Darren Aronofsky and stars Russell Crowe and Emma Watson.
Several Islamic countries, including Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia had reportedly banned the film last month.
It was reported internationally that the director of media content at the National Media Centre in the United Arab Emirates said, “There are scenes that contradict Islam and the Bible, so we decided not to show it.”
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