British filmThe Lady of Heaven has been banned in Morocco after it was accused of “loathsome partiality” by the country’s religious council.
It comes after the movie, which is about Fatima, the daughter of the prophet Muhammad, was pulled from Cineworld cinemas across the UK following protests by Muslims who claimed the film is offensive.
The film was dubbed a “flagrant falsification of the established facts” of Islam by the Supreme Ulema Council. The Lady of Heaven has also been denounced in Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq.
According to Moroccan state media, the council has accused the filmmakers of seeking “fame and sensationalism” and “hurting the feelings of Muslims and stirring up religious sensitivities”.
The movie opens with the invasion of Iraq by Isis, and features a graphic jihadist murder. It then goes on to document the life of Fatima, daughter of the founder of Islam, during the seventh century.
Islamic tradition forbids the direct portrayal of religious figures, and the film’s director, Eli King, depicts Fatima as a faceless character, shrouded by a black veil.
Malik Shlibak, 30, the film’s executive producer, said activists had called him an “infidel” and told him “I’m going to kill you” on Twitter.
Mr Shlibak said on Wednesday: “I’ve had death threats sent to me; to be very frank with you, I’ve had death threats for the last five years.
“It’s nothing new, because I’m involved in this type of work where these radicals don’t want you to speak about anything they don’t agree with.
“I don’t worry about it – it’s just empty threats.
“But I have had threats on Twitter now, being called an ‘infidel’ and with people saying ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and all this sort of thing.”
He further claimed that the controversy surrounding The Lady of Heaven had been “brilliant” for the film and had brought in “huge audiences”.
