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 Islam frowns upon representing holy figures in art and
depictions of the Prophet Mohammad in European and North
American media have repeatedly sparked deadly protests in
Islamic countries over the last decade, fanning cultural
tensions with the West.
"Censors for Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE (United Arab Emirates)
officially confirmed this week that the film will not release in
their countries," a representative of Paramount Pictures, which
produced the $125 million film starring Oscar-winners Russell
Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, told Reuters.
"The official statement they offered in confirming this news is
because 'it contradicts the teachings of Islam'," the
representative said, adding the studio expected a similar ban in
Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.
The film will premiere in the United States on March 28.
Noah, who in the Bible's Book of Genesis built the ark that
saved his family and many pairs of animals from a great flood,
is revered by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. An entire chapter
in the Koran is devoted to him.
Cairo's Al-Azhar, the highest authority of Sunni Islam and a
main center of Islamic teaching for over a millennium, issued a
fatwa, or religious injunction, against the film on Thursday.
"Al-Azhar ... renews its objection to any act depicting the
messengers and prophets of God and the companions of the Prophet
(Mohammad), peace be upon him," it announced in a statement.
They "provoke the feelings of believers ... and are forbidden in
Islam and a clear violation of Islamic law," the fatwa added.
Mel Gibson's 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ" on Jesus's
crucifixion was widely screened in the Arab World, despite a
flurry of objections by Muslim clerics.
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A 2012 Arab miniseries "Omar" on the exploits of a seventh century
Muslim ruler and companion of the Prophet Mohammad also managed to
defy clerics' objections and air on a Gulf-based satellite
television channel.
PROTESTS
The publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish
newspaper in 2006 touched off riots in the Middle East, Africa and
Asia in which at least 50 people died.
A 2012 amateur YouTube video deriding Mohammad produced in
California stoked protests throughout the region, and may have
contributed to a deadly militant raid in Libya which killed the U.S.
ambassador and three other American staff.
"Noah," whose official video trailer depicts a burly Crowe wielding
an axe and computer-animated geysers swamping an army of sinners
hoping to board his ark, has also stoked religious controversy at
home.
Jerry A. Johnson, president of a conservative National Religious
Broadcasters (NRB) group, said last month he wanted to "make sure
everyone who sees this impactful film knows this is an imaginative
interpretation of Scripture, and not literal."
Paramount responded by agreeing to issue a disclaimer on advertising
for the film.
"While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is
true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a
cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide," the advisory
reads.
(Edited by Tom Heneghan)
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