Morocco has banned the screening of the British film La dame du paradis (“The Lady of Heaven”) considered “blasphemous” in several Muslim countries, according to an official press release published on Saturday evening. “The Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM) has decided not to grant authorization to the film The Lady of Heaven (The Lady of Heaven) by its director Eli King and its author Yasser al-Habib and to prohibit its commercial or cultural screening on national territory,” the statement said. This feature film tells the story of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima Zahra, wife of Ali, the first Shiite imam. The CCM is responsible for granting exploitation visas for films, shot in Morocco or abroad, for theatrical distribution, “in compliance with the legislation” and provided that they are “not contrary to constants and the sacraments of the kingdom”. His decision comes after the Superior Council of Ulemas – the official body responsible for issuing fatwas (religious opinions) – on Saturday “strongly condemned” the content of the film. In a press release, the Council of Ulemas, which is chaired by King Mohammed VI, denounces “the flagrant falsification of established facts in the history of Islam”. Describing Muhammad’s succession struggle after his death, it has been deemed “blasphemous” in Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq, among others.
Morocco has banned the screening of the British film La dame du paradis (“The Lady of Heaven”) considered “blasphemous” in several Muslim countries, according to an official press release published on Saturday evening. “The Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM) has decided not to grant an authorization to the film The Lady of Paradise (The Lady of Heaven) by its director…