Indonesia has banned the film Noah ‘deeming it too controversial based on religious grounds.’
According to The Jakarta Post the Indonesian Film Censorship Institute (LSF) chairman, Mukhlis Paen, said that the institute’s members considered several elements in the film contradicted basic teachings in the Islamic holy book, the Koran.
“Almost all Muslim countries have decided to ban the film. We, too, found elements in the story that contradicted the holy book, so we have decided to prohibit the screening of the film,” Mukhlis said on Monday.
When pressed by The Jakarta Post to say which parts of the movie contradicted the Koran, Mukhlis merely said: “We are just following what other Middle Eastern countries have done.”
Mukhlis said the LSF was concerned that the film could cause problems if it was given the go-ahead. “We are worried that violent protests could occur,” he said.
With this decision, the LSF has also banned the distribution of Noah in all physical formats, such as DVDs and VCDs, as well as Internet downloads.
“People can go abroad to watch the film,” he said.
As for preventing pirated versions of the movie, Mukhlis said that was under the purview of the National Police.
Unconfirmed reports also claim that the LSF is ready to slap a ban on Son of God, another Hollywood retelling of the Bible.
However, Mukhlis said the LSF had yet to issue a decision on the film, which tells the story of the life of Jesus.
Censorship boards in Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have informed Paramount Pictures, which released Noah, that they will not be screening the film.
Paramount expects Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait to also ban the film.
In Egypt, leading Sunni Muslim institute Al-Azhar said it rejected the screening of any production that characterized Allah’s prophets, messengers or companions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In Egypt, the film has also come under fire from several church leaders for its dark portrayal of Noah, played by Russell Crowe.
Source: The Jakarta Post, published online Tuesday, March 25 2014, 9:08 AM
Categories: Just Plain Blog
Just Scribbling 
There is nothing like freedom of expression and letting people make up their own mind about things. Don’t you just hate it when Governments/religions make decisions for everyone else because the public can’t possibly be intelligent enough to understand and choose what to believe! What are they afraid of, that people will cease to allow to be treated like idiots and brainwashed all the time? It makes you wonder what their real reasons are for such censorship. It’s a bit like the Twitter ban in Turkey!
Thanks for stopping by Fatima. Yes indeed, I absolutely agree with you, it is a shame that Governments don’t trust their own people and think they are the only sensible ones around.
It’s good to hear from you, Sally! I’ve heard about the bans, but it was interesting to read how those decisions are made and what is behind them. Some Conservative Christian groups in the U.S. are also boycotting the movie stating it is biblically inaccurate. So there you go! I personally look forward to seeing it.
Gosh in the USA too ? I do respect people’s religious views of course but it is a movie, a fictional representation of an old story yes but a movie, made for profit nonetheless! The irony here is that I will probably be able to see a pirated copy anyway. Thanks for stopping by