<\/p>\n
Cineworld has cancelled all\u00a0UK\u00a0screenings of a film about the daughter of the\u00a0Prophet Muhammad, after it prompted protests outside some cinemas.<\/p>\n
The cinema chain said it made the decision \u201cto ensure the safety of our staff and customers\u201d.<\/p>\n
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition for The Lady of Heaven film to be pulled from UK cinemas.<\/p>\n
The Bolton Council of Mosques called the film \u201cblasphemous\u201d and sectarian.<\/p>\n
But House of Lords peer Baroness Claire Fox called the decision \u201cdisastrous for the arts [and] dangerous for free speech\u201d, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he was \u201cvery concerned about the growing cancel culture\u201d in the UK.<\/p>\n
In an email to Cineworld,\u00a0reported by the Bolton News, the chairman of the Bolton Council of Mosques, Asif Patel, said the film was \u201cunderpinned with a sectarian ideology\u201d and \u201cmisrepresents orthodox historical narratives and disrespects the most esteemed individuals of Islamic history\u201d.<\/p>\n
It came after more than 100 people protested against the film outside the cinema earlier this week, the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n
The Muslim news site 5Pillars also shared a picture on Twitter of what it said showed 200 Muslims protesting against the film outside a Birmingham branch of Cineworld on Sunday. The film\u2019s executive producer, Malik Shlibak, said he welcomed people expressing their views but said cinemas should \u201cstand up and defend their right to show films that people want to see\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think cinemas are crumbling to the pressure, and taking these decisions to quell the noise,\u201d\u00a0he told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
Speaking to TalkTV on Wednesday, Mr Javid said: \u201cI am very concerned about the growing cancel culture in this country. There\u2019s people out there who think they have a right not to be offended and of course, no-one has that right.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might not like what someone\u2019s got to say, but they have a right to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that there are no blasphemy laws in the UK and warned that would be \u201can incredibly dangerous road to go down\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have in this country is freedom of speech and expression and that is a fundamental value,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Criticising calls to cancel the film, Baroness Fox said in a tweet:\u201dSame \u2018I Find that Offensive\u2019 cancel culture arguments now being used far beyond campus activism. Disastrous for the arts, dangerous for free speech, a lesson to those who argue identity politics are no threat to democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The film, which was released in UK cinemas on 3 June, claims to tell the story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad.<\/p>\n
It has been criticised by some groups for depicting the Prophet Muhammad, which is seen as an insult in Islam.<\/p>\n
The film\u2019s website says \u201cno individual represented a Holy Personality\u201d, with performances instead achieved \u201cthrough a unique synthesis of actors, in-camera effects, lighting and visual effects\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Council of Britain, the UK\u2019s largest Muslim umbrella organisation, has described the film as \u201cdivisive\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Sunday, the organisation said it \u201csupports those scholars and leaders who are advocating for greater unity and for the common good\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some \u2013 including many of this film\u2019s supporters or those engaging in sectarianism in their response \u2013 whose primary goal is to fuel hatred,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
Screenings of the film were still scheduled for Wednesday at a number of Vue cinemas in London and south-east England.<\/p>\n
In a statement, a spokesperson said: \u201cVue takes seriously the responsibilities that come with providing a platform for a wide variety of content and believes in showcasing films of interest to diverse communities across the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cVue will only show a film once the BBFC (the independent British Board of Film Classification) has assessed and rated a film. The Lady of Heaven has been BBFC accredited and is on show in a number of our cinemas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company would not confirm whether any screenings had been cancelled, but added: \u201cDecisions about how long a film remains on show are taken on a site-by-site basis and based on a variety of commercial and operational factors.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Cineworld said: \u201cDue to recent incidents related to screenings of The Lady of Heaven, we have made the decision to cancel upcoming screenings of the film nationwide to ensure the safety of our staff and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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