UK cinema chain, Cineworld has canceled all screenings of historical drama ‘The Lady Of Heaven’ following protests at some of its sites.
The film opened in UK cinemas on Friday, June 3, 2022, and has since attracted public protests at Cineworld branches including Bolton and Birmingham.
A spokesperson for Cineworld said: “Due 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”.
‘The Lady Of Heaven’ movie tells the story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. It has been described as “divisive” by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Bolton Council of Mosques has called the film “blasphemous”.
In a statement, the Muslim Council of Britain said it “supports those scholars and leaders who are advocating for greater unity and the common good. There are some – including many of this film’s supporters or those engaging in sectarianism in their response – whose primary goal is to fuel hatred”.
In an email to Cineworld, the chairman of the Bolton Council of Mosques, Asif Patel, said the film was “underpinned with a sectarian ideology” and “misrepresents orthodox historical narratives and disrespects the most esteemed individuals of Islamic history”.
The film’s executive producer, Malik Shlibak, said he welcomed people expressing their views but said cinemas should “stand up and defend their right to show films that people want to see”.
“I think cinemas are crumbling to the pressure, and taking these decisions to quell the noise,” Malik told the local media.
Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, who spoke against the protest said: “I am very concerned about the growing cancel culture in this country. There are people out there who think they have a right not to be offended and of course, no one has that right. You might not like what someone’s got to say, but they have a right to say it”.
Mr. Javid pointed out that there are no blasphemy laws in the UK and warned that would be “an incredibly dangerous road to go down”.
“What we have in this country is freedom of speech and expression and that is a fundamental value,” he added.
Criticizing calls to cancel the film, Baroness Fox said in a tweet: “Same ‘I Find that Offensive’ cancel culture arguments now being used far beyond campus activism. [it is] disastrous for the arts, dangerous for free speech, a lesson to those who argue identity politics are no threat to democracy”.
The $15miliion project was directed by London-based creative producers Abdul-Malik Shlibak and Hussein Ashmere, and the film’s executive producers, Matthew Kuipers, and creative consultant John Stephenson.
The film interweaves two storylines: A young child’s journey amid a battle-scarred modern-day Iraq, and the historical story of Lady Fatima and her message of peace and non-violence. It uses CGI to depict Lady Fatima and Prophet Mohammed.
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