The Da Vinci Code banned in Pakistan
Story by Jack Foley
PAKISTAN has banned the film version of The Da Vinci Code because of its “blasphemous” content.
The decision was announced by Culture Minister Ghulam Jamal following protests from members of Pakistan’s small Christian community.
Both Dan Brown’s book and Ron Howard’s film puts forward the theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and their bloodline still survives today.
It has caused widespread global controversy, stretching from Catholic groups in Europe and America, to a number of states in India that have also banned the film despite federal censors clearing it for release.
Explaining Pakistan’s decision, Mr Jamal told the BBC: “Islam teaches us to respect all the prophets of Allah Almighty and degradation of any prophet is tantamount to defamation of the rest.”
The government had wanted to ban both the film and the book – although the novel has been available in Pakistan for some time.
In India, meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh became the seventh state to ban the film.
In spite of the controversy, the film has become one of the most successful releases of all time for distributor Sony Pictures – topping the global box office despite a number of bad reviews.
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