Muslims in Malawi are urging the government to ban the movie The Da Vinci Code for portraying Jesus as a married man who fathered a child, the head of a national association said on Wednesday.
”It is clear that the contents of the film are acts of blasphemy and the government should not allow its distribution in a country where Jesus is accepted as Allah’s [God’s] prophet,” said Shareef Mahomed, secretary general of the Muslim Association of Malawi.
He said a stand taken by the Muslims in the deeply conservative Southern African country is that ”the Muslim community at large is deeply offended by the movie … in presenting the view that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene”.
”We strongly condemn the notion or assertion that Jesus had children,” he added.
The bestselling novel by Dan Brown about a conspiracy by the Catholic Church to hide the supposed marriage of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene has sparked protests worldwide.
The film generated $231,8-million worldwide in its opening days, the second-biggest revenue-grossing film debut in history, data published by entertainment industry newspaper Variety showed on Tuesday.
Mahomed said the movie ”demonstrated a serious abuse of freedom of expression and showing disregard for the sensitivities” of both Christians and Muslims.
He said the film ”should not be allowed in Malawi where Islam and Christianity are the two dominant religions”.
Up to 20% of 12-million Malawians are Muslims, according to conservative estimates. Christians constitute the majority.
There has been no official reaction from the major Christian churches in Malawi. — Sapa-AFP