'Khuda Kay Liye', a film that depicts the struggle between fundamentalist and liberal Muslims, has attracted the ire of the radical Lal Masjid here.
ISLAMABAD: 'Khuda Kay Liye', a film that depicts the struggle between fundamentalist and liberal Muslims and stars India's Naseeruddin Shah and Pakistani actor Shan, has attracted the ire of the radical Lal Masjid here.
Demanding a ban on the film, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy chief cleric of the mosque that has been at loggerheads with the government on several issues, has warned of serious consequences if a private TV channel is allowed to telecast the film.
He would not object, however, if a board that would include ulema, the Muslim priests, cleared the film, the cleric was quoted as saying in the 'Daily Times' on Tuesday.
Ghazi declared the film 'blasphemous', saying that it was derogatory to Islam and a punishable offence under Pakistani law.
"The film is against Islamic norms and traditions and is being released on a private TV channel without prior approval from a censor board. We won't allow this," said Ghazi.
"The government will be held responsible if the film is released without being censored," he said. The film, produced by Shoaib Mansoor, is scheduled to be released here on July 7.
Ghazi and his brother, Maulana Abdul Aziz, have been daring authorities for the last six months after capturing a part of a girl's seminary. The government says the students, both boys and girls, are trained and armed.
President Pervez Musharraf last week said the militants ensconced inside have connections with the Al Qaida and belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), engaged in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir since the 1990s.
Lal Masjid was in the news for abducting Chinese workers, including women, at a massage parlour that it said was doubling up as a brothel.
Earlier, its fatwa forced out the country's Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar who was supposed to have hugged her coach, a Frenchman, after completing a para-jump in France to gather funds for charity.
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