Members of the Laity council in Senegal further say, “The Church, through our voice, draws the attention of the Council for the Regulation of Broadcasting (CNRA) and demands a public apology from Imam Serigne Lamine Sall, commensurate with the offenses he has committed against the Catholic community.” He has purely and simply attacked the foundations of our belief,” CNL officials further say in the statement shared with ACI Africa. Sall, in his remarks, equated our religion with Freemasonry, and made blasphemous remarks about our faith. In a Monday, February 28 letter addressed to Senegal’s Interior Ministry that manages places of worship and the Council for the Regulation of Broadcasting (CNRA), CNL officials condemn the “blasphemous and offensive remarks made against the national Catholic community and, beyond during the program Diné Ak Jamono of Thursday, 24 February 2022.” He added: “If we can accept that unbelievers call for prayer every Sunday and have the right to do so, we can accept the Freemasons because it's the same.”
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On February 24, Imam Lamine Sall who was a guest on Walfadjri TV reportedly said, “Who can hear, every Sunday, people who say that God has a son, they are Catholics, they are not believers.” The leadership of Senegal’s National Laity Council (CNL) has demanded a “public apology” from a Muslim leader, Imam Serigne Lamine Sall, over his “blasphemous and offensive remarks” made on a private TV channel about the Catholic faith. "Cinemas must be assured by the authorities that their right to show films, even those deemed offensive by religious fundamentalists, will be protected and upheld.Dakar, 02 March, 2022 / 8:40 pm (ACI Africa). "But acquiescing to these demands will simply embolden religious extremists to continue intimidating businesses that showcase artistic works they don't agree with. Their concerns are understandable, considering previous threats and attacks by Islamist extremists on people who show depictions of Muhammad. "They are essentially being coerced into obeying religious blasphemy codes. NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "It's alarming that cinemas feel forced to cancel this film to protect the safety of their staff and customers. The National Secular Society, which campaigns to protect freedom of speech, expressed concerns over the cancellations. "These groups have now been given the power to dictate what the British public can and cannot watch at their local cinemas." He added: "I think this is more than The Lady of Heaven as an individual film, this is about our British values and how much these mean to us.
"But I believe it's actually unacceptable in this country what they are calling for - that is the removal from this film from the cinemas due to them being offended. The incident followed the murder of French school teacher Samuel Paty in 2020 who also showed a Muhammad cartoon at his school.Įxecutive producer of the film Malik Shlibak said: "We think that the protests have brought a lot of new found attention to the film that did not exist before from people who hadn't heard about the film, and we are okay with the fact that people protest. Last year a school teacher was forced into hiding over fears he might be murdered after showing a cartoon of Muhammad during a religious education lesson. Some Islamist extremists in the UK have issued death threats over depictions of Muhammad. He adds: "We totally agree with what you're saying". In footage of one protest posted on Twitter, the manager of a cinema in Sheffield is seen telling a large, loudly chanting all-male crowd that the cinema "will not be showing this film again". "The Lady of Heaven", released last week, tells the story of Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima from a Shia Muslim perspective.īut some Muslims consider the depictions of Muhammad and other Islamic figures in the film 'blasphemous'. Vue Cinema is also understood to have cancelled showings of the film.
A cinema chain has cancelled all screenings of a film about Islamic history for security reasons following religious protests.Ĭineworld has confirmed it has cancelled nationwide screenings of "The Lady of Heaven" after Muslims protested outside cinemas across the UK.Ī spokesperson from Cineworld told the National Secular Society: "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."