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"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 Tuesday.
Ghazi declared the film "blasphemous", meaning 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.
Indo-Asian News Service
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