Council wants ‘poorly researched’ UK film ‘Lady of Heaven’ banned in SA

Cape Town - The United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) says it has written to the Film and Publication Board requesting it refuse the screening and publication of UK film ‘Lady of Heaven’ in South Africa, saying it “distorts historical truths“.

The 2021 film depicts a story of a child from Iraq who after losing his mother in the midst of a war-torn country, learns the importance and power of patience by discovering the historical story of Lady Fatima and her suffering.

It has been slammed for its depiction of Islamic prophets and for its “poor background research and inflammatory content”.

The UUCSA’s secretary general Yusuf Patel said the release of the film has caused “outrage and hurt to Muslims across the globe”.

“The movie distorts historical truths, advocates sectarianism and is deliberately insightful by the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his illustrious companions. The portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad is prohibited by Islamic theology and is extremely offensive to Muslims around the globe.

“Freedom of expression is often used as a veneer to disguise the violation of the dignity of the ‘other’. There are various statutory limitations on the rights of freedom of expression,” he said.

Patel said they believed the movie was “provocative and harmful”.

“We believe the ‘Lady of Heaven’ is provocative, harmful and disturbing in that it advocates hatred based on an identifiable group characteristic and it constitutes incitement to cause harm. Accordingly, we call upon the board to refuse publication and the screening in South Africa,” he said.

Film and Publication Board interim chief executive Dr Mashilo Boloka however said the film has not yet been submitted to the board for the purpose of classification.

“Should a distributor elect to distribute the film in South Africa, they shall be required to submit same to the FPB in order for it to classify the film aligned to the application of the Act and the Classification Guidelines.

“It would be premature for the FPB to assess the appropriate classification rating which would be allocated to the film in question, prior to it being viewed in its entirety by the classification committee constituted for that purpose,” Boloka said.

Boloka added that any person who knowingly distributes or exhibits in public a film without first having been registered with the FPB shall be found guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding eight months.

Cape Times