Cinema in UK cancels a film on Prophet Muhammad's daughter

Shafaq News/ A cinema chain has cancelled all UK screenings of a film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, after it prompted protests outside some cinemas.

Cineworld said it made the decision "to ensure the safety of our staff and customers".

More than 120,000 people have signed a petition for The Lady of Heaven film to be pulled from UK cinemas.

The Bolton Council of Mosques called the film "blasphemous" and "underpinned with a sectarian ideology".

But the film's producer, Malik Shlibak, said "no one should dictate for the British public what they can and cannot watch or discuss", describing the protesters as "fringe groups".

The film, which was released in UK cinemas on 3 June, claims to tell the story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad.

It has been criticised by some groups for depicting the Prophet Muhammad - which is seen as an insult in Islam - and for its portrayal of prominent revered figures in early Sunni Islam.

It was pulled from the Cineworld chain after reported protests in Bolton, Birmingham and Sheffield.

In Bolton, more than 100 people protested outside the cinema, Bolton News reported.

In an email to Cineworld - reported by Bolton News - Bolton Council of Mosques chairman Asif Patel said the film was "underpinned with a sectarian ideology" and "misrepresents orthodox historical narratives and disrespects the most esteemed individuals of Islamic history".

The Muslim news site 5Pillars also shared a picture on Twitter of what it said showed 200 Muslims protesting against the film outside a Birmingham branch of Cineworld on Sunday.

Video footage circulating online appears to show a manager of a Cineworld cinema in Sheffield informing protesters that a screening of the film had been cancelled, the Guardian reported.

Shlibak criticised the decision by Cineworld to pull the film, saying it was "cowering" to the protesters' demands.

He told the BBC, "Now they see any time they're upset or mildly offended they'll do the same."

Shlibak added that there were millions of Muslims in the UK, and the protesters did not represent all of their views.

"We need to be very careful not to cower down to that and do the exact opposite, which is say to the people that we are tolerant, we accept different views and positions and we're happy to disagree, even passionately, but there should be no censorship involved."

But he also said the protests would fail at shutting down the film, adding that a "large, large population across the UK have just heard about the film for the first time, so that's brilliant for us".

Health Secretary Sajid Javid also criticised the decision to pull the film.

Speaking to TalkTV on Wednesday, the health secretary said, "You might not like what someone's got to say, but they have a right to say it."

Javid pointed out that there are no blasphemy laws in the UK and warned that would be "an incredibly dangerous road to go down".

"What we have in this country is freedom of speech and expression and that is a fundamental value," he added.