‘Ban on film needless’

Muslim Education Society president has said the film, Vishwaroopam, is not anti-Muslim.

Muslim Education Society (MES) president Fazal Ghafoor has said that Tamil Nadu government’s ban on the Kamal Haasan movie ‘Vishwaroopam’ is unwarranted.

Dr. Ghafoor told The Hindu that the film was not anti-Muslim, though certain scenes appeared to link Islam to terrorism. “I don’t think the film consciously tried to project the Islamophobic agenda of equating Islam with terrorism,” he said. But, the film was pro-imperialist and it projected the skewed American view of ‘war on terrorism’. He also said certain scenes in the film were problematic. For example, the terrorists performing namaz (Muslim prayer) before going on an attacking spree and the scenes where Quranic verses emerge from the background while terrorists plot their attacks leaves an impression on audience that Islam and Quran supported terrorism.

Dr. Ghafoor said there was no need for banning the movie and that the violent protests against it were wrong. Muslim organisations should have ignored the film or even protested peacefully, rather than seeking a ban on it.