Egypt to ban Exodus over ‘Zionist’ views, report says
Minister asserts Moses epic makes false historical claims that Jews built pyramids
Exodus: Gods and Kings, the $140million Hollywood film about the biblical escape of the Jews from Egypt, will not be shown there because it asserts historical falsehoods and spreads a “Zionist view,” the Egyptian culture minister was quoted as saying on Friday.
If confirmed, a ban in Egypt would make it the second Arab country this week to disallow the film, after a reported decision by Morocco to bar its distribution in theatres on Christmas just as Exodus was about to premiere.
Egypt’s culture minister, Gaber Asfour, was quoted by Agence FrancePresse as saying Exodus was offensive because of what he called its false portrayal of Moses, and of the Jews as the builders of Egypt’s pyramids.
He was quoted as saying the film “gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies, and that’s why we have decided to ban it.”
There was no immediate confirmation from the Egyptian government that Exodus would not be shown. Mohamed Abu Seada, a senior official in the Culture Ministry, said he had not heard of the decision. The film’s producer, 20th Century Fox, declined to comment.
It would not be the first time a Hollywood film about religious history had been prohibited in Egypt.
Several Arab countries, including Egypt, have banned films in which actors portray biblical figures because of a religious prohibition on the depiction of prophets. Noah, another biblical adventure, faced a ban for such reasons this year.
In 1998, Egypt banned the DreamWorks animated film, The Prince of Egypt, which was also about Moses.
The book of Exodus in the Bible asserts that the pyramids were built by Jewish slaves and that Moses led them to freedom after God punished Egypt with plagues. Chased by the Egyptian army, Moses miraculously parts the Red Sea, allowing the Jewish people to escape.
Exodus is also the second Hollywood film this month to get entangled in an international dispute.
The Interview, a satirical comedy that depicts the assassination of Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, was pulled from U.S. distribution after a cyberattack on Sony, the film’s producer. Sony reversed itself this week and released the film in some theatres and through paid Internet streaming.