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An imam who backed calls for cinemas to cancel a ‘blasphemous’ Islamic film has been sacked a Government advisor on anti-Islamophobia.
Qari Asim, the head imam at the Makkah mosque in Leeds, was let go from his roles as independent adviser on Islamophobia and deputy chairman of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group on Saturday.
It comes after he endorsed a campaign for cinemas to pull screenings of The Lady of Heaven – a film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
The £12million movie was released in the UK over the Jubilee weekend, but was axed by Cineworld and, a day later, Showcase when staff faced crowds of protesters outside venues in Bradford, Bolton, Birmingham and Sheffield.
Mr Asim described The Lady of Heaven as a ‘disparaging movie’ that has ’caused much pain and hurt to Muslims’, The Telegraph reports.
But in a letter published on Saturday, the Department of Levelling Up wrote: ‘We have no option but to withdraw the appointment and end your roles with Government with immediate effect.
‘Your recent support for a campaign to limit free expression – a campaign which has itself encouraged communal tensions – means it is no longer appropriate for you to continue your work with Government in roles designed to promote community harmony.
Qari Asim, the head imam at the Makkah mosque in Leeds, has been let go from his official Government role
Protesters gathered at cinemas to voice opposition to the Lady of Heaven, which was officially released in the UK on June 3
Cineworld cancelled all showings of the film nationwide ‘to ensure the safety of our staff and customers’. Pictured: A crowd of protesters gathered outside the Cineworld in Birmingham on Sunday, June 5, to protest the film’s release
Cinemas have seen protests from Muslims claiming the film The Lady of Heaven is ‘blasphemous’. Pictured: Birmingham
It continued: ‘You will have no doubt seen reports of the scenes outside different cinema venues. These included deeply disturbing videos of sectarian chanting and anti-Shia hatred… which must be challenged at every opportunity as part of a wider effort to combat anti-Muslim hatred.
‘We were disappointed to see that you failed to condemn some of the protests complicit in these behaviours.’
The film has been at the centre of a debate over freedom of speech, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid this week describing the cancellations as ‘an incredibly dangerous road to go down’.
And Mr Asim’s statement also conflicted with the views of the Government’s independent adviser on social cohesion and resilience, Dame Sara Khan.
She criticised the failure of authorities to stand up to the protests after Cineworld became the first chain to cancel screenings over staff safety fears.
Mr Asim statement said: ‘We have been working with many brothers and imams across the country to liaise with the cinemas.
‘As a community, in some places we have been successful and those cinemas will no longer be showing the movie, in other places negotiations are still ongoing.
‘Some imams have taken a view to protest and others are in dialogue with the cinemas trying to resolve the situation. Different approaches, rooted in our universal values, are necessary, as always.’
And speaking to LBC today, he added: ‘The Lady of Heaven is factually incorrect and derogatory. It has caused much distress and heartache to British Muslims.
‘The British Muslim community has taken different approaches. Some believe in a way of working with the cinema industry to help them understand why Muslims find it to be offensive or derogatory and therefore work with them to see what the best solution is in terms of whether it should be shown, how it should be shown etcetera.
‘Others have taken a view to publicly demonstrate and I think there is always danger with a public demonstration that someone somewhere will use rhetoric which will fuel hatred.’
He added: ‘I am not personally in favour of protests and have not attended any of the protests, but I have worked with the British Muslim community to say that we should be expressing our concerns about the hatred, extremism and sectarianism that this film may provoke and how we need to tackle that.’
Mr Asim was appointed to his advisory role a day before Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019.
In January, he said he had been ignored by Mr Johnson and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove since starting the role.
The film and its creators have been accused of blasphemy for depicting Prophet Muhammad and his daughter Fatima.
Most schools of Islam ban any depiction of the prophet as they believe it to be against the spirit of the religion, disrespectful and encouraging of the worship of idols.
Made in Britain, the film opens with the invasion of Iraq by ISIS and features a graphic jihadist murder, before telling the story of Lady Fatima, one of the daughters of the founder of Islam.
Director Eli King depicts Fatima as a faceless character, shrouded by a black veil.
But protesters have accused the filmmakers of inaccurately depicting religious history and negatively portraying three of Islam’s most important figures.
However, speaking to TalkTV, Mr Javid said: ‘I am very concerned about the growing cancel culture in this country. There’s people out there who think they have a right not to be offended and of course, no-one has that right.
‘You might not like what someone’s got to say, but they have a right to say it.’
He also highlighted that there is no blasphemy law in the UK, saying: ‘What we have in this country is freedom of speech and expression and that is a fundamental value.’
Vue is defiantly continuing to show the film, saying it ‘takes seriously the responsibilities that come with providing a platform for a wide variety of content’ and believes in showcasing films of interest to diverse communities’.
The movie’s executive producer, Malik Shlibak, called the decision of Cineworld and Showcase to pull it ‘unacceptable’ and accused the chains of ‘bowing down to radical extremists’.
He revealed he had received messages from activists telling him ‘I’m going to kill you’ on Twitter.
But he said he wasn’t scared by the threats, which included him being called an ‘infidel’, an offensive term relating to someone who is unfaithful to their own religion.
And he added the massive controversy surrounding its screenings had been ‘brilliant’ for the film and had brought in ‘huge audiences’.
He said: ‘I’ve had death threats sent to me, to be very frank with you, I’ve had death threats for the last five years.
‘It’s nothing new because I’m involved in this type of work where these radicals don’t what you to speak about anything they don’t agree with. I don’t worry about it – it’s just empty threats.
‘But I have had threats on Twitter now, being called an ‘infidel’ and with people saying, ‘I’m going to kill you’ and all this sort of thing.’
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