KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia and Indonesia have banned the movie “Noah,” joining other Muslim nations that forbid the Hollywood movie for its visual depiction of a man Islam considers a prophet.
Film censors in both countries said Monday that the portrayal of the ark-builder by Russell Crowe was against Islamic law. Depictions of prophets are shunned in Islam to avoid worship of a person rather than God.
Malay Muslims make up about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 30 million people, and Christians about 9 percent.
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, the head of the national censorship board said the plot of “Noah” contradicts both the Quran and the Bible.
Indonesia’s most influential Islamic body welcomed the move, saying films that could corrupt religious teachings should be outlawed.
