An imam hired to be an independent advisor on Islamophobia for the British government has been dismissed for working to get a “blasphemous” film about the daughter of the prophet Muhammad cancelled.
Imam Qari Asim, the head of the Makkah mosque in Leeds, has been turfed out of all of his official roles for the British government over his work to deplatform the film Lady of Heaven, which some Muslims see as “blasphemous”.
Having worked up until now as an independent Islamophobia advisor as well as the deputy chairman of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, the government has now turned on the preacher, who has been working to see cinemas strip the film about Muhammad’s daughter from their lineups.
While the religious leader attempted to justify his actions by claiming the film in question was fueling hatred, the government appears to have taken a different view, denouncing the imam for moving against free speech in a letter sent to the imam.
“We write now because we have no option but to withdraw the appointment and end your roles with Government with immediate effect,” the government’s so-called “Levelling Up” department wrote in the document, which was also posted online.
“You have encouraged an ongoing campaign to prevent cinemas screening the film “Lady of Heaven”, a clear effort to restrict artistic expression, and the campaign you have supported has led to street protests which have fomented religious hatred,” it continued.
“This clear involvement in a campaign to limit free expression is incompatible with the role of a government adviser,” it concluded, having also admonished the leader for allegedly failing to condemn “sectarian chanting and anti-Shia hatred”.
Cinemas across the UK have been put under pressure from a number of Muslim groups over the newly released film, which touches on the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as his daughter, Fatima.
Slammed by some as being pro-Shia propaganda, at least one cinema chain has succumbed to the mob sentiment working against the production, announcing that it would cancel all screenings of the movie in the UK after protests erupted in front of theatres across the country.
“Due to the recent incidents regarding screenings of ‘The Lady of Heaven,’ we have made the decision to cancel upcoming screenings of the film nationwide to ensure the safety of our staff and customers,” Cineworld announced in a statement last week, while some Muslim campaigners have claimed that they have managed to get other individual cinemas to also pull screenings of the film.
Some demonstrations against the film have also seen instances of sectarian chanting from protesters aimed at those from Shia branches of the Islamic faith, including slogans tarring those of the Shia faith as “kafir”, or non-believers.
Meanwhile, the chants of “Allahu Akbar” can be heard in one video posted online that appears to depict the manager of one cinema announcing that all screenings of the controversial film had been cancelled for the week.