The Egyptian state censorship board has objected to screening Ridley Scott's new film "Exodus: Gods and Kings" citing "historical mistakes."
"Exodus" chronicles the story of Moses (Christian Bale) as he rose up against Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton) and helped 600,00 Jewish slaves escape persecution. The board pulled the film "out of respect" for today's Egyptians, according to Deadline.
"One of the key historical mistakes made by this film is that it claims the Jews were the ones who built the Pyramids," Abdul Sattar Fathi, the country's head of censorship, told local reporters. "The film treats Moses as an army general, not as a prophet. Furthermore, it shows ancient Egyptians as a mob group persecuting peaceful Jews."
Egypt's minister of culture Gaber Asfour had championed the "Exodus," but he recently changed his opinion. In an interview, Asfor said the movie "totally contradicts proven historical facts," and "gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies and that's why we have decided to ban it," according to Deadline.
Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" also ran up against bans in Egypt earlier this year. The country generally prohibits portrayals of prophets and religious figures. The Coptic Christian community in the country criticized Ron Howard's "The Da Vinci Code," which led to the movie's ban in 2006.
"Exodus" may also face bans in Morocco, where parts of the movie were filmed. The state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre has approved the movie, but reports say it already has been blocked, according to Deadline.
The film came under fire earlier for the casting of white actors to play characters from North Africa and the Middle East. Director Scott blamed the "whitewashing" on the need for finanical backing, which he would have struggled to get with lesser known actors from the region.
