'Noah' Banned – Who's Next? State Censors or Sectarian Enforcers?


Well, even I am astounded by the disgusting decision by the LSF (National Censor Board) to stop me and everyone else from seeing ‘Noah’ at my local cinema.

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  • Russel Crowe dalam Noah (Foto: Ist) Russel Crowe stars in ‘Noah’

I honestly didn’t think they’d bow down to the most backward elements in the land Noah’s Ark Lost To View in Fatwa Fog? 

But even their own chairman admits the decision is at least partly based on fear of bigot thugs.  “We are worried that violent protests could occur,” he said. http”//http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/25/censor-bans-hollywood-s-biblical-epic.html 

Once again, this represents a further slithering descent from a pluralist society, in which everyone can follow their religion in peace, towards Islamist authoritarianism.

Again, Mukhlis Paeni,that craven chairman, admits it.

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muklis paeni

 Mukhlis
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  • “Almost all Muslim countries have decided to ban the film. We, too, found elements in the story that contradicted the holy book, so we have decided to prohibit the screening of the film...”

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Why the hell should some uptight sectarians who doesn’t like a movie, and who would of course have been free not to watch it, instead get to deny all the rest of us, open-minded people of his religion and followers of other faiths?

The weasel words of the LSF chairman show him up shockingly.  When pressed by The Jakarta Post to say which parts of the movie contradicted the Koran, Mukhlis merely said: “We are just following what other Middle Eastern countries have done.” 

Other Middle Eastern? So Indonesia today is to be modelled on barbarous countries where democracy is a joke, where religious liberty is a myth?

And he couldn’t even give one specific instance of what’s wrong with ‘Noah?” It’s just a case of follow the fanatics’ example?

But the yarn gets richer the more it’s spun.

One of his LSF colleagues. Zainut Tauhid Sa’adi totally undermines Mukhlis’ special pleading.

Zainut claims, in the Jakarta Globe, that the censorship board reached the the conclusion on its own and in no way was influenced by decisions made by some countries in the Middle East….

Zainut

 

…We have our own authority…We won’t just follow in the footsteps of another country.” http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesian-film-director-takes-aim-narrow-minded-censor-noah-ban/

Which is a complete contradiction of his chairman’s confession of supine imitation of Arab intolerance!

However, when push comes to shove, it’s pretty clear that Mukhlis’ sectarian allegiance counts for more than his duty to fair play.

The LSF lackey justifies their shameful censorship in terms of rabid fanaticism...the story presented in “Noah” ran counter to the relevant verses in the Koran….“The first thing is the content of Noah is against our beliefs or not according to the story in the holy book.” http://http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/25/censor-bans-hollywood-s-biblical-epic.html

OUR BELIEFS? So is Indonesia now an Islamic Republic, the NKRI Syariah that the FPI thugs are howling for?

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Well, they ain’t achieved that yet!

Indonesia still likes to parade itself as the ‘world’s largest Muslim democracy.’ Which includes freedom of expression, no?

Who gives a monkey’s if you, Mukhlis, don’t like it ? Your job is meant to be objective, not tied to ideological or theological apron-strings!

Thankfully, freedom-loving Indonesians are not sitting back silently in the face of this iniquitous jihadist censorship.

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Joko Anwar
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The JG story centres on an admirable film director named Joko Anwar.
Joko speaks out in terms which ought to ring like a local liberty bell. 
“If there is a fear that the film will cause unrest and protest from some groups then the government should create a situation conducive to people growing up instead of always limiting them to a narrow-minded condition.”

 WOW!

police jakarta

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And if Mukhlis’ fear of violence is to be taken seriously, then it is also the government’s duty to make it absolutely clear that no white-shirt gangsters would be allowed by police to interfere with how decent people want to spend their nights out!

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PS

A theological question – one of the reasons advanced by the Mid-East bigots for banning Noah was that holy figures may not be portrayed. Noah is a holy figure to Jews and Christians as well as Muslims, and they don’t have such a hang-up about portrayals.

So what about Jesus?

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He is, in Islamic theology, a ‘prophet.’ And Christians, lots of them, LOVE to watch films about His life and works. The Passion of the Christ was a great movie by any standards, and it is often featured on Indonesian TV at Easter here.

Will the LSF lackeys now ban THAT, because its portrayal of a ‘prophet!’i