By Paul Schemm
RABAT, Morocco (AP) --The Ridley Scott biblical epic "Exodus," that was banned in Morocco for violating Islamic precepts, will be shown once again in this North African country after the studio agreed to remove the offending passages.
The Moroccan Cinematography Center issued a statement late Tuesday explaining that the film, which recounts the story of Moses, could now be shown in theaters after Fox Studios and director Ridley Scott took out dialogue implying one of the characters represented God.
"They went ahead and made the desired change, removing two audio passages that alluded to the personification of the Divine," the statement said.
On Dec. 27, the Morocco Cinematography Center told theaters to stop showing the film after a review board objected to the scene where Moses receives his revelation from a figure that could be interpreted as representing God.
In the movie, Moses asks the child "who are you?" The child responds, "I am," suggesting it is a representation of God.
In Islam, figural representations of God are forbidden.
The board's move prompted criticisms over freedom of expression by filmmakers and politicians in Morocco.
Morocco has a more liberal attitude toward Western films than other countries in the region and the ban was unusual. Censorship of scenes offending religious or cultural mores is common in the conservative Gulf countries and Egypt.
"Exodus" was banned by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which claimed it was historically inaccurate.
In its statement, the film center maintained that the original banning was not censorship, as many claimed, but a matter of respect for people's beliefs.
"This shows that the respect for freedom of creation, like all freedoms, does not mean ignoring the sentiments of citizens, particularly religious ones," it said.
An uncut version of the film has been available for weeks on pirated DVDs sold in the streets.
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More