Many Muslims throughout the world will not be joining the millions of other people watching the premiere of the American film, Noah, when it comes out in theaters on March 28.

Noah, as you may have guessed, is a major motion picture depicting the Biblical story of the prophet Noah, who is asked to build an ark by God in order to save everyone from a tremendous flood.  “There are scenes that contradict Islam and the Bible, so we decided not to show it,”  director of media content at the National Media Center in the United Arab Emirates, Juma Al-Leem, said.  “It is important to respect these religions and not show the film.”

The movie is a high budget motion picture starring Russell Crowe as Noah and produced by Paramount Pictures.  Many conservative Christians were offended by the film.  Paramount was forced to add a disclaimer claiming artistic license to their marketing due to the fire they have been under for the controversial film.

The movie has also been banned in Qatar and Bahrain, and it is expected that many other Muslim leaders will not approve the film.  The story of Noah is prominent in both the Bible and the Quran, the holy book of the Islamic world.  In both books it talks of a great flood and Noah being asked by God to construct an ark, but in the Muslim version the main idea of building an ark is to build people’s faith back in Allah (the Muslim god) alone.

This is not the first time an issue like this has arisen.  For example, when Persepolis was shown on television in Tunisia, people were angered at the depiction of God and riots broke out.  Consequences were not good ones for the leader of the television station.

Some places have not entirely banned the movie, and certain people are embracing the controversy.  “The fact that some countries in the region prohibit it makes it the more fun to watch” Clack Cinema manager Quds Manasra from Palestine said. “The production is magnificent, the story is beautiful.”

Whether or not the movie shows in the Middle East, it is not fair to say that the film is an attack on religion or a disgrace to the religions.  It’s a movie not a textbook.  It is an artistic depiction of a religious story told in many different fashions.  Paramount has done nothing wrong.