Film producer Ahmed al-Sobky, acting on the advice of Cairo security authorities, is preventing actor Mohamed Ramadan from going to downtown Cairo to attend screenings of his film "Abdu Mouta" due to an unprecedented turnout by spectators since it premiered.
Abdu Mouta has recorded the highest one-day revenue ever in the history of Egyptian cinema, making LE2.5 million on the first day of Eid al-Adha on Friday.
Ramadan was pleased by reactions from critics and spectators, but the movie had sparked fury among Sufi and Shia communities in Egypt. The film contained a scene where a belly dancer, portrayed by the actress Dina, dances to a song that mentions the name of Fatima, the Prophet Mohamed’s daughter.
Ghad al-Thawra Party board member and prominent Shia Bahaa Anwar Mohamed issued a statement on Friday denouncing the scene as an insult to sacred Islamic figures. He pledged to take legal action against the film’s producers to prevent screenings of the movie.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
