BANGKOK, May 17 (UPI) -- Asian Christians and even Muslims have joined the outcry against "The Da Vinci Code" film ahead of its global release, the Bangkok Post reported Wednesday.
In Bangkok, the police censorship committee in charge of movies agreed to censor the last 10 minutes of the film, which suggests that Jesus has heirs alive today, even though the distributor promised to put a special notice on all copies stating the film was a work of fiction.
A senior government official and several Catholic bishops condemned the movie as blasphemous.
Christian groups in Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and India were among those urging their governments to ban the film, claiming it distorts the Bible.
The film's release in India will be delayed after a furor that has seen Muslim clerics in Bombay back a Catholic call for a boycott, the BBC said Tuesday.
Joseph Dias, the head of the Catholic Secular Forum, has begun a "hunger strike until death," or until the film is banned, he said.
In South Korea, a court ruled against a request for an injunction to block the film, and the film board of the Philippines approved its screening.
