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Egypt follows Morocco, bans 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' for 'historical inaccuracies'

Issues about the building of the pyramids.

By Matt Bradwell

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- While the U.S. State Department narrowly avoided coming out on the losing side of a censorship controversy with Sony Pictures' The Interview, the Egyptian government brought one on itself, banning Exodus: Gods and Kings for "historical inaccuracies."

The film is also banned in Morocco, albeit not officially. The state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre officially approved Ridley Scott's biblical epic, however theater owners in the predominatly Muslim country have hesitations about a movie depicting Moses on-screen to viewers who take offense at visual representations of prophets.

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In Egypt, however, the ban was imposed by the state.

Egyption Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour told local reporters Exodus "totally contradicts proven historical facts." Asfour added the film "gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies."

"One of the key historical mistakes made by this film is that it claims the Jews were the ones who built the Pyramids," explained Abdul Sattar Fathi, head of the Egyptian state censorship board.

"The film treats Moses as an army general, not as a prophet. Furthermore, it shows ancient Egyptians as a mob group persecuting peaceful Jews. Our board has refused this out of respect for Egyptians' feelings."

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