Following Egypt and Morocco, the United Arab Emirates has banned the screening of the biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, citing religious and historical mistakes.

“The film shows Moses not as a prophet, but as just a preacher of peace,” Juma Obaid al-Leem, the director of media content tracking at the National Media Council, told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, December 30.

The council said that the Ridley Scott movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings, about Prophet Moses’s escape from pharaonic Egypt contained “religious and historical mistakes”.

The official added that the storyline contradicts the holy books.

He added the film had also fallen foul of the council for its depiction of Moses receiving the revelation from God through a child.

Representation of God and prophets is forbidden in Islam.

“We do not allow the distortion of religions ... When it comes to religious and historical movies, we care about having a correct narrative and avoiding hurting the feelings of others,” Leem said.

He also defended the UAE right to ban the movie, adding that censorship in the Gulf state allows mosque movies.

“It is normal if we express reservations about one movie out of 1000,” he said.

During the last weekend, Egypt and Morocco banned the Hollywood biblical epic over historical inaccuracies and “depicting Allah”.

According to officials, the film that claims that “Moses and the Jews built the pyramids” is rife with mistakes.

A similar controversy over a biblical epic film emerged last March when Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, issued a fatwa against Noah film, causing its ban.

In Islam, Moses is loved and respected; he is both a Prophet and a Messenger.

God mentions him more than 120 times, and his story ranges across several chapters; the longest and most detailed story of a prophet in the Qur’an.

In both Judaism and Christianity Moses is a central figure.

He is the man from the Old Testament most mentioned in the New Testament who led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, communicated with God and received the Ten Commandments.

Moses is known as both a religious leader and a lawgiver.

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