Egypt isn't the only nation that banned "Exodus: Gods and Kings". Cinema managers in Morocco had been instructed not to show the film because representing God in any form is banned by Islam.
Release of Exodus had already been approved by the government-run Moroccan Cinema Center (MCC) but distributors of the movie received notice of the ban because of a scene in the film that depicted God in the form of a "child who gives a revelation to the prophet Moses".
Some cinema owners even received threats if they continued to screen the film. Hassan Belkady, owner of Cinema Rif in Casablanca, said, "They phoned and threatened they would shut down the theater if I did not take the film off the schedule."
Another cinema-owner and distributor Mounia Layadi Benkirane spoke against the censorship but said she will honor the ban.
"The last screening was on Friday night at 21:30. I respect the decision of the MCC board."
She did express however confusion regarding the ban and mentioned how the banning of films is an extremely rare occurrence in the nation.
Benkirane added, "The child through whom Moses receives the revelation in the film at no time says he is God."
Exodus: Gods and Kings is directed by Oscar-winning director Ridley Scott who has done highly popular film projects such as Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal and American Gangster. The film stars Christian Bale as Moses, Joel Edgerton as Ramesses II, John Turturro as Seti I and Aaron Paul as Joshua.
Benkirane, the Moroccan film distributor, also worried that the ban and the hype surrounding the controversial decision "will profit only the pirates who continue to peddle the film."
