An Islamic group, Ta’awunu Human Rights Initiative, THURIST, has frowned at the denigration of Islam in a Nollywood movie titled “Osuwon mi”.
A statement signed by the director general of the group, Sulaymon Tadese, said the sacred Muslim veil [Niqab] was maliciously used to portray immorality and portray Muslim women in a bad light.
Mr Tadese wondered why the National Film and Video Censorship Board allowed the movie to go into circulation, noting that the action of the producers is capable of causing religious violence in the country.
“A popular Yoruba Nollywood actress Kemi Afolabi, acted some scenes in this movie with a Muslim woman veil where she flirted around and was eventually accused of adultery by Mr. Adebayo Salami, who was also playing a particular role in the movie.”
“As if this was not enough, Mrs. Kemi Afolabi went further in this inflammatory scene to the extent of unveiling herself as a Muslim woman in veil in public which relegated the principle of Niqob (Muslim Women’s Veil) in the Islamic precept,” the statement said.
He said the producers threw caution to the wind despite several warnings to do away with movie scenes that denigrate the Muslim women’s veil.
The group warned that it would not fold its arms and watch “some hungry movie directors and their cohorts who want to get money by all means to use the Muslim women’s veil as a bait, thereby strangulating the dignity of the sacred garment.”
“We believe those immoral scenes acted in the movie with Muslim women veil can be acted in normal costumes which is not sacrilegious to it, but we however, seem not to understand why a non-Muslim movie producer gathered Muslim actors and actresses to act movie roles in contravention of their religious doctrine; but when we get to the bridge we will definitely cross it.
“It’s equally disheartening and disgusting at the same time that a renowned Muslim actor from a city very far from hell and close to paradise, as it is normally said (Ilorin Gere Alimi), Mr. Adebayo Salami, was found playing a role in such a movie scene.
Mr Tadese urged the Theater Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria, TAMPAN, to sanction the producers of the movie, compel them to remove it from all viewing platforms, and apologize to the Muslim community within seven working days.
