RELIGIONS NEWS aGENCY (REDNA)- The director and producer of a banned Malaysian film were charged with offending the religious feelings of others.
Religious News Service reported it is a rare criminal prosecution of filmmakers, slammed by critics as an attack on freedom of expression.
Mohamad Khairianwar Jailani, the director and co-scriptwriter of “Mentega Terbang,” and producer Tan Meng Kheng pleaded not guilty to having a “deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of others” through the independent, low-budget film. If found guilty, they could face up to a year in jail, a fine or both.
The film, which debuted at a regional film festival in 2021, revolves around a young Muslim girl who explores other religions to figure out where her ailing mother would go when she dies.
Scenes that angered Muslims included ones showing the girl desiring to eat pork, which is forbidden in Islam, and pretending to drink holy water, and her father supporting her wish to leave Islam.
It also sparked death threats against Khairianwar.
Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia. Ethnic Malays account for two-thirds of the country’s 33 million people and must be Muslims, with apostasy considered a sin. There are large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities that are Buddhist, Hindu and Christian.
Critics say religious conservatism has been on the rise in Malaysia, after an influential Malay-Islam alliance won strong gains in the November 2022 general election.