Timeline of Islamic Censorship in Media

From 1979 to present day — documenting how Islamic doctrine has shaped and suppressed artistic media through legal, theological, and institutional force.

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📍 1979 – Iranian Islamic Revolution

• The new Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini bans:

  • Western films

  • Music, dancing, and unveiled women on screen

• Filmmakers forced to conform to strict Islamic codes: mandatory hijab, no physical contact between genders, no critique of religion.

🧠 Impact: State control of cinema enforced by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance—a precedent for Islamic media censorship worldwide.

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📍 1989 – The Satanic Verses Fatwa (UK/Global)

• Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie over his novel The Satanic Verses, deemed blasphemous.

• Cinemas and bookstores in several countries are attacked.

• The book is banned in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, India, and others.

🧠 This event globalized Islamic censorship beyond borders, enforcing doctrinal offense through extraterritorial threats.

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📍 1994 – The Message Banned in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

• The film The Message (1976), depicting the early days of Islam (without showing Muhammad), is banned in multiple countries for "sacrilege."

🧠 Even indirect depiction of Islamic figures is considered unacceptable, regardless of intent or accuracy.

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📍 2001 – Taliban Destroys Film Archive (Afghanistan)

• Afghanistan’s Taliban government burns film reels, musical recordings, and shuts down TV stations, calling them haram (forbidden).

🧠 The Taliban model became the most extreme Islamic application of media prohibition: total annihilation of visual culture.

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📍 2006 – Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons Crisis

• Danish newspaper publishes cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

• Islamic protests erupt globally.

• Several countries ban the cartoons, censor related films, documentaries, and press.

• "Submission" filmmaker Theo van Gogh is murdered in the Netherlands in 2004 for a film criticizing Islamic treatment of women (closely tied to this backlash).

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📍 2012 – Innocence of Muslims (YouTube Film)

• An anti-Islamic short film triggers global Islamic outrage.

• Riots and embassy attacks occur.

• Film is banned in all Islamic-majority nations.

• YouTube is blocked entirely in countries like Pakistan, Egypt, and Sudan.

🧠 Global access to media is sacrificed to protect religious sentiment.

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📍 2016 – Zindagi Tamasha Banned in Pakistan

• Film by Sarmad Khoosat criticized for depicting a pious man being shunned by his community.

• Declared “blasphemous” by extremist groups like Tehreek-e-Labbaik.

• Pakistani government bans its release under public pressure.

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📍 2017 – Iran Jails Filmmaker Keywan Karimi

• Karimi sentenced to 6 years in prison and 223 lashes for "insulting Islamic sanctities" in his documentary Writing on the City.

🧠 Merely documenting political graffiti and criticism of the regime is considered religious violation.

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📍 2018 – Saudi Arabia Reopens Cinemas

• First public cinema opens in Riyadh since 1983.

• Still, films are heavily censored:

  • Kissing, LGBTQ+, religious pluralism, alcohol are cut or banned.

  • “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “Eternals”, and “Doctor Strange 2” are banned or edited.

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📍 2021 – Lightyear Banned in 14 Islamic Countries

• Pixar’s Lightyear includes a brief lesbian kiss.

• Banned in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and others.

🧠 LGBTQ+ content is systematically erased from media by Islamic censors under the guise of “public morality.”

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📍 2022 – Barbie Banned in Kuwait, Delayed in Other States

• Criticized for promoting “un-Islamic values,” gender confusion, and “Western feminism.”

• Delayed in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Egypt for censorship edits.

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📍 2023 – Iran Arrests Cast of Leila’s Brothers

• The film was shown at Cannes without state permission.

• Actress Taraneh Alidoosti was arrested for appearing without hijab and voicing support for anti-regime protests.

🧠 Religious law and state security are fused—expression outside permitted doctrine is a punishable act.

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📍 2024 – Ongoing Censorship Patterns

• YouTube, Netflix, Disney+ content is filtered in Islamic states using local regulators.

• Films like The Marvels and Eternals face bans for gender roles and LGBTQ+ subplots.

• Documentaries on Islamic history are either banned or restricted.

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📊 Summary Chart: Major Islamic Countries and Media Censorship Patterns

Country	Film Bans	Religious Censorship	LGBTQ+ Ban	Prophet Depiction Ban	Legal Enforcement
Saudi Arabia	✅	✅	✅	✅	Government media authority
Iran	✅	✅	✅	✅	Ministry of Islamic Guidance
Pakistan	✅	✅	✅	✅	Blasphemy laws, PEMRA
Egypt	✅	✅	✅	✅	Al-Azhar + state control
Indonesia	✅	✅	✅	✅	Islamic councils
Malaysia	✅	✅	✅	✅	Malaysian Censorship Board

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🧠 FINAL LOGICAL CONCLUSION

If:

• Islamic doctrine bans depictions of prophets, criticism of religion, open sexuality, and LGBTQ+ representation,

• And if governments in Islamic societies enforce these bans through censorship laws, media regulators, and punishments,

• And if film and television are only permitted within narrow religious boundaries,

Then:

❌ Islamic censorship systematically suppresses artistic and cultural freedom in media.
This is not cultural preference—it is doctrinal enforcement with legal and institutional teeth.

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💬 Debunking Common Defenses

Claim	Response
“It’s cultural sensitivity.”	Enforced by law and censorship boards—not voluntary.
“Western countries censor too!”	Rarely for doctrinal religious reasons—usually for security or violence.
“It protects values!”	Censorship prevents debate, diversity, and development.
“It’s about national identity!”	Then why is it theologically uniform across diverse Islamic states?

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📢 Final Word

Where Islamic doctrine dominates media policy, film becomes a tool of moral control, not a space for human exploration.
True creativity requires freedom—not permission from clerics.